A new series of free interactive webinars is launched this month by 2N – global market leader in internet-enabled intercoms and access control systems. 2N On Air aims to help owners of residential and commercial property, architects, designers, security firms and building managers to identify and apply touchless technology which protects buildings and their occupants.
The webinar series, beginning on 11 June, will profile the latest products for door controls in residential and commercial property. It will also include interactive question and answer sessions for those seeking to understand how to address the needs of their proposed or existing buildings.
Coronavirus has already presented many challenges to business. Lockdown in the UK and many European countries has imposed fundamental short-term changes on business as well as individuals.
Some companies have suffered dramatic drops in demand, with many employees furloughed with many factories, offices and shops empty or with skeleton staffing. Other businesses have been able to adapt in the face of continuing or even increased demand. Production lines have been redesigned to meet new hygiene and distancing regulations. Business processes have had to be adapted rapidly to remote working. Retailers and B2B suppliers have pivoted to an online model, resulting in extraordinary pressures on the infrastructure and capacity of distribution and delivery companies.
There have been some clear winners; Joe Wicks, Ocado, Zoom, DHL and the makers of home-baking products, for example. All will hope to carry their lockdown successes forward.
Which businesses are best equipped to emerge from lockdown into the new socially distanced normal, by adapting to new public attitudes? For premises, 2N have products to help make them fit for 2020 and beyond.
CEO Michal Kratochvíl explained 2N’s motivation for the 2N On Air initiative. He said:
“After this great upheaval in our lives, our attitudes towards hygiene and security may have changed. More than before, we may want to avoid touching surfaces such as keypads which we are not sure are clean. We may want to avoid unnecessary face-to-face meetings with strangers, especially at our own front door.
“In the workplace, there may be greater spacing between employees, including receptionists and security staff who may feel nervous about direct exposure to employees and visitors as they enter and exit buildings. Apartment buildings equipped with intercom or mobile-enabled access control systems offer reassuring security without exposing residents, guests and tradespeople to unwanted face-to-face exposure or unhygienic keypads.
“The 2N On Air series offers seminars on the leading products in the market – offering resilient security while maintaining social distancing and good hygiene – and advice to those who are considering whether and how they might future proof their buildings. Commercial property managers can integrate Internet Protocol intercoms and remote door-controls with other software such as employee time recording systems.
“Effective high quality video and mobile-enabled door access controls are already recognised as a competitive advantage for forward thinking building designers and operators. In the new post-coronavirus environment, the resulting wellbeing of building occupants has an even greater value.”
2N itself saw no let-up in demand for its products and its expertise during the lockdown. The advantages of touchless entry controls, remote control of visitor access and socially distanced video intercoms are all the more apparent when so much focus is on hygiene. Its production hub, near Czech capital Prague, continued to operate throughout the period, thanks to highly automated production and assembly lines and a mixture of social distancing protocols and home working. Indeed, one of central Europe’s largest hospitals invited 2N to advise on a tailored door control system to flexibly manage access to Covid-quarantined parts of the estate.
Register for the 2N On Air free webinars. Each webinar is just 60 minutes: https://www.2n.cz/en_GB/on-air
The 2N story
The beauty of innovation is that it doesn’t always come from where you expect.
In 2008, the world’s first Internet Protocol (IP) intercom was launched. It was the Helios IP Vario and it was produced by 2N, then a relatively small Czech firm which had made its name by developing cutting-edge telecommunications solutions.
The 2N Helios IP Vario transformed the whole industry. Overnight, intercoms became more than just security products. Suddenly, in multiple different ways, they could also increase comfort and convenience for residents and property managers alike – which generated demand for smarter and smarter intercom systems.
This opened a door for 2N – which they charged through. Within eight short years, 2N became number one on the global IP intercoms market. Today, there are 2N teams in eight locations across four continents and an extensive distribution network throughout the rest of the world. 2N’s offer has expanded to cover the full range of solutions in the field of security, access control systems for buildings and communication within buildings.
That kind of sustained success has come through a relentless commitment to two things above all else: innovation and design.
On innovation, 13% of 2N revenues are reinvested in R&D, which directly benefits customers. Since 2016 2N has been part of Axis Group, the number one company in the network video market. This partnership helped in developing the world’s first LTE Intercom – 2N® LTE Verso – in 2018 and in launched new answering units in 2019. 2N products are now Bluetooth-, smartphone- and tablet-enabled, allowing customers to open doors through the 2N® Mobile Key installed on their mobile device. Other smart features and analytics enhance security, while open protocols allow the integration of 2N’s products with approved third-party systems. A cloud-based platform also offers the administration and configuration of all 2N devices remotely, securely, and in real time. Like its customers, 2N takes design just as seriously as innovation – and has the Red Dot and iF Design Awards to prove it. 2N, now very proudly an established global leader, is still innovating.
