What’s driving digital access in 2025 and beyond? A new report and survey dig deep
The latest edition of the Wireless Access Control Report reveals a maturing market where digital and mobile solutions are becoming the norm. Alongside trends such as wireless adoption, sustainability, and cloud services, many adopters now target intelligent integrations and demonstrating ROI to cement the role of digital access in a new generation of smart, secure, efficient buildings.
Wireless access solutions are no longer outliers: adoption has climbed steadily – from 39% in 2023 to 42% in 2025, according to data from a survey for ASSA ABLOY’s 2025 report. These solutions are now integral to access management strategies and workflows. They provide the flexibility needed for managing sites as diverse as schools, hospitals and manufacturing plants or mixed-use buildings, multi-residential housing, and agile workspaces. Adopters cite reduced wiring, easier retrofits, and integration-readiness as just a few of their advantages. Wireless is also popular in mobile-first environments, making it easier to support touchless entry, remote management, and real-time control.
Why do organizations continue to digitalize their access management functions? Mechanical key technology has been around for a long time. It is a proven, reliable, familiar technology for securing homes and businesses. However, end-users and security professionals see significant rewards in access digitalization. The most important factor, according to ASSA ABLOY’s survey data, is convenience. When employees, contractors and temporary visitors can come-and-go with ease, operations for building and security managers are made more efficient, including cost-efficient.
Digital access provides a concrete ROI – something that may be turned into a competitive advantage. In particular, digital access can help to tackle the “hidden costs” of workflow inefficiencies. Programmable digital keys eliminate any need for costly rekeying when someone loses theirs, for example. Remote access management may reduce on-site headcount and overheads. Automated audit trails and access logs cut the cost of manual compliance checks.
Digital trends: mobile and biometrics
Mobile digital access is no longer a novelty. Increasingly, it is an expectation. Adoption has boomed, as widely forecasted. ASSA ABLOY’s broad range of digital access systems incorporates several mobile solutions, including the Openow™ mobile app (for SMARTair® wireless locks), CLIQ® and eCLIQ Connect for mobile workforces, and the new ABLOY® CUMULUS mobile key platform.
Fully mobile credential environments are now in operation at 17% of all survey respondents’ organizations – more than triple the rate of 2023. The benefits of mobile are increasingly recognized by organizations across almost every sector and include more streamlined access management, with fewer physical credentials in circulation and the instant deactivation of any lost mobile key. This provides adopters with security peace of mind. Operational agility is enhanced when rights updates and other management functions can be done over-the-air from anywhere. As in so many other walks of life, mobile also offers a more convenient user experience. Interestingly, the number of respondents who rule out mobile altogether continues to shrink from edition to edition of the ASSA ABLOY report: just 19% of survey respondents now reject the idea of going mobile, down from 31% in 2023.
“Many early adopters have already transitioned: mobile digital access is for the now, not just something for the future,” says Richard Sharp, VP & Head of Product Unit Wireless Locks, DAS at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA. “Where our 2023 report captured strong momentum towards mobile access, the 2025 edition finds increasing market maturity. As so many organizations modernize their security infrastructure, digital access systems are becoming standard, with a clear shift to mobile credentials.”
Biometric access is also emerging as a serious, scalable option in physical security, not just for sensitive facilities, but increasingly for general commercial settings, especially with the launch of powerful solutions like the iDFace reader from Control iD at accessible price-points. Survey data showed that a vast majority of professionals (91%) view biometrics as a useful access and authentication technology, with more than half of respondents (58%) already deploying it to some extent. With no risk from lost credentials and a frictionless user experience, biometrics enable streamlined, secure access for staff, visitors and contractors.
Regulatory themes: sustainability and cyber/physical security performance
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), buildings consume approximately 30% of global energy**. The 2025 ASSA ABLOY report confirms suggestions that, increasingly, end-users and security professionals are identifying concrete ways in which digital access can help to reduce unnecessary energy use. For many security managers, sustainability has gone beyond just a consideration: for 27% of survey respondents, it is the top factor when considering investments to enhance access management reach or capability.
“For many organizations, across multiple sectors, sustainability is moving from a supporting role to a strategic driver,” says Richard Sharp. “Wireless systems, which reduce the need for cabling and complex infrastructure, are often seen as a ‘greener’ alternative. Battery-powered and energy harvesting devices like ABLOY PULSE generally consume much less energy than equivalent wired locks. We also see fast-growing demand for green building solutions and documentation, such as Environmental Performance Declarations (EPDs) which count towards several green certification schemes we support, including BREEAM, LEED, WELL and others.”
As ESG pressure and regulatory scope both grow, security procurement teams demand more transparency. The most authoritative way to gauge the environmental impact of a product over its life-cycle is with an EPD. An EPD offers a detailed map of its footprint from raw material, through manufacturing, logistics and impact during use, to end-of-life recycling. Thus, product-specific EPDs help architects, specifiers, contractors, developers, green building scheme assessors and housing providers to make accurate forecasts about both embodied carbon and finished building performance.
From 2026, construction products in Europe will integrate the results from an EPD as part of the CE Marking process – and therefore, essential to sell a product or solution to the European market. Full implementation of the revised European Performance of Buildings Directive, from 2027, will enforce disclosure of carbon footprint of products via EPDs in the residential sector, too. From 2030, the same regulation requires all new-builds to declare total whole-life carbon, including embodied carbon. This mandate will most likely expand to apply to renovations from 2030 onwards.
Another fast-evolving regulatory picture concerns cyber and hybrid physical/cyber security performance. This is a major focus for those upgrading or updating an existing digital access solution. “With NIS2 coming into force and obligations under the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act fast approaching, this remains an area where customers and manufacturers must continue close cooperation,” says Richard Sharp. The vast majority of 2025 survey respondents (84%) felt their organization was either already compliant, or in the process of ensuring compliance, or that these regulations were not relevant to their situation.
In providing commentary for the report, cyber-security governance expert Andy Watkin-Child of Veritas GRC noted: “Cyber security is quickly becoming a regulated risk for companies, either directly or indirectly, requiring boards to address cyber-security risk management or risk civil and/or criminal penalties.”
Cyber attacks must be viewed as a constantly moving target, and the recent mainstreaming of artificial intelligence (AI) only adds further to the mix. According to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, “Artificial intelligence (AI) will almost certainly increase the volume and heighten the impact of cyber-attacks over the next two years”.*** An organization’s digital access solution must be ready for what’s ahead.
For more insights and data from the 2025 Wireless Access Control Report, download it for free at www.assaabloy.com/group/emeia/campaigns/wac-report-2025
*: technavio.com/report/biometric-access-control-systems-market-industry-analysis