Biometrics Help Increase Security For Storage Facility

By Brent Dirks · August 2007

Security is always a selling point for the self-storage industry and customers who take advantage of having an extra place to store everything under the sun.

But at Storage King Tyseley in the United Kingdom, security is taking on a biometric look thanks to a V-Station fingerprint reader from Canadian-based Bioscrypt.

When a customer enters Storage King Tyseley's facilities in Birmingham, England, they must scan their finger to gain entry at the main gate. Once inside the facility, another layer of security comes into play when the user needs to enter a PIN code associated with the registered fingerprint template to gain access to other parts of the facility, including a specific storage space.

An alarm is triggered in the facilities’ reception area if a user enters a PIN code without scanning their finger at the gate. Users also must enter their PIN code to leave the site.

"The system gives us the 'wow' factor and is very impressive for customers looking to use the facility," said Gary Wheway, business development manager for Storage King Tyseley. "The extra security is a big selling point and makes people willing to pay a little more for the service. I have no doubt the technology will now be considered by the self-storage industry across the UK and Europe."

And while some believe a major factor against real-world usage of biometric technology is cost, officials from Storage King Tyseley have an easy comeback. The multi-factor authentication system will pay for itself under a year because of the extra customers won over by the improved security the biometric solution offers.


About the author

Brent Dirks
Brent Dirks is e-news editor for Security Products magazine.


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