New research published by IMS Research suggests that the waters have been muddied when it comes access control-as-a-service (ACaaS) and that there needs to be a clearer definition of what a true cloud solution looks like for the industry to prosper.
"In order for the ACaaS industry to reach its full potential, the industry needs to establish set definitions, solutions and offerings," said report author and IMS Senior Analyst Blake Kozak.
According to Kozak there are two main types of ACaaS offerings; true cloud, defined as multitenant, scalable (on demand) and redundant, and rack server, which essentially extends the network connection to a third-party location rather than a server closet on-site.
IMS says that the majority of ACaaS offerings on the market are the latter due the high costs associated with offering a true cloud solution and while rack servers may feature some of the same characteristics of true cloud, the economies of scale with a rack server are not the same. "As a result, many of the players in this market are regional dealers, software providers and alarm monitoring companies who have a smaller customer base in order to provide customized solutions," IMS said in a statement.
Those wishing to enter the market will have to decide which of these two options they will offer, as well as how they plan to sell licenses and bill customers.
"To enter the ACaaS space, preparation will be key to success," Kozak said. "With confusion continuing to circulate as to what constitutes true cloud it is vital that suppliers looking to enter this space plan for how they intend to price and operate their ACaaS offering before entering the market."
For more information, visit www.imsresearch.com.
