SALTO Systems has been selected by Hong Kong based The Executive Centre to install their latest electronic access control solutions, to manage day-to-day security across their pan Asia serviced office network. Central to the integrated security system in every TEC office, the solution is being installed by the local SALTO dealer, working closely with SALTO System's regional service and support centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. TEC currently secure over 1500 doors in 16 cities with SALTO, with more to be added as the network of centres expands. The Executive Centre (TEC), part of a major global property management group, is Asia-Pacific's leading serviced office network, operating very high quality, customer focused facilities in strategic locations throughout the region. Core products include serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting facilities, video conferencing and business services. They opened their first business centre in 1994 and have now expanded to 29 centres across 16 cities - all focused on addressing global business's demand for maximum office space flexibility, cost effectiveness and productivity.
Security is a very important issue for TEC; they need to ensure that customer's valuable assets, staff and visiting clients are protected and safe at all times, so a reliable and highly secure access management solution was of vital importance. To meet this requirement TEC chose the elegantly simple to use i-Button system of electronic locks, in satin stainless steel, which provide the 24/7 security and full audit trail monitoring necessary to ensure security is not compromised at any of its centres.
"Each centre contains between 40 and 80 locks, with on line wall readers at the entrances, i-Button locks on the serviced office and meeting room doors and i-Locker locks on various cabinet doors" comments David Rees, Asia Pacific Regional Manager for SALTO Systems.
"The stand-alone access control system fully utilizes the read-write capabilities of the i-Button platform, allowing access information to be recorded and stored in the lock and in the ID carriers and i-Button keyfobs. This enables TEC staff to programme keys that allow access to certain rooms or areas within each centre during specific periods only, and, if required, the doors can also be individually programmed to automatically lock at pre-specified times." 
Another essential criterion TEC were looking to satisfy when selecting their new access control solution was that they wanted to minimize the time needed to manage the system, without any loss of flexibility, control or security.
This is achieved by allowing the stand-alone locks and operating system to "exchange" information via the read-write i-Button technology. With the SALTO system, user related access information is stored in an encrypted format on the ID carrier, so the physical restrictions of traditional stand alone electronic locks are eliminated, allowing the i-Button keyfobs and locks to be updated, restricted or canceled at will.
"This also means TEC no longer have the worry or cost of changing lock cylinders. Now they have the ability to immediately cancel an i-Button fob from their security system should a customer or member of staff lose it, or if it is stolen.
And TEC continue to keep pace with the advances SALTO are making by using the latest technology as it becomes available. This includes installing the new XS4 access control platform in their newest centres in Macau, Mumbai and Sydney, offering even higher levels of security and ease of use for their clients, and they are also evaluating our e-cylinder for refurbishment work where it is not practical to replace existing locks with escutcheons. " Rees concludes.
Alan Seigrist, Chief Financial Officer of The Executive Centre, says: "Integrated security is becoming a very important selling point for all of our customers. In fact, the high level of security provided by our new SALTO system is a major selling point in of itself. There have been several major multinational firms and financial institutions that have chosen to use our services exclusively on the security aspects of the SALTO system.
The functionality of the i-Button system in particular has probably been one of the most fundamental elements to the success of our installations. Being a contact based system; this makes the use of SALTO locks in all of our locations simple and easy to understand for our customers. 
Prior to selecting SALTO we also evaluated both magnetic stripe and wireless card access systems by other manufacturers, but found neither met our operational criteria or provided us with the management opportunities SALTO could.
The highest standard of security was a core reason for selecting SALTO. This, together with their outstanding sales support, has made our decision to use SALTO as our exclusive security partner in Asia an excellent investment decision."
With installation on-going as more centres are planned and opened across the region, their SALTO electronic access control solution will continue to protect and secure facilities and personnel at The Executive Centre.
