2N to present flagship intercom, upgraded in response to consumer trends, at IFSEC London

2N, the global market pioneer in internet-enabled intercoms and access control systems, has added enhanced functionality to its flagship intercom, the 2N® IP Style, in response to emerging trends in the use of residential and office buildings.

Identified trends

The relevant trends, which have been identified by experts including McKinsey, CBRE, and PwC, are:

Residential buildings: the acceleration of e-commerce

McKinsey argues that, in the US, 10 years of e-commerce adoption was compressed into three months at the start of the pandemic. This was not, of course, just a US phenomenon, and it has led to more and more apartment buildings setting aside package rooms where deliveries can be left when residents are not at home.

Office buildings: companies operating less centralised working models

CBRE’s EMEA Occupier Survey 2021, published in August last year, concluded that “most companies, and nearly 80% of larger ones, are already leaning towards some form of mixed or hybrid working pattern”, with employees splitting their time between the office and home.

‘Hub and spoke’ model

Benefits of the ‘hub and spoke’ model includes a primary HQ, combined with satellite offices closer to where employees live

Furthermore, one hot topic in the office management world is the potential benefits of the ‘hub and spoke’ model for office portfolios, with a primary HQ (the hub), often in a city centre, combined with satellite offices closer to where employees live (spokes).

For example, 21% of UK businesses surveyed as part of Knight Frank’s ‘Re-occupancy and Re-imagined Workplace Survey’ said that they were considering how their employees could work closer to home, and a recent US Pulse Survey from PwC suggested that many American companies are also considering this approach.

Applications of QR code reader

To respond to these trends, the 2N® IP Style, which recently won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award, has added a QR code reader, making it easier to share access data with couriers and other visitors.

Residential buildings

In residential buildings, it allows a courier to be given one-off access to the main entrance and the package room – with, at the same time, a message being sent to the tenant letting them know that there is a parcel waiting.

Office buildings

QR code reader allows cleaner to only access those areas of the building that they have been asked to clean

In an office context, the move towards decentralisation and hybrid working is a shift away from the ‘traditional’ office model and will leave many companies unable to justify a member of staff permanently manning the reception area. The QR code reader in the 2N® IP Style helps companies manage this.

For example, it allows a cleaner who comes once a week to enter the building at an agreed time on that day, and only access those areas of the building that they have been asked to clean, or an employee based in the company headquarters to be given access to a satellite office for a single day.

2N® Access Commander

In all of the cases, access can be set up remotely, via 2N® Access Commander, with the details sent straight to people’s mobile phones.

Further new enhancements to the 2N® IP Style, which will respond to the same trends and which will be available shortly, include:

• A bidirectional video function: This will allow visitors to see the person they are talking to and vice versa.
• A camera adjustment function: This will further increase the angle range of the 2N® IP Style’s existing 5MPx camera, which already incorporates Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) technologies, thereby ensuring full image quality and identification of the visitor, even in darkness or uneven lighting conditions outside. 

Convenience and flexibility

Michael Nicholson, Business Development Manager for the UK & Ireland at 2N, said, “These trends particularly the rise of e-commerce were visible before COVID-19, but they have been super-charged by the pandemic.”

“Everywhere in the UK, the focus now is on convenience and flexibility, which this upgrade to the 2N® IP Style helps us to deliver. The fact that this intercom already sets the benchmark for technological and design excellence and supports WaveKey, the latest and fastest Bluetooth-enabled mobile access technology, is a huge advantage as well.”