AMAG President Teases Big Things To Come In Next Generation Of Products

A pioneer in the access control sector since 1971, AMAG Technology is looking to the future and the next generation of products that will expand its services to customers.

“In our vision, we have advanced approaches that will not only provide our partners with advanced technologies but also ones that are easier to install with tools to expand their services,” says David Sullivan, who was appointed President of the venerable access control company in September 2022.

New challenges at AMAG

Sullivan brings a new outlook to the AMAG business, a part of Allied Universal, and a new vision to lead the company into the future.

We caught up with David Sullivan to discuss his new challenges at AMAG and the journey ahead as the company looks to the future.

Q: How does your background inform your approach to leading AMAG?

I believe that it helps me to define a vision for AMAG that will be unique and on the leading edge of our industry

David Sullivan: With the exception of only a few short years, my career has been in access control. I have experience with several systems and have had the privilege to manage several successful access control companies.

As a result, I bring a great deal of experience into my role at AMAG. I believe that it helps me to define a vision for AMAG that will be unique and on the leading edge of our industry.

Q: How would you describe AMAG’s journey over the last several years and how do you see the future?

Sullivan: Prior presidents of AMAG always shared their leadership vision and direction with senior leaders located in the United Kingdom. This had an impact on the full direction of the business, sometimes limiting its ultimate success.

Before I became a part of AMAG, these senior leaders that were located in the UK retired, placing for the first time the full management responsibilities of the president. This has allowed me to integrate the business into a single team, with single objectives, and a single vision. We expect to begin to reveal this new vision in the coming weeks. We are excited about the future of AMAG and believe we will surprise the industry with our new products and approach in the coming months and years.

Q: How important is it that a manufacturer provides both hardware and software solutions? How does AMAG’s approach (in general) differentiate it in the market?

We can design the complete solution, providing functionality that others may find more difficult to accomplish

Sullivan: Regardless of the manufacturer, we all provide hardware and software. An access control solution is not complete without both. Some of us choose to make our panels, and others do not. Those who are dependent on third-party suppliers are restricted to the developments and direction of that company, and while it might be perceived to be an open technology, it still is proprietary to the hardware manufacturer.

AMAG has controlled its manufacturing of panels from day one. The result means that we can design the complete solution, providing functionality that others may find more difficult to accomplish.

Q: How does the breadth of AMAG’s product suite provide advantages to customers and/or integrators?

Sullivan: AMAG’s product portfolio is unique and provides the end user with an end-to-end identity management solution from one company. Our Control Room PSIM, Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management Solution, Symmetry Access Control, and Symmetry GUEST solutions all integrate to provide the user with a broad set of features and capabilities from a single provider.

There is no finger-pointing when we come to support your system. We hold full responsibility for making it work and can quickly provide a resolution to any application difficulties the user may be experiencing.

Q: How does AMAG address the divide between on-prem and cloud systems? How do you help customers make the transition and/or plan for the future?

We are in the early stages of developing our next generation of access control in which we intend to provide on-prem

Sullivan: In our current product portfolio, we have three products that are cloud-based. Our mobile credential platform (Symmetry Mobile), our visitor management solution (Symmetry GUEST), and our physical identity and access management solution (Symmetry CONNECT) are all offerings that operate in the cloud.

We are in the early stages of developing our next generation of access control in which we intend to provide on-prem, web client, and cloud-based offerings. One of the primary objectives is to ensure that the large installed base of systems that are out there today will be able to migrate not only to our next generation but as well to the cloud if the client so desires.

Q: What is AMAG’s approach to mobile credentialing?

Sullivan: As an access control provider, adding Symmetry Mobile credentialing to our portfolio just made sense. We want our customers to have a forward-thinking solution with the opportunity to save money not only on the physical badges but the cost of printing and distributing badges.

Mobile credentials can be easily issued and revoked remotely, reducing administrative overhead, and eliminating the need for physical inventory management. Organizations can centrally configure what devices are used and the read range for each type of device and operating system, thus providing flexibility. Symmetry Mobile offers a customized questionnaire that controls access and reduces liabilities.

Q: What has surprised you the most in your first year or so leading AMAG?

Not many companies are blessed with such a broad portfolio that is supported by a resource-rich company

Sullivan: I wouldn’t say I was surprised by this as much as happy to see, but I would say that the quality of our people was a pleasant surprise. As well, the AMAG product offering is broad and has some unique elements.

When coupled with the depth of the resources that we have in AMAG, I know that we are second to none. Not many companies are blessed with such a broad portfolio that is supported by a resource-rich company that has so many talented people.

Q: Please describe your dealer channel, and how you are seeking to expand it.

Sullivan: The AMAG products are sophisticated and typically are installed for higher-end applications. With this sophistication comes a need to be well able to install such a solution. We have a strong group of certified and loyal partners who help us to deliver these enterprise solutions.

We desire to provide our existing partners with updated and competitive systems to offer to their end users.

Q: What is the security industry’s (and/or AMAG’s) biggest challenge in the next five years?

We need to find ways to provide both our channel partners and the customers with solutions that are easily integrated

Sullivan: I believe that the advancements that we are seeing in technology provide our industry with the opportunity to truly change how security is provided to our collective customers. As we advance these solutions, we will need to do so responsibly and in a way that helps the channel’s abilities.

We need to find ways to train our partners to both install and support these more complex solutions. At the same time, we need to find ways to provide both our channel partners and the customers with solutions that are easily integrated, moving away from proprietary closed systems to open and cohesive solutions. This will ensure that the users get the best, and most complete solutions.

Q: What does the industry as a whole misunderstand about AMAG -- time to set the record straight!

Sullivan: Well, I am not ready to openly share where we are heading. We are in the process of putting together some advanced approaches to how we will do business with our partners. We are focused on providing tools that will enhance their services to their customers, and with products that are leading edge.

I can only state that all should keep their eyes on AMAG, because over the next few years, we are going to surprise some people, and more importantly make our loyal partners quite powerful.