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Ideco, long the pioneer for advanced access and identity management solutions in South Africa, has yet again raised the bar for secure, efficient and cost-effective visitor identity management. Building on the successful 10-year track record of the original EVIM system, which has processed over 12 million visitors to date, Ideco is launching its new, enhanced EVIM system with additional features and advanced new functionality.

Set to be available officially in March this year, the new Ideco EVIM system brings to market new third-generation terminals, as well as an entry-level option utilising smartphone technology. The cloud-based system also automates compliance and eliminates the risks inherent in traditional visitor management systems.

“Visitor identity management is a requirement in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” says Ideco CEO Marius Coetzee. “It is important from a safety perspective at residential estates, but is also crucial at sites requiring stringent security and higher risk sites such as construction areas, where a detailed log of all visitors must be kept and stored for as long as 30 years. However, many estates, office blocks and other facilities still rely on outdated access technologies or even on paper-based visitors’ books – the bane of visitors everywhere.”

The paper-based visitors’ book, often dirty and inconvenient to fill in, can cause delays at the boom and can put visitors’ personal information at risk of being copied. This presents major compliance risks in terms of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act and in some cases is used in identity fraud.

Ideco’s new EVIM solution puts secure and efficient visitor access management into the hands of sites of all sizes: from a ‘Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) version using a smartphone to process information, to a new terminal with embedded biometric fingerprint reader, to the high-end tablet version with embedded fingerprint reader. The EVIM system connects directly to the cloud, so that all data is securely recorded and accessible only by authorised personnel.

“Our return on investment assessments on live sites have indicated that the costs of the paper-based visitors’ book system, if managed responsibly and stored correctly, is equivalent to the costs of investing in our EVIM digital system,” says Coetzee. “There are however no comparrison regarding the quality of the data recorded

The new EVIM systems offers four key benefits:

Improved security and protection of personal information: once the visitor’s entrance has been authorised, the terminal will open the gate or boom, limiting control by the security guard. With no visitor data stored on-site, personal information is fully protected and stored securely in the cloud in line with national regulations and site requirements.

Improved visitor experience: Using unique QR codes generated by the EVIM system, sports facilities, event organisers and individual hosts can supply guests with personalised access tags directly to their mobile phones, allowing for risk-free and effortless access to the site.

Improved efficiency: with visitors’ lanes considered costly real estate, the speed at which visitors can be processed at entrances is critical. In addition to reducing the time needed to authorise access through unique QR codes and fingerprint scanners, the Ideco EVIM system allows for the registration of certain categories of visitors – such as contractors working on site, for example – to speed up processing their access.

Major cost savings: The cost of maintaining electronic systems dependent on unique access codes or PINs, as well as telephonic confirmation between the guard house and host, can amount to hundreds of thousands of rands per month in a large residential estate. Because Ideco’s new EVIM system is fully app-based, the costs of SMSes and calls between guard house and host can be eliminated.

“The new EVIM system is Ideco’s latest identity and access management innovation, offering targeted next generation solutions designed to meet the unique needs of the South African market,” says Coetzee.

For more information, visit www.ideco.co.za.