New Hosted Access Provider: Feenics

There is a new entrant in the hosted access market, Feenics.

Not only are they aiming for the cloud, they are looking to expand into advanced monitoring.

In this note, we examine their offering, Keep, and compare it to other hosted offerings like Brivo.  

Company Overview

The company started at the end of 2013 and has 2 industry veterans, both with tenures at Lenel - Paul DiPeso [link no longer available] and Dave Charles [link no longer available]. The company is privately funded but they did not disclose funding amounts.

Platform Overview  

Keep consists of a local controller at the door that connects to their cloud service. The difference versus a traditional system is that no main panel or headend server is located onsite, and end users pay an ongoing service fee for access to the platform rather than purchasing a server upfront and maintaining themselves.  

Featurewise, Keep offers options typical to small-medium access platforms including multiple layers of access levels and scheduling, credential holder group management, customizable reporting, and badge design / printing.  

The screenshot below shows the basic layout of Keep's interface:

3rd Party Hardware Support  

One differentiator for Keep is supporting multiple 3rd party controller hardware. Keep claims to work with 

• HID: Edge and Vert-X
• Mercury Security: EP1501 & EP1502

Additionally, Feenics says they are developing support for Axis A1001 controllers.

By contrast, Brivo which works with HID Edge, does not work with Mercury hardware and others, such an AMT Webdrix, work with HID only.

Three Delivery Options

Keep is offered in three basic versions:

• Feenics Hosted: Feenics hosts the server in the cloud.
• Externally Hosted: The integrator or reseller uses their own hosted server.
• Internal LAN Hosting: The customer elects to host the platform within their own network, typically useful for system with many remote doors

The primary interface 'front end' is customizable so that any logos or domains can reflect the reseller or customer's identity.

Costs

Pricing is calculated based on which hosting option is selected and determined by the VAR, but Feenics expects an average of $8 - $10 per door per month to be typical.

Competitive Comparison vs Brivo

This pricing places it onpar with Brivo, the most well known competitor in the space. Core access control features are similar, with Keep offering 3rd party panel support, but Brivo offering their own integrated NVR compatible with Axis cameras [link no longer available]. Keep integrates with SmartVue's S9 NVR, but that is the only option available. Feenics says they are working on others.

More Than Access

Feenics intends to differentiate further by adding in management of video, intrusion and fire to enable their integrator / dealer customers to use their software for monitoring.