The smartphone has become the de-facto device used for interaction with almost everything. From ePayment, virtual transportation and concert tickets, customer loyalty cards, office, residence, and hotel room entry, etc., the smartphone is truly the most important and versatile accessory that you carry in your pocket.
Yet many service providers don’t capitalize on the convenience, flexibility and universal adoption of smartphones that could give their business a huge boost. In many cases such as ATMs, printers, parking garages and electronic doors etc. we are still using smartcards. Although smartcards have advantages such as no battery requirement, it is only a matter of time before smartphones replace or at least operate in parallel with smartcards for virtually all consumer as well as professional services.
Interaction based on smartphones also opens a whole new realm of service customization. A smartphone enables direct communication with the service provider, for example a hotel’s portal can push customer loyalty offerings such as restaurant discounts directly to the smartphones of guests. PIN, 2FA, fingerprint and facial recognition are also provided, security features smartcards do not natively support.
So, what’s the problem?
Indeed, the migration to smartphone-based services is in full-swing. One of the main disadvantages of smartphone-based services, however, is that the service provider needs to maintain a highly reliable cloud backend to host and deliver mobile credentials and service end-user requests 24/7. For large companies such as hotel chains, no problem, but for small and medium-sized providers, maintaining a highly reliable, encrypted, round-the-clock cloud credentialing service including extra IT support is a barrier to entry.
Enter “Credentials as a Service”
This is where outsourcing a credentialing service for mobile services makes sense. A service provider needs only to upload pre-configured credentials in advance to the service, then designate an administrator or automated webservice to deliver a corresponding code via QR code or deep link to authorized end-users, for example users who have purchased access to the service. Credentials are then provided anywhere, anytime and on-demand by LEGIC Connect Go.
Issuing mobile credentials has never been easier
LEGIC Connect Go enables businesses to quickly launch new mobile services. The software service gives users self-service, permissioned access to business applications such as rental scooters, storage lockers, virtual keys for residential access or for shared vehicles using their smartphones. Developers can easily interface with the service via the Mobile SDK provided by LEGIC.
The high-reliability service delivers mobile credentials without the need to know who end-users are in advance – allowing them to serve themselves by requesting credentials anytime, anywhere and on-demand.
LEGIC Connect Go enables mobile services to be easily managed by simple software running on a laptop. This reduces time-to-market, allowing you to focus on your customer-facing mobile app and your market launch. Compatible with popular smartphones, LEGIC Connect Go credentials can be implemented to support contactless access control via NFC and Bluetooth.
Perfect extension for smartcard solutions
The workflows and setup of the service follow existing processes and value chains of the smartcard world, allowing service providers to keep all processes intact. It extends smartcard-based solutions into the mobile world with an interactive user interface plus additional smartphone-supported features such as PIN and facial recognition. End-to-end encryption protects credentials while at rest and in-transit.
If required, all solutions can be enhanced with additional features by migrating to the highly versatile, full-featured service LEGIC Connect. Get started in the mobile world today with your service by simply adding LEGIC Connect Go.
For more details, visit www.legic.com/go, download the LEGIC Connect Go brochure, or email LEGIC at info@legic.com
