In The Boardroom With...

Jonathan Moore
Vice President of Product Management
AMAG Technology

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: Thank you for joining us today, Jonathan.  Before we begin, please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role and AMAG Technology.

Jonathan Moore: I have worked in the security industry for over 15 years and am passionate about providing easy-to-use yet highly effective security solutions for end-users of all sizes. Currently, I am the Vice President of Product Management where I oversee the Product Management and the Sales Engineering teams, but historically my background is in sales engineering. Prior to working for AMAG, I was the Director of Technical Solutions, North America at Quantum Secure.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: Before we delve into the interview, can you please give us a short overview of AMAG Technology?

Jonathan Moore: AMAG Technology delivers a powerful, unified and open security platform that empowers businesses to effectively secure their facilities, transform their operations and meet compliance. The Symmetry Security Management system encompasses access control, video, identity management, analytics, mobile, intrusion, visitor management, command and control and incident management. Symmetry’s scalable, resilient and integrated security solutions provide operational insights and intelligence to improve business today and tomorrow.

AMAG is known for providing enterprise access control hardware and software. Over the last 5 years we have added a range of supporting products that integrate directly with the access control platform, providing a complete physical security solution, capable of managing all aspects of a well rounded security program.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: AMAG is a leader in the access control space, but has recently developed technologies that embrace analytics and mobile/touchless. Can you tell us about your newest solutions?

Jonathan Moore: The last several years have been exciting at AMAG. During the pandemic, we launched Symmetry Mobile, which is a web-based mobile credential management platform, designed to be used with AMAG’s Symmetry Blue Bluetooth readers. Symmetry Mobile is a convenient solution for organizations using mobile devices or in conjunction with physical credentials for users who are transitioning to a mobile system to gain access to secured doors.

Symmetry Mobile meets the growing market demand of organizations that are transitioning to using a mobile device to access a door. With distributed workforces and the new pandemic requirements organizations need to meet, credential management is easier and faster. Organizations are tired of managing credentials; they are costly, employees forget or lose them, and issuing and replacing them involves labor and employees physically picking up a card. With Symmetry Mobile, badges are issued automatically, removing the need to distribute a physical card or interact with the badging office. Plus, employees rarely forget their phones.

We also released our new analytics solution, Symmetry Business Intelligence. Using access control data, Symmetry Business Intelligence flags employees, contractors and other identities’ abnormal behavior. Access history and patterns are analyzed using a risk score which is displayed in a dashboard. Identifying potentially risky behavior allows earlier detection of potential threats. Security leaders can share the data with other departments, such as HR, and use it to possibly prevent security incidents. Symmetry Business Intelligence complements insider threat programs.

In addition, Symmetry Business Intelligence has been expanded to include Occupancy Analytics, for tracking building/floor/area occupancy, monitoring traffic volumes/patterns at different times of the day and identifying the most/least busy areas.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: The industry is getting excited about GSX in Orlando, Florida in September. Is AMAG attending and what will you be featuring?

Jonathan Moore: Yes, we will be there and are looking forward to it. In addition to Symmetry Mobile and Symmetry Business Intelligence mentioned earlier which will be making their first appearance at a major trade show, we have several updates to existing products that will make our customers happy.

You are hearing it here first, but we will be launching Symmetry Access Control v9.4 at GSX. This new version includes an improved integration with Symmetry CompleteView VMS. In this new version, data is transferred more easily so the user better understands an event that has occurred, and creates a more streamlined experience for the user. The VMS Virtual Matrix user interface has also been updated, making it even easier for users to save and manage their preferred camera views within Symmetry Access Control.

We just launched version 6 of Symmetry CompleteView Video Management System. The new release includes significant enhancements to the multi-streaming capability, a global server status dashboard, additional localization options, integration with Zenitel audio, and a variety of usability improvements.

Our identity management solution, Symmetry CONNECT continuously has new features and enhancements added to it monthly. AMAG Product Manager, Matt MacIntosh highlights the updates in a monthly blog to educate users about the latest and greatest additions and features. Symmetry CONNECT now supports other access control systems in addition to Symmetry Access Control. This allows large customers to streamline their on-and off-boarding and access request changes when using multiple systems.

We are excited to be back in person at this show in Orlando, Florida September 27-29 at the Orlando Convention Center and invite everyone to stop by booth 913.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: What is something you think the public doesn’t know or understand about AMAG and its Symmetry solutions?

Jonathan Moore: I would like to clarify that our Symmetry Security Management System is an open system. We have a completely open API and will share the API with any organization who would like to integrate with Symmetry. This is an important business differentiator for us. Working with large, enterprise customers, they often have multiple access control systems.. We’ve adopted PLAI standards and are proud to state that we’ve developed integrations with our competitors so our customers can have a one card system.