Introduction: In a world where APIs are known for facilitating software integration, there is a new API, the Alutel Universal Interface, which also allows the integration with the RAGTAB, Alutel’s tablet PC capable of reading RFID credentials, including those of leading brands such as HID Global. 

Today, Application Programming Interface (API) is one of the most used terms in the software industry. Curious why? These connections or software intermediaries allow different software applications to communicate seamlessly. 

APIs are relevant for almost every organizational function using a software application. If your company is using software, then you can benefit from APIs. 

Two new areas of application for APIs are access control and visitor management. As corporations’ concern for controlling access to their premises (even remote locations such as mines, oil & gas facilities and ports) and reducing personal contact grows, the need for new integrations between corporate software applications and other specific software programs increases.

Alutel Universal Interface (AUI) is the new Application Programming Interface (API) developed by Alutel Mobility. AUI is one of those tools facilitating such connections, allowing the integration between any third-party software and the Alutel Mobility Suite (AMS). 

AMS is the software application enabling corporations with remote locations to fully control who’s accessing their premises and expedite visitor management in corporate buildings, among other features.

This article will tell you how AUI works and its benefits for corporations using the Alutel Mobility Suite.

What is an Application Programming Interface (API)?

An API is a software development that allows different developers to connect and exchange data. An API works as a messenger, delivering instructions from a software application to another software program owning certain information and the capacity to provide a response or execute an action.

There are many examples of API today. Maybe, the most common happens when you download an app on your smartphone that requires creating an account to use it. When you want to use it for the first time, it asks you to create an account or log in by using, let’s say, your Facebook profile. 

This is an excellent example for a more complex corporate environment: let’s think that you’re a security/operations director at a corporation using an application to control physical access but also operates in remote locations and needs to control employees’ access to those distant zones. 

In those job sites, you can’t install a conventional access control infrastructure. What do you do? You need a software application (Alutel Mobile, for example) to extend your access control to the remote area.

To connect your leading access control software with your mobile access control application, you have two options: a standalone integration, which does the job but with restricted data exchange, or use an API, which allows full data exchange (welcome to a new and more efficient era).  

Let’s focus now on how Alutel Universal Interface (new Alutel’s API) works and why it is a game-changer for Alutel Mobility’s users. 

Why is AUI Important?

Imagine that you are a security director controlling access to a remote location (mine, port, oil refinery, etc.) where a conventional access control system can’t be installed.

 to connect your access control software with a mobile access solution, because you need employees to enter a job site where you can’t install a conventional access control infrastructure.

To extend your access control capabilities to that distant place, you begin to use Alutel Mobile, included in the Alutel Mobility Suite (AMS). You want to fully connect your main software to Alutel Mobile, allowing total data exchange between both applications. 

As we said earlier, you could connect them with a limited integration custom-made by Alutel’s engineering team. It is limited because we’re just connecting Alutel Mobile to your software, but you can’t download information from Alutel Mobile for decision-making. Or you could use Alutel Universal Interface for a complete yet more efficient connection.

3 Key Benefits of Using Alutel Universal Interface

Let’s dive into some of the benefits provided by the new Alutel’s API.

1. Exchange of bidirectional information

Whether you use software for access control or Time & Attendance purposes, and you need to generate reports, you can improve your operations by using Alutel Universal Interface. Alutel’s API establishes the communication channels to exchange any information you need.

What do we mean by full data exchange? From your third-party software, you can perform actions in Alutel’s Mobility Suite, such as: 

• Enrollment of new visitors

• Management of mobile readers

• Assignment of access control cards to employees. 

• Removal of individuals from your database so when a non-authorized person tries to access one of your locations, the mobile reader (Alutel’s RAGTAB tablet computer) denies his entry.

But you can also pull information residing in Alutel’s Mobility Suite into your third-party software and execute tasks such as:

• Download information of the registered people, documents or mobile readers.

• Download the activity of the access events generated at each mobile access control reader, including valid/invalid events.

• Download alarms (mobile readers generate alarms for events such as charger disconnected, reception/loss of GPS signals and if a panic button is pressed, among others).

2. Go Beyond Access Control. Manage Visitors

Version 1.0 of Alutel’s Application Programming Interface offers integration with two of the Alutel Mobility Suite’s modules: Alutel Mobile (access control for remote locations) and EasyAccess (visitor management to reduce contact and expedite access). 

However, the plan for the future versions is to include integration with the other modules: Aludoc (document management), Mustering (emergency management) and Tikas (corporate cantina module for remote locations). 

3. Freedom of Choice

Aside from the first two benefits, an additional one adds value to your company and your systems integrator: freedom of choice. 

Why is this important? Let’s think that during this year, your company was using third-party software X, but after January of 2022, you are switching to another platform that offers more features. If your integration was custom-made, you can’t transfer that connection to the new software because that development made by Alutel’s engineering team is unique to the solution you were using before.

In that case, the Alutel Universal Interface enables you to switch your access control software, if you need to, with the certainty that Alutel’s Mobility Suite will work hurdle-free. AUI is a generic development based on the REST standard, the most common standard API building architecture, which gives you the ease of integration without needing to work on more complex, elaborate implementations.

Also, you don’t have anyone in your technical team to be an expert on the Alutel Mobility Suite, and any person familiar with integrations or communications in REST web services can enable the integration.

Closing

The goal of AUI is to provide a faster and more efficient connection between third-party software and the Alutel Mobility Suite.

Suppose you don’t have a technical team. In that case, Alutel’s engineering team can do the integration for you based on the new API to enjoy the benefits previously described: accurate exchange of information, more applications to exchange data with and freedom of choice, combined with a faster integration.

And, beyond faster integration, there is another benefit: lower development costs for your company while opening the possibility for future deeper integrations. 

Did we capture your attention? If so, or if there are questions, connect with us. We’d love to hear from you.