Company Logo



April Special 2021

Kastle Systems - A Complete Managed Security Solution

Kastle Systems - A Complete Managed Security Solution

Security as a Service (SECaaS) has been gaining adoption in the recent past. It provides a cloud-delivered model for outsourcing services. Much like Software as a Service, SECaaS provides security services on a subscription basis hosted by cloud providers. The solutions have become increasingly popular for corporate infrastructures as a way to ease the in-house security team’s responsibilities, scale security needs as the business grows, and avoid the costs and maintenance of on-premise alternatives.

Kastle Systems has been a leader in this service approach for years. More than four decades ago, at a time when security meant installing a system, Kastle understood that “security as a service” was the wave of the future. In 1972, Kastle pioneered managed access for real estate owners, and the whole industry changed. Suddenly, premier property owners could take advantage of the latest technology developments without becoming security experts themselves and in a more cost-effective way. We discussed with the CEO of Kastle Systems, Haniel J Lynn, where he talks about the company’s vision and services.

Kindly detail us about Kastle Systems innovations.
Kastle has a history of innovation, starting with being the first access control provider in the industry to adopt the “Managed Security” model, frequently referred to as “Security as a Service,” where we don’t just sell hardware and software to customers for them to run themselves, but instead, we take ownership of maintaining the security of our clients beyond merely the components to include design, installation, updates, actual monitoring and ongoing maintenance for the long term.

When internet use became mainstream, we were among the earliest to migrate our service to the cloud, which enabled clients to manage their access control and video surveillance administration from anywhere, but more importantly, it enabled us to scale our business to monitor thousands of clients in markets across the nation from our several geo-dispersed operations centers

We have continued to innovate as technology has advanced, being among the earliest to launch services like mobile-based smartphone access control using Bluetooth signaling, touchless elevator operation, and health monitoring integration with access control. As the technology of real estate business, building technologies, and user lifestyles continue to evolve, we will continue to employ our open platform technology to innovate for society’s benefit.

Our “Security as a Service” model is still consider innovative today because it’s even more relevant in the current business environment where security advancements (and risks and exposures) are changing by the day and it’s more difficult than ever to keep up with these challenges when you don’t have the dedicated people and focus to do it. We can even carry out the administration of the security system for clients, serving as an extension of their team, which is becoming more important in an economy and industry where players are being asked to do more with less.

Tell us about your award-winning end-to-end managed security.

As mentioned above, we were the first to launch the “managed security” model, where we don’t just sell the hardware and software components to a client, but rather we provide an integrated solution from design and installation through the ongoing monitoring, software updates, and system maintenance on a long-term basis.

While we have won numerous awards over the years for innovation, best access control, best physical security, and more, what we focus on achieving is an internal “award” in customer satisfaction that tells us we are succeeding. We work with JD Power, the noted leader in measuring customer satisfaction across industries, to survey our customers twice-a-year on their satisfaction with Kastle. We are proud to say that our scores are on-par with some of the premier leaders in customer service for retail and hospitality industries, which is unheard of in a commercial service like security..

How are your solutions groundbreaking and delightful to use?

We view ourselves as a technology company that happens to be focused on physical security, and because we are an integrated service that delivers, manages, and maintains our technology through the last mile of delivery, we create delight not only in the technology usage experience, but also through the ongoing account management service, giving our clients a responsible, long-term partner to respond to their needs continuously. Additionally, we continue to look for innovations in other industries for disruptions that may inform how people’s innate behaviors can be simplified or made more convenient. We are groundbreaking in that we observe disruptive innovation in society, like the ubiquity of smartphones by the consumer or the adoption of IoT in appliances and the workplace, and see how we can bring them to bear on solving security and business challenges in the workplace or multifamily residential properties.

We try to identify new societal behaviors beyond the security that technology enables and then think about how we can integrate them into our service. We, like any other business, are made up of employees with individual user experiences and expectations of technology in our personal lives that is shaped by the likes of Amazon, Google and Apple -- and we expect that to translate into our day-to-day building/work life as well. We look to create an experience that is truly convenient and effortless in our products and services through our innovation. We also partner with other companies who are more focused on specific needs outside of Kastle’s core operational strategy to deliver a differentiated combined experience.

How has Kastle been an active contributor to industry standards for years?

Because we focus on technology and strive to remain at the forefront of innovation in the security industry, for decades, we have usually been an invited participant at the table of thought leaders when novel solutions come into consideration for mass adoption. We are an early adopter, so whether it be developing security-as-a-service, cloud-based service delivery, smartphone-based access credentials, AI-enabled smart video surveillance, and most recently, Physical Logical Access Interoperability (an open standard method of sharing and managing personnel identities, credentials and access privileges details across disparate physical access control systems), we gain an early understanding of the technology in question. This provides insightful experience into the development of standards for the ongoing widespread use of new technology. 

Why should people opt for KastleSafeVideo?

During this pandemic, office locations and business districts have experienced low occupancy with little security oversight. Paradoxically, multifamily properties have been operating at near-record levels around-the-clock, with residents working from home. For both of these scenarios, KastleSafeVideo provides these property managers and building owners a comprehensive remote video platform to help them maintain security while also reducing operating costs by employing cutting-edge video technology.

There has been growing concern about crime and security during the delay of returning to “normal.” Hence, we reshaped our existing video services to meet an immediate need for innovative, modern security coverage at a lower cost for commercial office buildings and multifamily properties.

Kastle’s technology, supported by multiple patents in AI-based video surveillance, has been harnessed here to provide clients with robust video analytics and remote guarding services to bolster security without increasing staff – a vital benefit during this current economic environment.

Kindly explain your KastleSafeSpaces offering.

KastleSafeSpaces (KSS) is an access control solution that has helped businesses make concrete plans for a return to the workplace by implementing and enforcing health and wellness safeguards that begin to build confidence in workers that they can safely return to the workplace. We developed this solution very early in the pandemic “to step into the void” when businesses were clearly looking to understand what steps they needed to take in order to somehow return to work and no clear direction yet existed.

With KSS, we integrated health screening protocols such as daily health attestation and body temperature monitoring with key performance attributes of our physical access control technology, so that daily test results are implemented instantly into physical access rights at the credential level for individuals on a daily basis. It fully integrates the occupant identity directory with the security access control system to deny workplace access to people presenting with symptoms or known to be infected. Further, it also facilitates tracking individuals who later learn they were infected with COVID-19 as well as those who have come in contact with them.

Meet the CEO

Haniel J Lynn, the CEO, joined Kastle systems in 2018 with more than 25 years of global operating and executive management experience growing and scaling enterprises from startup to $1 billion. He has the unique ability to oscillate between high-level vision and tactical execution while inspiring a culture of teamwork.

He spent 16 years at CEB (now Gartner) and served as Group President of its Best Practices & Decision Support business and member of the company’s executive leadership team responsible for product strategy, direction, and operating a $600m business globally.


Business News


Recommended News



Most Featured Companies


Latest Magazines

© 2024 CIO Bulletin Inc. All rights reserved.