Gareth O’Hara, Chief Sales Officer at Paxton, speaks to Security on Screen about what the company offers to the security industry, what the current trends are and how customers are better off with Paxton Rewards

How would you describe what Paxton offer the industry?

At Paxton, we design and manufacture access control, video management, and door entry solutions for a range of commercial, residential, and public buildings. Our products are designed to be simple to use and all come with a five-year guarantee as standard, ensuring our customers get the best experience.

Net2 is our flagship PC-based access control system that offers centralised administration, whilst Paxton10 is a web-based access control and video management platform. Our other products include Entry, video door entry system, and smart wireless door handles called PaxLock. 

We are huge believers in education. For installers to fully understand the potential of Paxton products and learn how our products can help grow their businesses, we offer free training in-person, virtually, and on-demand. Our training focuses on hands-on product experience where we develop installers’ knowledge and understanding of a specific system by looking at the equipment and features in depth.

In addition to free installer training, we have an award-winning Support team helping customers around the world solve technical issues. Our Support team is available six days a week, from 7am to 7pm on Mondays to Fridays and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays. This extended service allows our customers to reach us at their most convenient time around their installations.

As an industry leader, what trends are you seeing in the market now?

The mass adoption of app-based technology is enhancing the value and necessity of access control systems as part of building security and management solutions. From an access control perspective, apps can identify a person and their access privileges, granting permission and restrictions to the person through smart credentials like their phone or watch.

Efficient access control management

Smart credentials can replace traditional cards and key fobs, so users can choose not to carry additional items to navigate their premises. They are efficient and can be cost-effective as system administrators can issue the credentials to users at the touch of a button.

Another feature that is enabled by app technology is remote-site management with smart devices. This can potentially reduce the need to travel to sites, saving time and money. Features including granting or revoking access, or the ability to lockdown a site remotely is useful for system administrators who are not based on the site, allowing them to quickly respond in case of an emergency.

We offer the Paxton Key app with Paxton10, allowing system users to make use of their smartphone or smartwatch as credentials to gain access through any Paxton10 door. They are completely free and are available for iOS and Android platforms.

Saving energy with access control systems

The other trend we see is the integration of appliances and automation. This is topical given the current challenges of rising energy prices, being able to manage appliances automatically by utilising access control function is now seen as a more valuable feature.

Our two access control solutions, Net2 and Paxton10, offer features that integrate with appliances and provide automated functionality. Triggers and Actions are a series of rules that enable site activities and help control users’ accessibility. By setting up a trigger, appliances can be controlled by the access control systems to ensure that they are not left on when a room or building is unoccupied.

Paxton10 adds another dimension by allowing site managers to set up constraints. For example, if the rule is set to automatically turn on the air conditioning when a person enters the office, the constraint may be in place to ensure windows are closed before doing so.

You launched Paxton Rewards in February this year, can you tell us more about it and why you offered the loyalty programme?

We recently upgraded our rewards programme, bringing even more benefits to our loyal customer base, to help them develop new business. Installers are able to exchange points for our products or get useful branded items and Amazon vouchers via the Paxton Rewards store.

Installers can scan Paxton products, attend training sessions or complete other activities, such as submitting a case study, to earn points.

We are keen to work closely with our installers and not only reward them with a programme for the products they buy, but also help them to develop new business by leveraging the Paxton brand themselves.

Can you give us a preview of what else is new from Paxton this year?

We exhibited at The Security Event in April for the first time. At the show we showcased the Paxton Entry app, which will be available later this year. The app allows system users to receive notifications and answer calls on their phones in addition to, or as a replacement for a fixed monitor. The Entry app has been eagerly anticipated by our customers, so we believe the app will be well-received.

We will also continue to introduce new features to Paxton10, further enhancing our products and services.

In addition to developing product offering, we are investing in infrastructure for the future. The Paxton Electronics Centre is due to open this summer in our Brighton headquarters. The facility is dedicated to our manufacturing functions and will help further streamline our production lines.

On the other hand, US is a fast-growing market that we have been developing brand reputation in. To accommodate the growth, we are building a new US headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina.

We are always researching and investing into our products and facilities, preparing for future growth. A big thank you to customers who have been supporting us. We look forward to working with them in the years ahead.