How Traka is creating integrated ecosystems

International Security Journal sits down with Danny Garrido, President, Traka Americas.

What are the key trends you are seeing in access control?

In our world, we are continuing to see a focus on the relationship between security and scalability. Those are two big things that we get feedback on from our customers.

Leveraging existing platforms is a big part of this; not only through integration, but by identifying ways of working together.

I think our customers simply want to get more innovative and more integrated.

Historically, this really has been an area of expertise for us. In fact, it is an area we’ve made a part of our core business over the past 20 years.

We’re very happy to see this movement in the industry from our customers; creating that integrated ecosystem for the end user has really been in our wheelhouse since day one.

How does intelligent key management technology boost productivity and oversight as well as enhance security?

It’s quite simple really! One of the things we do is try and put the keys, the assets or the asset lockers where they’re needed.

When you think of a university or a prison, many sites tend to put these things where it’s convenient to manage – so you have a security officer on-site, but the assets are in an administrative building that’s off the beaten track.

It’s convenient for the management team, but it’s not very convenient for day to day operations.

That’s what our key management and asset management technology can do.

By decentralising where those keys are being used on a day to day basis, you’re breaking up the needs of the operations based on what they require on that particular day or for that particular job function.

This boosts efficiency because you then no longer have to go across campus or the prison facility to get a key, saving yourself potentially 30 minutes a time.

This ensures that the right people have access to the right things, not just day to day, but during emergencies.

Can you tell us more about the vertical markets you are enhancing access in?

One of the things we’ve done over the past two years or so is put a reinforced focus on areas and markets that not only continue to see growth, but areas where we’re getting a lot of feedback and that require a particular level of expertise.

We’ve seen a big impact and growth in police and government settings as well as education – not only in K-12, but also higher education settings like universities.

Corporate campuses, residential properties and multifamily type applications are other areas where safety is really critical. These are some of the areas that we continue to focus on.

What we’re trying to do is really get under the skin of each of those sectors and continue to be the experts.

Of course, we’ll talk to and help any vertical market that gets in touch, but these are particular markets where we are seeing a need for application.

How are you looking to expand your portfolio of solutions as we look towards 2024?

For all intents and purposes, you can call us a software company, even though it’s our hardware everyone sees. But, we’re always looking at new features – features that our customers are asking for.

Features that have been designed to meet needs for various reasons.

Though we don’t release hardware on a regular basis, we are looking forward to unveiling a next generation locker on the back of the innovative key cabinet that we released earlier this year.

We continue to focus both on the hardware and the software side, but software is really the thing that we look at when we think about innovation.

When we look at our portfolio and the things that we’re trying to do, we focus on software particularly because customer needs are changing.

Anybody can deliver hardware; it doesn’t change rapidly. What changes, however, is day to day use and the features and functionality that our customers require.

We’re always looking at new ways to enhance day to day operations and, when you look at the access control space, we are really trying to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening – not only with the integrators and reseller partners that we work with, but also with end users. It’s important that we understand these voices.

The world is constantly changing and there’s always something new. There’s always a new way of working and you have to separate the noise surrounding, “what’s the next chapter?” from the, “what’s the fundamentals of my security platform and how are you going to scale to help me?”.

Being part of the ASSA ABLOY Group helps us to leverage many of the things around us.

For example, when you have sister companies like HID working in the access control space, we can try and work together and really look at the best way to serve our customers.

To find out more information, visit: www.traka.com