Evolving Management Solutions (EMS) has been in the asset tracking and access control business since the mid-1990s in a previous life as part of Siltek and Kunene Solutions and Services Group. It is now just over a year (March 2000) since management made a successful buyout of the assets of ETC and Siltag, creating the new entity, EMS.
The first nine months of existence of the new company have been spent in re-energising a business that had become somewhat run down under previous control, and this process included shedding some staff, developing new marketing and sales strategies and most importantly putting time and money into the optimisation of the company's Flagship products, the locally developed System 42 access control solution and the i-Trac asset management system. By late last year these initial objectives had all been met and a leaner but much meaner EMS was ready to proceed with its new business strategy. At its disposal was the 'reborn' Version 3 System 42. As from the beginning of this year EMS has been consolidating its local sales drive, looking at a number of complementary products that it can offer its customer base, and has began its attack on the overseas market through its UK-based sister company I3ST.
Locally developed hardware and software
The upgrade of the well-established System 42 was driven by the identified need to simplify the user interface, increase the speed, and to make the installation process effortless. The new version now has the look and feel of a standard Microsoft product and embedded 'wizards' guide users smoothly through the entire set-up procedure. The speed was improved by 30% and the system is now fully compatible with newer Microsoft releases, including Windows 2000.
While the System 42 has tended to become associated with large and complex installations such as Koeberg, Steve Mason, the Marketing Director at EMS, was at pain to point out that it is equally suitable for small and growing entities with emphasis on the growing number of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that require a proven access control solution.
i-Trac is another locally developed product and it was originally conceived to help combat the pilferage of corporate property and information. A transmitter tag is inserted into a high value item and this tag can be programmed with full information as to its allowed location within a building for example. Any attempt to remove the asset beyond this area will trigger an alarm through the use of a network of receivers. i-Trac has many other unique features including its use for personnel monitoring where for example it can be used to track the movement of guards. i-Trac PA (Personal Attack) provides individual identification for each user and when the alarm button is triggered the software will display the exact location of the incident.
Home Tag
Another recently launched EMS product is Home Tag, which has been designed for use in homes, schools and offices. Specifically priced for the domestic and small office markets the tiny RF tag can be attached to anything of value. If that item is moved or disturbed an alarm is triggered and this signal can easily be integrated into the existing home or office system. The advantage of Home Tag is that it can protect valuables (eg the lawnmower) that are located in outbuildings not covered by the existing alarm system.
Another system that has been developed by the company is its Digi-Badge software that is designed to allow companies to produce their own ID cards. Windows-based, Digi-Badge can be used with a wide range of printers, which allow black and white images on card stock or direct full-colour printing on PVC cards. These cards can include many security features such as a picture of the cardholder, a scanned signature, a bar code or a captured fingerprint. The Digi-Badge system itself has access levels defined by user name and password, and all user actions are recorded on an audit log for supervisory monitoring. In a public-spirited gesture EMS recently donated a Digi-Badge system to a violence-plagued public school in Soweto. Together with a generous donation of card stock and laminating material from Easi-Bind this will allow the school to introduce a student identity card system which will allow security personnel to more easily monitor the more than 1200 students and to identify those attempting unauthorised access.
Complementary products
In addition to its own leading range of locally developed branded products EMS offers a range of complementary devices and systems from other world-leading manufacturers. One of the significant recent announcements is that EMS has been appointed as the official distributor (southern Africa) for the HID range. HID pioneered RFID technology for security applications and offers an extensive range of access control, computer security and asset tracking products. HID has in fact shipped more than 100 million cards and tags to countries worldwide. Apart from the cards themselves EMS now offers the full range of HID readers and those from its eProx biometrics partners. The latter offer a range of biometric identification systems using a number of technologies such as fingerprint, iris and hand recognition.
EMS recently added the Syris affordable access control range of equipment to its product portfolio. The Syris system can be used in conjunction with the popular HID ProxPoint readers and boasts many features usually only found in high-end solutions. Despite this the Syris slashes up to 25% off the cost of comparable access control systems.
Sister company
Integrated Systems, Solutions and Services through Technology (I3ST) is a totally independent sister company of EMS and operates throughout Europe from its UK base. I3ST was instrumental in the buyout of EMS from Siltek and the Chairman of EMS, Alan Heath, also acts as Managing Director of the UK operation. The two companies also share a Business Development Director in the person of James Moulson who is based in the UK. I3ST is very focussed and extremely active in the asset management business and now in addition to other complementary products is successfully marketing System 42 and i-Trac throughout Europe. To assist them in this process Warren Scott, previously one of the EMS sales support technicians joined their support team earlier this year. I3ST is currently involved in a few very important strategic Home Office projects that will ultimately have major spin off into our own highly pressurised Correctional Services.
Partnerships and innovation
EMS prides itself on not trying to do everything itself, but rather to try and serve its customer's needs better through creating effective partnerships. To this end a major success was the recent announcement of a strategic alliance between itself and Automated Identification Technologies (AIT). The System 42 can now be retrofitted not only with the EMS i-Trac but also with AIT's proven suite of wireless identification products, providing users with additional functionality and tagging options. The alliance extends to global marketing of the products of both companies through their existing distributor base. According to Steve Mason, AIT's strengths which lie in the field of portable and mobile asset control management now complement those of EMS in access control and static electronic resource management.
Apart from Europe where it is well positioned through I3ST, EMS has a web marketing programme in place and has received requests from many countries. This programme has in fact resulted in an agreement being put in place with Australian company ISCS that will now handle distribution in both the Pacific Rim and Australasia.
When it comes to innovation, EMS was the first company in the access and asset control business to make its range of products available on its Internet site. Here the company partnered with PlanetPastel who provide the e-commerce solution. The e-commerce facility covers a wide range of the discrete products offered by EMS, and existing credit facilities or credit card transactions can be used to effect secure payment.
EMS operates through its two divisions, Systems and Distribution. The Systems division has the personnel and skills to help customers specify and design integrated access control and security management solutions based on the System 42. For installation EMS would then refer the company to one of its accredited dealers who would do the actual installation, if necessary with support from EMS technical personnel. The Distribution Division looks after the many other local and overseas products marketed by EMS, and these can be sold either as standalone or as value-added products.
As a company, EMS today provides systems that encompass access control, asset tracking, building management, integrated subsystems and IT-based security. While South Africa remains an important market for EMS it takes pride in the fact that its hardware and software solutions have found wide acceptance in the highly demanding European and Far East markets.
For further details contact Steve Mason, EMS on tel: (011) 203 5300, e-mail: [email protected]
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