“The activities of the SPAC alliance, particularly in the certification and standardization of access control solutions and technologies, align strongly with the products and services offered by Orange Business Services.”
Mathieu Ducrot,
Products Director at Orange Business Services
Orange Business Services, a major digital player in France, announced at the beginning of the year that it has joined the SPAC (Smart Physical Access Control) alliance.
The activities of the SPAC alliance, particularly in the certification and standardization of access control solutions and technologies, align strongly with the products and services offered by Orange Business Services.
Orange Business Services will leverage its expertise as a systems integrator to actively contribute alongside SPAC to the definition and promotion of security and safety technologies and solutions that meet the current and future challenges of corporate clients.
What access control solutions does Orange Business Services offer?
In addition to IT and cloud infrastructure security services and Orange Cyberdefense’s offerings, as a European leader in cybersecurity, Orange Business Services is deploying the Pack ID solution. This solution aims to securely digitize access badges for companies, campuses, cities, and more for all users, with universal compatibility for Android and iOS (Apple) smartphones.
The Pack ID solution relies on NFC (Near Field Communication) and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technologies, which are now available on almost all smartphones on the market and have been tested for years by Orange.
Currently, Pack ID is the only multi-service and multi-vendor solution on the market. We work with leading access control players to provide a highly secure smartphone badge solution. Moreover, this solution is open, offering software modules to our partners, such as mobile libraries, APIs, and more. New features based on biometrics (3D facial recognition) will soon be announced to further simplify the implementation of this technology while ensuring compliance with current regulations.
To guarantee this high level of security, our Pack ID solution is regularly audited by Orange Cyberdefense as well as Orange Group’s security teams. It also undergoes external audits and systematic evaluations by our clients’ security teams. Successfully passing these tests has allowed it to be adopted as the universal smartphone badge solution for all Orange Group employees.
What trends/needs do you observe in the market?
We’ve been observing this for several months now, and the trend is accelerating due to the health crisis: the smart building market has fully integrated digital as a key pillar. This is evident in the programs being launched in France and internationally, which all incorporate digital as a central component.
This trend is changing habits and creating new demand for the use of smartphones as a preferred daily identification tool, providing seamless and secure access to buildings, parking lots, and even IT services such as printing or workstation access.
Manufacturers of access control equipment, software publishers, and integrators all offer their own solutions, yet interoperability is often lacking. The mission of Orange Business Services is to make this interoperability possible, regardless of the client’s environment and its evolution over time.
What are your expectations in joining SPAC?
Smartphones and mobile badge applications are not yet recognized as eligible for certain certifications, such as those from ANSSI. We want to work with standards organizations to facilitate the use of smartphones as legitimate identifiers with dedicated solution certifications.
SPAC, due to its positioning, its members, and its actions with French and European authorities, is a key player in advancing the definition of a smartphone-based solution that meets all the needs of the safety and security market. In this regard, we believe that Orange Business Services, as a digital services company born from the network, with technologies such as Pack ID, can play a key role in defining a highly secure and interoperable smartphone badge application standard with all market players.
You are familiar with the SSCP protocol. How does it fit into your solutions?
Orange Business Services is familiar with the SSCP protocol and collaborates with STid to support Pack ID technology on Architect Blue readers. Currently, our Pack ID solution does not rely on the SSCP protocol. In the future, we will work with SPAC on potential developments related to the use of smartphone badges that could involve the SSCP protocol.
