Believe it or not, migrating away from legacy prox card technology can be done smoothly, even for more complex access control setups.
Many organizations today realize that high-frequency 13.56Mhz contactless smart card technology will provide their employees with a more convenient, secure experience. Yet the logistics of moving away from low-frequency 125Khz proximity card systems appears to be a challenge many organizations resist taking on.
As industry experts with 20 years’ experience supporting businesses of all sizes with physical access control migrations, we’ve learned there are several common misunderstandings that keep many organizations stuck with their old, unsecure prox card technology.
Below are three myths about migrating away from legacy RFID that simply aren’t true:
MYTH: The entire access control system must be upgraded at one time.
FACT: Most organizations take a phased approach which is significantly easier to implement, rather than change out everything at once. If necessary, parallel systems can coexist for months.
Examples of a Phased Approach:
- A business replaces legacy cards with new technology-embedded cards while still preserving magstripe and/or proximity technology.
- A university issues new multi-technology cards and phase out old ones over time as students graduate.
- A large corporate office replaces magstripe and prox card readers with multi-technology readers, which continue to support these legacy technologies, in addition to advanced, multi-function Smart Cards.
Read about how ADVANTIDGE helped a massive LA-based healthcare system to seamlessly integrate secure access control.
MYTH: We have too many access control technologies currently in place to migrate our prox card technology smoothly.
FACT: Using multi-technology cards, you can typically migrate at your own pace regardless of the various access technologies currently in place. What many institutions do not realize is that a single Smart Card can securely house up to four different access control technologies including magstripe, low-frequency, high-frequency, Weigand™ or contact chip.
MYTH: It isn’t possible to support old and new application technologies at the same time.
FACT: Applications that do not support contactless cards – such as library checkout services that still use magstripe or barcode – CAN remain intact and completely operational with multi-technology credentials. Just as multi-technology cards can support various access control technologies, they can also support various applications with a combination of contactless RFID technologies like 125Khz and 13.56Mhz, plus contact smart chips and biometrics.
If your organization has similar concerns around the security of legacy technologies, schedule a consultation with our team.
About ADVANTIDGE: We foster relationships recognizing that no two clients have exactly the same security needs. Our value is created through dialogue and 40 years of combined experience in identity management solutions.
Contact us today to feel confident in how you handle identity management, visitors management, and access control at your organization.
