The Secured Podcast

The Access Control Collective
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

Access Granted. Secured is the podcast for anyone in, or curious about, the physical security and access control industry. Each week, Lee Odess breaks down the business moves, technology shifts, and power dynamics reshaping how the world approaches security. This is where the industry's biggest questions get answered directly: what's actually driving the shift from hardware to software, why some companies are winning the platform transition while others get left behind, and what the data and the deals are really telling us about where this business is headed. Every episode covers what matters: the trends most people are missing, the strategies executives are actually using, and the decisions that will define the next chapter of this industry. If you lead a team, build a product, or make decisions in this space, Secured gives you the clarity to do it well.

  1. 3d ago

    Could Cheaper, More Open Access Control Hardware Help Make Schools Safer?

    What happens when the industry stops thinking about access control as a product category and starts thinking about it as a platform? This week on Secured, Lee Odess looks at dormakaba’s latest results and the end of its three-year transformation, Acre’s push toward a more unified platform, and what both say about where physical security is headed. He also digs into two community contributions that approach the same problem from different angles: AI authorization and access control as a cybersecurity battleground. And in My View, Lee takes on a question that generated some strong reactions: would lower upfront costs and more open, subscription-based access control actually help us build safer schools, hospitals, and public spaces? The industry has plenty of reasons why something won’t work. The question is whether that mindset is keeping us from building what comes next.

    Could Cheaper, More Open Access Control Hardware Help Make Schools Safer?

  2. Aug 28

    Flock and LPR as a Category Are Losing Right Now

    This week on Secured, Lee Odess gets into some of the biggest stories moving through the security industry right now, from dormakaba’s acquisition of Apollo Security and Azure Access Technology to Verkada’s latest move at Hard Rock Stadium.  He also looks at iLOQ’s continued growth, Ambient.ai’s move into AI agents, and the ongoing conversation around Flock, LPR, surveillance, and governance. And then there’s mobile credentials. The technology may be one of the best things to happen to access control, but the value it creates may not end up going to the companies everyone expects. A look at the deals, technology, and bigger industry shifts worth paying attention to this week.

    Flock and LPR as a Category Are Losing Right Now

  3. Aug 14

    Silicon Valley Is Coming For Your Lunch Money

    This week's Secured is a different one. I'm recording early — heading to Japan with my family, my kids picked it — and we're taking next week off. So instead of one big story, this episode is the sharpest things I read, heard, and talked about this week, plus my case for why independents matter more than ever. In this episode: Phil Kirschner (The Workline) joins me on the seam nobody wants to own — what happens when access control stops being a product category and starts being infrastructure, and why security and facilities barely talk to each other until something breaks. Full conversation is in the Secured Collective — free to join, just DM me. Patrick Berry (BluB0X) pushes the Security 5.0 / Intelligence Era framework further — the industry hit its fifth technology epoch in 10 years instead of the usual 15, introducing what BluB0X calls the Intelligence Harness. Acre CEO Kumar Sokka's 2026 State of the Verticals Benchmark Report (out now) tracks access control's shift from hardware decisions to identity-first, IT-led infrastructure across education, healthcare, and financial services. Genetec published a piece on why partners matter. I push it further: partners shouldn't just install systems, they should own outcomes the way enterprise software integrators do. The 2026 Verizon DBIR just confirmed credential systems running outside modern IAM are the industry's #1 identity governance problem. Enterprise software is moving in — Okta is backing Oloid, Y Combinator funded Creativ and OpenVector to bridge the physical and digital worlds. I'm skeptical of the "we discovered new land" pitch, but the APIs will open and the market will decide. If you don't think enterprise software is coming for your lunch money, good luck. My View: Why Independents Matter — the follow-up to my case for M&A. Independents are where real innovation happens, they keep the market honest, and they give customers optionality. Zach Klares called out the resource gap between the big three and everyone else — and PDQ's recent merger shows exactly how independents close that gap without losing their edge. Plus — ACS26 in Hamilton, New Zealand is set. Full agenda, speakers, and tickets at acs26.tacc.me. Theme: One Mainstream Moment — From Doors to Identity, Capital Shapes Strategy, Legacy Meets Reinvention, People Build Platforms. October 6–7. If you like the show, share it, leave a five-star review, and we'll catch you in two weeks.

    Silicon Valley Is Coming For Your Lunch Money

  4. Aug 7

    The Access Control Buyout Wave Isn't Killing This Industry. It's Saving It.

    PDQ Manufacturing acquires Command Access Technologies. ASSA ABLOY signs to buy Gunnebo Entrance Control. Splan becomes a launch partner in SailPoint's Unified Platform Access Program, announced at Black Hat with real commercial terms behind it. Honeywell completes its exit from Productivity Solutions and Services, closing out its pure-play automation pivot. And ADI Global Distribution goes public on the NYSE. Then Lee makes the case everyone's LinkedIn comments push back on: that this wave of M&A — ASSA ABLOY, Dormakaba, Allegion and the rest — isn't the industry's problem. It's the clearest signal yet that outside capital believes access control is becoming a real market, and that signal is worth more long-term than any single deal. In this episode: identity's new commercial structure at Black Hat, two hardware consolidations in one week, Honeywell's completed transformation, Brivo joining the Secure Building Council, ADI's IPO, three reads from The Secured Brief on institutional knowledge, mobile biometrics, and physical security's QA problem, an update on the Secured Collective's move off Slack, and Lee's full argument for why M&A compresses the clock on this industry's shift from hardware to software. Plus: ACS26 in Hamilton, New Zealand (October 6–7) — full agenda and speaker lineup now live at acs26.tacc.me.

    The Access Control Buyout Wave Isn't Killing This Industry. It's Saving It.

  5. Jul 31

    Allegion & ASSA ABLOY: Are They Even Playing the Same Game Anymore?

    This week: Allegion posts its strongest quarter on record, and Lee wonders if the company everyone compares it to is even its peer anymore. The theme: an industry still keeping score on yesterday's scorecard while the game moved somewhere else. In this episode: - Allegion's record Q2, and why the ASSA ABLOY comparison is getting useless -ASSA ABLOY buys Classic Brass, the bolt-on discipline that keeps working -The camera "box" is dying: steel lasts 10 years, the software ages like milk AMAG's new CTO, an outside-the-industry hire -Trusted identity and elections (Donna Chapman), and post-quantum encryption (Sal D'Agostino) - My View: the six-foot table nobody's leveraging, and Planck's Principle, science advances one funeral at a time ACS26: Hamilton, New Zealand, October 6-7. Full agenda at ACS26.tacc.me.

    Allegion & ASSA ABLOY: Are They Even Playing the Same Game Anymore?

  6. Jul 24

    SwiftConnect Just Bought 20 Years of Trust: Inside the HID SAFE Deal

    Everyone watched the World Cup. Almost nobody saw the security operation running underneath it — or the deal that just redrew the access control map. This week on Secured, the industry's platform era stops being a theory. SwiftConnect signs a definitive agreement to acquire HID's Workforce Business Unit — HID SAFE, Visitor Manager, EasyLobby, and HID Integration Services — with HID taking a minority stake and Björn Lidefelt's HID making its fourth divestiture in months. Then, the story nobody told: Secure Passage turned its Kansas City headquarters into the Joint Operations Center for the World Cup, with Haystax and Truman tracking hundreds of public safety personnel across dozens of agencies in real time. Plus: The Security Breakdown and the Access Control Executive Brief merge into The Secured Brief, the PhySec Collective becomes The Secured Collective (launching August 3, free for everyone), Tony Dong's breakdown of Napco's platform squeeze, Michael Stuer on why day one is the easy part — and My View on why the real TAM for access control is $70 billion, maybe $100 billion. A World Cup ran through one building in Kansas City. The thing holding it together was identity. New episodes weekly. Subscribe, share, and leave a five-star review. Tickets and full agenda for ACS26 New Zealand: acs26.tacc.me

    SwiftConnect Just Bought 20 Years of Trust: Inside the HID SAFE Deal

  7. Jul 16

    Access Control Hit CNBC — And VTS Made the Industry's Biggest Reversal

    This week, Lee breaks down why VTS — which covers over 60% of Class A office space in the US — walked away from building access control in-house to partner with SwiftConnect instead, and what that says about where real value lives in this industry. Then, access control data goes mainstream as Kastle Systems' Mark Ein appears on CNBC's Closing Bell to talk occupancy data across 3,500 buildings in 138 cities. Lee also flags a collaborative article on access control fragmentation, highlights two reads from the Security Breakdown on electric locks and alarm fatigue, and makes his case for naming the next era of the industry: Intelligent Access.

    Access Control Hit CNBC — And VTS Made the Industry's Biggest Reversal

  8. Jul 10

    How Extreme Climbers Made a Mainstream Security Story in Manhattan

    In this episode of "Secured," Lee Odess breaks down one of the most talked-about security stories of the week: the viral Empire State Building climb and engagement, dissecting not just the spectacle but the physical security questions it raises for one of the world’s most surveilled buildings. He also covers Dormakaba’s acquisition of the UK’s leading movable wall distributor, Style Group, and unpacks what the move means for the broader security market. The episode spotlights the latest Access Control Executive Brief, diving into iLOQ’s impressive 2025 numbers and what it reveals about the evolution of access control—highlighting a shift into the "intelligent access" era. Lee reviews the growing influence of AI, the role of cloud and mobile, and what these shifts mean for the industry's future. Tune in for industry news, market analysis, and details on the upcoming ACS 26 event in New Zealand.

    How Extreme Climbers Made a Mainstream Security Story in Manhattan
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Access Granted. Secured is the podcast for anyone in, or curious about, the physical security and access control industry. Each week, Lee Odess breaks down the business moves, technology shifts, and power dynamics reshaping how the world approaches security. This is where the industry's biggest questions get answered directly: what's actually driving the shift from hardware to software, why some companies are winning the platform transition while others get left behind, and what the data and the deals are really telling us about where this business is headed. Every episode covers what matters: the trends most people are missing, the strategies executives are actually using, and the decisions that will define the next chapter of this industry. If you lead a team, build a product, or make decisions in this space, Secured gives you the clarity to do it well.

Information

  • Creator
    The Access Control Collective
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Secured Podcast

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