Video intercoms are an efficient two-way communication device used to improve access control systems and control visitors’ entry into any given space. ProdataKey, a leading provider of access control solutions, is excited to offer various methods through which to integrate video intercom systems in your desired spaces.
The Next Step in Improved Access Control: Video Intercom Systems
With the evolution of the access control industry as a whole, intercom systems have changed significantly over time, with video intercoms continually taking the place of traditional telephone-based intercom systems. Alongside the rapid evolution of security technologies, the significant rise of video intercom systems is often also attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kirk Booher, co-owner of OnGuard Security Solutions, explains that during and after the pandemic, people “didn’t want to interact with other people as much face to face. They wanted to keep their distance, so the video intercom certainly gave people that ability to keep their distance but still communicate.” To put it plainly: “the desire for less face-to-face communication has significantly prompted access control,” according to Kirk.
According to a recent report from Global Market Insights, in 2023 the video intercom systems market was valued at $23.52 billion, with the expectation to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13% between now and 2023. As video intercom systems increasingly find their place in countless access control systems, ProdataKey is excited to offer a variety of different options for integrating these essential devices. At the moment, there are three powerful video intercom systems compatible with PDK.io 2.0: MyDoorView, Geokey, and DoorVi.
MyDoorView: A High-Tech Video Intercom System
MyDoorView is a streaming video intercom system that offers a handful of products that can easily be integrated into your ProdataKey system. The newest product from MyDoorView is the VUE-7 – a video, audio multi-dialer IP intercom touch-panel station. The VUE-7 includes an interactive touch screen display, high quality audio noise cancellation, and an integrated IP camera that can be viewed in the app. With two-way voice and one-way video, residents of a building can easily see and speak to the visitor requesting entry, without being seen by the visitor. By using this panel, visitors don’t need to have any type of credential – whether it be a physical credential or mobile-based – to be granted access into a building.
As an affordable alternative to the VUE-7, MyDoorView also offers a QR code virtual telephone entry. With this solution, MyDoorView will provide the end user with a QR code plaque that can be easily installed at any point of entry. Visitors can scan the QR code and be automatically directed into a video call with the resident, without requiring the visitor to install the MyDoorView app. In Episode 55 of ProdataKey’s Big Access Podcast, the co-founder of MyDoorView, Jeff Santeramo, spoke about the benefits of integrating the QR code entry with a ProdataKey system:
“There's no hardware – that’s the beauty of it. By just point-and-clicking our portal, it’s going to trigger the relay on PDK equipment – so there’s nothing else to buy. The installation is very inexpensive.”
Jeff Santeramo
Additionally, the automatic synchronization between the ProdataKey and MyDoorView apps makes managing permissions and granting door access quick and easy.
Geokey: Hardware Agnostic Access Control
In March 2024, ProdataKey announced an exciting new strategic partnership with Geokey, a mobile-access solution dedicated to improving security in multi-family and student housing locations, as well as commercial spaces. Geokey specializes in hardware agnostic solutions, meaning that it’s easier than ever to integrate their technologies with an existing access control system such as ProdataKey.
Of the various security solutions they offer, Geokey provides an intuitive QR code-based video intercom system, allowing visitors to scan the code and be brought into a directory where they can select the intended building resident or employee to call. While in the call, users can easily grant visitors access from within the Geokey platform through the simple click of a button, automatically triggering the ProdataKey-secured doors to open. Installation of the sleek QR code plaque is quick, easy and affordable!
DoorVi: A Smart Doorbell Video Intercom System
A brand new integration with ProdataKey is the DoorVi-MulTi Smart Doorbell system – a QR-based video intercom solution. Kirk Booher of OnGuard, DoorVi’s main distributor to North America, explains that “when DoorVi works together with PDK, there’s no additional equipment necessary for the access control functionality.” The unique QR code generated for each point of entry can be easily and affordably installed – rather than a large plaque or a panel requiring complicated wiring, the DoorVi-provided QR code is a small sticker that can be placed anywhere near the desired door.
Once scanned, the QR code directs a visitor into a call through the DoorVi online platform. “The beautiful thing about DoorVi,” according to Kirk,
“is that you don’t have to divulge your cell phone number or your personal number, you can keep that private and just give people access to a directory.”
Kirk Booher
This ensures that it isn’t only your building that remains secure, but your personal information is safe too.
DoorVi’s QR-based video intercom solution is targeted primarily at multi-tenant spaces, co-working spaces, offices, and community gates. Through an integration with ProdataKey devices such as the Red High-Security Readers or the Red Pedestal, users of DoorVi can easily screen and grant access to approved visitors in all of these locations.
Integrating Video Intercom Systems with ProdataKey
Not only does ProdataKey offer a wide variety of integrations to ensure that end-users have the most optimized access control system for their specific needs, but PDK also makes the installation of these integrations easier than ever! It brings countless integrators joy to see that “PDK is building a platform to allow likeminded technologies to synchronize,” says Kirk Booher.
In addition to how simple it is to install your desired integrations, ProdataKey’s impeccable customer service ensures that installers will be able to overcome any unexpected roadblocks along the way. Eric Tuxhorn, an account manager at Mathias Lock & Key, a leading security provider in Colorado, praises the immediate and seamless communication from ProdataKey, explaining that
“it was so fast and so appreciated – my techs were frustrated and as soon as PDK got involved, it was easy.”
Eric Tuxhorn
For Eric and the rest of Mathias Lock & Key, “as a big company and one of largest buyers in the country of door lock hardware, we know what we’re talking about and we chose PDK because of who they are to us and how easy they are to work with.”
For more information on video intercom systems and all of the other integrations that ProdataKey has to offer, schedule a demo today!
