ZKTeco’s Full Spectrum of Access Control Solutions on Display at GSX 2025

ZKTeco USA, a provider of biometric verification and access control technology, is highlighting (at booth #3047) its full portfolio of access control solutions this week at GSX 2025 in New Orleans, including its multi-tech standalone readers, metal detectors, optical turnstiles, Torus key cabinets, visitor management system, and new scalable cloud-based access control software, Cielo365, which enables customers to easily transition from an on-premises solution to a cloud-based system.

The company’s products are installed globally in more than 110 countries and sold by a network of over 5,000 resellers and serve a wide variety of vertical markets including retail, schools, churches, fitness centers, healthcare facilities, and any type of commercial building looking to secure its premises.

Bigger Presence at GSX

ZKTeco USA President Manish Dalal says he is excited to be back at GSX again this year, with a bigger booth to highlight the company’s expanding product portfolio. In addition to meeting with customers and partners, including security dealers, integrators and end users, he says, “It is important to have integrations and partnerships with other technology providers. And GSX provides us a very good platform with other manufacturers whose solutions can be integrated with our technology, our platform, and our products.”

He continues, “We have a bigger presence this year, and our booth is bigger than last year because our product portfolio, especially turnstiles and metal detectors occupy bigger space, so we need room to display that in full capacity. And we have partners like Torus, whose smart key cabinets are integrated with our portfolio so they will be displaying along with our access control, visitor management, intercom, and other products.”

When asked what his key message is to attendees and those visiting the booth this week, he says, “Our message to the whole industry is that we have a solution for one door and we have a solution for 1,000 doors and anything and everything to secure from the outside of the building to the inside the building. We have a solution for everybody, and the best part is that as far as software is concerned, unlike everybody else, it's not one-size-fits-all. We have an on-prem solution, we have a hybrid solution and then we have a cloud-based solution.”

Live Demos at the Booth

Attendees can view live demonstrations of the company’s wide array of products at the ZKTeco booth, including standalone biometric readers such as the Omni Series (Omni 20 and 30), EP Series, SpeedFace Series (SF1008-WP, SF1005V) along with the AtlasCloud access control hardware and software solutions.

The Omni standalone reader controller is an ideal solution for end users looking for “one access control system that can do it all,” says Dalal, noting that the Omni 30 standalone reader control can also act as an intercom with SIP based-calling that includes one-way video and two-way audio communication in addition to offering access control and visitor management. It easily integrates with Cielo365 and Torus key cabinets creating a seamless user experience.

“Both the Omni 30 and The Omni 20, multi-biometric readers offer versatility and are one of the most rugged and reliable door readers on the market,” he adds. “Combining palm and face authentication empowers end users to better protect their assets and premises with precision, efficiency, and reliability – all from one device.”

In addition, ZKTeco offers customers the ability to integrate Cielo365 with Hanwha Vision’s and Digital Watchdog’s video surveillance cameras.

Other products on display at GSX:

·         The FMD Pro 2.0 ferrous metal detector, a lightweight security screening solution designed to detect metallic objects carried or concealed by perpetrators, will be showcased at the ZKTeco booth. In addition, ZKTeco’s optical turnstiles (MARS S100, SBTL7000/7200, and SBTL 8000/8200 will be highlighted. Both the FMD Pro 2.0 and optical turnstiles offer a 5-year warranty, making it an easy choice for customers.

·         ZKTeco’s Visitor Management Solution - MySmartGuard+ is designed to streamline the visitor screening process. The cloud-based software platform creates pre-scheduled appointments where visitors receive text messages with a QR code to gain access.  Visitors can pre-register off site with the self-registration feature to save time or check in manually.  The visitor management system also offers delivery assistance for packages by notifying employees when a package is dropped off.

Leveraging the Cloud

ZKTeco’s new cloud-based access control system, Cielo365, supports legacy ZKTeco devices and is compatible with existing access control hardware including Omni Series standalone readers, Pro Series panels, and SpeedFace. And a new mobile app offers users remote management capabilities that include opening and closing doors, adding/removing users, viewing sites, reporting, and real-time notifications.

As Dalal points out, “In today's world, everything is subscription, everything is cloud-based. And after the pandemic, the adoption of the cloud in the physical security world increased a lot because the offices had to be repurposed, reorganized. Not everybody was coming to the office every day, and the rules changed. So, cloud-based access control is the best way to manage, program, configure, and access a system in real time.”

Cielo365 is “unlike other platforms where everything needs to be glued together with integrations,” he explains. “In our case because we are the manufacturers of everything, all the different technologies are supported in a single platform. Plus, the hardware capabilities that we have on our products — they are intelligent devices on the edge. So, a lot of computing happens on the edge, in terms of biometrics, in terms of using any credential, as our readers can read everything and they are so easy to install for a locksmith, for example, and they are scalable for enterprise applications, integrating with video, visitor management — all the enterprise level capabilities on one platform.”

Palm Recognition the Future of Biometrics?

While facial biometrics is becoming more widely used, with clear guidelines about how it can be used for access control, Dalal sees fingerprint and palm recognition as emerging modalities, with the palm winning out as the future of access control.

“They are ideal because both fingerprint and palm are intentional, which means the user initiates by putting their fingerprint on the reader or showing the palm to the reader,” he explains. “And by intentional, that also means we have the consent of the user; they are doing this by choice, so I'm not doing this without their knowledge. That's why we feel that palm recognition is the biometric modality of the future; it's very easy to use, it's touchless, contactless, and very secure because you cannot see your palm vein pattern with the naked eye, so there's no way you can spoof it or copy it. And that's why companies like Amazon have implemented it in their Amazon Go stores and Whole Foods is using it.”

Outlook on the Security Industry 

Looking big picture at the security industry, Dalal expects not only continued consolidation on the manufacturer side, with increased M&A, but also more “companies working together and coming up with joint solutions,” he says.

He also sees the channel of system integrators, dealers or locksmiths changing and evolving. “The spectrum of installers is going to increase because the products are becoming more IT-centric and there are more IT-based resellers and installers in the market that do various other things and access control just becomes one more piece of the puzzle or the module which fits into their portfolio. That is what we are seeing.”

The second big industry theme is the continued convergence of cybersecurity and physical security. “It's getting more and more requested, and we have good partnerships with cybersecurity companies who have integrated our biometric technologies with their platforms.”

Industry-wise, Dalal says GSX continues to be important as it provides an ideal forum to meet face-to-face to discuss and explore these trends, themes, and newest products.