Simple, fast, and secure: Bosch modernizes access management for Singtel
Telecommunications enterprises fall into the category of critical infrastructure, and the security technologies they use therefore have to be state-of-the-art. Singapore’s telecommunications group, known as Singtel, has been relying on expertise from Bosch for decades. Recently it had the access control solutions for various buildings on the island modernized.
Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Asia Pacific, with over 770 million contract customers and more than 13,000 employees in Singapore alone. Founded in 1879, the enterprise now provides cellular communication services, operates a 5G network, and is active in the fields of cybersecurity and cloud hosting. It has been relying on Bosch’s broad expertise in the field of access management for more than two decades. Its most recent request was for the Bosch team to completely modernize all of its access control systems at more than 30 locations. In addition to some office buildings, they include more than 20 telephone exchanges that are central nodes of the network infrastructure. Arrayed across the entire island nation, they enable the transmission of steadily increasing data volumes. Security naturally plays an extremely important role. “The overall networked solution we implemented includes, besides card readers and the corresponding chip cards, scanners for vein matching and facial recognition as well as QR code readers for gaining access with a smartphone,” explains Cindy Oh, Sales Manager at Bosch Energy and Building Solutions Singapore. “All of the systems are integrated in a higher-level management system that enables centralized operation of access control solutions all over Singapore.”
“Our customer wanted to get the technology up to date while ensuring a highly flexible, versatile system”
Singtel now boasts a state-of-the-art access management solution for employees and visitors. The user interface is intuitive to use, and everything is automatically and seamlessly documented. Access rights can be centrally controlled so that only certain defined groups of individuals may access particular areas. “Our customer wanted to get the technology up to date while ensuring a highly flexible, versatile system,” says Cindy Oh. Facial recognition is a major plus, since it lets office building users avoid waits and delays in the morning and evening. Video cameras detect whether, for example, a visitor has already been registered and authenticated, and if so the barrier automatically opens to let them pass.
“One challenge we faced was that the customer wanted us to finish modernizing the access control system faster than originally planned,” says Project Manager Sebastian Lim. It paid off that team of Bosch Energy and Building Solutions Singapore has been serving this customer and its buildings for a long time. Communication is fast and practiced, plus the team has acquired extensive expertise and experience while working on similar projects for other customers. Another challenge these days is cybersecurity, adds Cindy Oh. “We work very closely with Singtel’s security team to make sure that our operating system is always compatible with their cybersecurity requirements.”
