Inovonics and Mercury Security Partner to Deliver Industry’s First PSIA-Based Integrated Access Control and EN6080 Area Control Gateway System for Mobile Duress at ISC West 2014.

LOUISVILLE, Colo., March 10, 2014 – Inovonics, a leading provider of enterprise life safety and specialized commercial wireless systems, and Mercury Security, a global leader in the supply of OEM access control hardware, have announced a technology partnership that allows Mercury’s OEM partners to incorporate Inovonics’ mobile duress wireless network within its access control platform. In compliance with the Area Control open specification from the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA), Mercury will integrate Inovonics’ EN6080 Area Control Gateway (ACG) with the Authentic Mercury branded hardware to offer the industry’s first integrated access control platform with Enterprise Mobile Duress (EMD) capabilities.

The new solution is the latest addition in the ever-expanding library of wireless technology available in every Mercury controller. This combined offering allows end users to leverage their existing security investments by adding an extra layer of protection with Inovonics’ panic buttons and demonstrates the industry’s need for solutions that focus on people protection in addition to physical building security. Using standards-based integrations, best-of-breed solutions can be configured and deployed quickly with minimal incremental investment.

“We are very excited about our technology partnership with Inovonics and the ability to deliver Enterprise Mobile Duress capabilities through the Authentic Mercury platform,” said Frank Gasztonyi, CTO of Mercury Security. “This integration enables Mercury OEM partners to incorporate Inovonics’ wireless duress and intrusion devices within their access control solutions. We see strong demand in the K-12, university and healthcare markets where applications include mobile resources that require near real-time annunciation and building control.”

The new integrated Mercury access control platform with Inovonics’ Area Control Gateway (ACG) and duress pendant system allows partners and resellers to leverage their customers’ existing security infrastructures while adding the tremendous value of EMD at a minimal incremental cost. Using panic buttons as a “credential,” security personnel can track the identity and location of the person assigned to each pendant as they enter and move throughout buildings and secure areas. Combining access control together with Inovonics’ EN6080 ACG location capabilities in this way ensures greater response time when safety issues arise.

PSIA – An Open Standards Approach

The Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) is a global consortium of more than 65 physical security manufacturers and systems integrators focused on promoting interoperability of IP-enabled security devices and systems across the security ecosystem and beyond. The PSIA Area Control specification, which is used in the integrated Mercury Security and Inovonics’ access control/EMD solution, facilitates synchronization and secure data sharing among access control, wireless intrusion and video analytics, resulting in more cost-effective, comprehensive and integrated commercial security systems.

“Interoperability is a critical requirement in today’s security ecosystem,” said David Bunzel, executive director of PSIA. “We are excited to see two security industry leaders come together to integrate their respective market-leading solutions using the PSIA’s open specifications. This is good for the market and an indicator of the industry’s direction. Customers are the real benefactor of this approach, which will ultimately yield major benefits in innovative solutions, cost savings and shorter time to implementation.”

“It is gratifying to partner with an industry leader, like Mercury Security, that shares our same passion – taking an open standards-based approach to delivering integrated, best-of-breed solutions,” said Michael Slack, vice president of technology and business development at Inovonics. “Together, we have a solution that is the first of its kind, merging access control with Enterprise Mobile Duress – made possible by utilizing open standards and leveraging existing security infrastructures. The end result is a seamlessly integrated, intelligent security system that yields reduced installation time while minimizing incremental costs. Our partners have requested this capability and now, together with Mercury Security, we can deliver it.”

A complete demo of the solution showcasing integrated access control with Enterprise Mobile Duress will be on display at ISC West. To learn more, visit Inovonics’ booth at ISC West (#16109), or visit Mercury Security or PSIA.