A few months back, I wrote a blog about the top reasons Colleges and Universities are making progress towards moving to Smart Cards as a secure means of safeguarding people, data and assets. Here’s the link to that conversation to help remind you about the points I made in that blog.  In this conversation, I would like to build on the content in that earlier blog to share my thoughts about five myths that need to be de-mystified for colleges and universities who are considering the implementation of a Smart Card system for their campuses.

Institutions willing to tackle the complexity of installing a Smart Card system to manage their campus security will realize the benefits of using multi-function Smart Cards to obtain a myriad of services and applications that can be accessed campus-wide from physical facility and logical network access to cashless payment and tracking time and attendance. Though these institutions have embraced the idea of multi-function Smart Cards, they may have concerns about the logistics and costs associated with the installation and operation of a Smart Card security system. These concerns may be keeping some institutions from implementing Smart Cards even though they have a true desire to do so.

We have prepared an Executive Brief that debunks five myths involving multi-function Smart Card systems and their implementation. The five myths reviewed in the Executive Brief are:

Myth #1: I have to upgrade everything at once or I only have one option. FACT: A combination of phased implementation steps can be executed as needed to meet your specific needs.

Myth #2: We have too many access control technologies currently in place to migrate smoothly. FACT: A single Smart Card can house up to four different access control technologies.

Myth #3: It’s not possible to support old and new application technologies at the same time. FACT: Transaction-based applications can co-exist with access technologies on a single Smart Card.

Myth #4: Migrations are too expensive to implement. FACT: Maximize your system investment by migrating in phases versus all at one time.

Myth #5: Migrating to contactless Smart Cards will slow down the card issuance process. FACT: Smart Card encoders provide electronic and graphic personalization in one seamless step.

The Executive Brief will comment on these five myths in detail to offer reasonable Facts about implementing Smart Card systems to help you understand there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Please read HID Global’s Executive Brief to learn more about breaking down the myths of installing a multi-function Smart Card system. Let me know what you think.