5 Types of Office Building Access Control Systems: Which One Is the Best Fit?

Most unauthorized access incidents in office buildings happen after hours. And most of them don't involve someone breaking in from outside — they involve a door opened by the wrong person. A former employee whose card was never deactivated. A visitor who walked in unescorted. A contractor who drifted past their designated area.

Conventional locks don't leave a trace. No audit trail. No alarm. When something goes wrong, the investigation starts with nothing.

What Is an Access Control System?

An access control system is a security system that governs who can enter a given area, when, and through which point. It works by verifying a person's identity or credentials before a door, gate, or turnstile opens automatically.

Every system is built on four components:

Reader — the device that reads the credential (card, fingerprint, PIN, or phone).

Controller — the processing unit that validates the data and sends commands to the hardware.

Credentials — the proof of identity the user carries or possesses.

Door Hardware — the electromagnetic lock, electric strike, or turnstile that responds to the controller's command.

Conventional locks weren't built for modern office environments. They can't be deactivated remotely. They don't record who entered and when. They can't segment access by authorization level. One lost key puts the entire building at risk — and you'll never know when that key changed hands.

5 Types of Access Control for Office Buildings

Card-Based Access Control (RFID / Smart Card)

Users tap or wave a card near a reader. The card emits a unique radio frequency signal that the reader picks up and forwards to the controller for verification. This is the most widely used system in office buildings with large user populations.

What works well: lost or expired cards can be blocked in seconds from a central console; the system generates a complete audit trail of who entered where and when; per-user cost is reasonable at scale.

What to keep in mind: cards can be lost, shared, or cloned if encryption isn't strong enough. A card doesn't prove the person holding it is actually who it says they are.

PIN Keypad Access Control

Users type a numeric code to get in. The controller matches the input against a stored PIN database. This setup works for low-budget installations or locations with very small user groups.

What works well: no physical device to carry or replace; low upfront installation cost.

What to keep in mind: shoulder surfing is a real risk — someone watching you type is a surprisingly common problem. PINs get shared between employees, which makes the audit trail useless. For mid-to-large office buildings, PIN keypads alone are not a recommended security layer.

Biometric Access Control (Fingerprint & Face Recognition)

The system verifies identity through a user's physical characteristics. Fingerprint readers or facial recognition cameras compare captured biometric data against stored templates. This is the right choice for areas requiring strict identity verification: server rooms, executive floors, R&D facilities.

What works well: credentials can't be borrowed, lost, or cloned; nothing physical to manage or replace; touchless face recognition has gained considerable traction since 2020 for hygiene-conscious workplaces.

What to keep in mind: optical fingerprint readers can struggle with injured, wet, or dirty hands. Iris recognition offers higher accuracy than fingerprints but costs more. Face recognition needs adequate lighting and controlled environmental conditions to perform reliably.

Mobile / Smartphone-Based Access Control

A smartphone acts as the credential via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or NFC. An encrypted signal travels from an app on the phone to the reader, which the controller verifies. Co-working spaces, tech companies, and buildings looking to eliminate physical cards tend to go this route.

What works well: no cards to print or distribute; access rights can be managed remotely from anywhere; integrates cleanly with HR systems and visitor management platforms.

What to keep in mind: it depends entirely on the phone's battery. A dead phone means no entry. This requires a clear BYOD policy from the company, and security is only as strong as the device's own security practices.

Multi-Factor Access Control

Two or more verification methods are required before access is granted. A common pairing: RFID card plus fingerprint, or card plus PIN. This is built for high-security zones — server rooms, vaults, laboratories, operational control rooms.

What works well: even if one factor is compromised, the second layer holds; time-based rules are possible (after-hours access requires two factors); produces the most reliable audit trail because identity is verified at multiple points.

What to keep in mind: access takes longer, so the UX has to be thought through carefully to avoid slowing down operations. Implementation costs are higher. This is an investment that makes the most sense for genuinely high-risk areas.

4 Things That Actually Determine Which System You Need

Number of users and access points. A building with 200 employees and 15 access points has completely different requirements from an office with 20 people and 3 doors. A system that doesn't scale to your actual size becomes an operational liability, not a solution.

Security level per area. Not every zone in a building carries the same risk. The lobby is different from the server room. A meeting room is different from an asset storage area. Security zoning — mapping each area's risk level before specifying hardware — is the first step. At SECOM, this is part of every security risk assessment we run before installation.

Budget and total cost of ownership. The cost of an access control system isn't just the hardware. Factor in software licensing, maintenance, card replacement, and integration with your existing infrastructure. The cheapest option at purchase often becomes the most expensive over a three-to-five year horizon.

Integration with other systems. A standalone access control system offers limited value. Integrated with CCTV, HR systems, visitor management, and alarms, it becomes the intelligence center of your building's security. An after-hours access event, for example, can automatically trigger recording from the nearest camera and push a notification to the control center — without anyone manually watching the feed.

What Does Access Control Cost for an Office Building?

There's no single number that applies to every building. Cost depends on how many doors need to be controlled, which type of system you choose, the condition of existing cable infrastructure, and how complex the integration with other systems will be.

The approach we recommend: start with a brief security audit to map your access points, identify risk levels by area, and clarify integration requirements. Then discuss specifications and appropriate investment. This consultative process is how SECOM works on every project.

SECOM's Integrated Access Control Solution

SECOM doesn't sell access control as a standalone product. We build integrated security systems where access control works together with CCTV, alarm systems, visitor management, and trained Security Guard teams. This is what we call the Man-Machine approach.

In more than 30 years operating in Indonesia, we've secured office buildings, industrial zones, banking facilities, and critical infrastructure using the same standards SECOM Japan has applied since 1962.

If you're evaluating access control options for your building, our team is available for a no-cost security assessment.