Mytec strong this am on low volume, thought the thread would be interested in an article from Computing Canada, Apr. 2 issue.
Biometrics makes headway in channel
By Shane Schick
Biometric technology is set to make greater headway in the reseller channel this
year, but some vendors say it may take time before small and medium-sized
VARs get access to products.
Over the last year, biometrics — technology which uses unique physical
characteristics — has gained more attention in security-related markets as a tool
of choice in some applications. Relying on human traits instead of arbitrary
passwords, biometrics promises a safer, more reliable means of granting access
to data and sharing files. The technology was among the strongest themes at
last year's Comdex Fall 98 in November, where products from Key Tronic,
Biopassword and big-name vendors like Mitsubishi were launched or showcased.
The range of offerings have included devices or software which recognize
fingerprints, faces, keystroke patterns or the iris of a human eye.
With the technology in place, the stage is set for more action in the reseller
channel, but it may be too early for vendors to release their wares until they have
captured a significant customer base.
That's the current strategy for Toronto-based Mytec Technologies Inc., which
markets the Gateway fingerprint verification access reader. To date, Mytec has
signed at least one major agreement with Cansec Systems Ltd., a designer,
manufacturer and distributor in Mississauga, Ont.
"In the early stages, you really have to go and get those first pilot accounts, and
that's largely the stage we're in right now," sales the Chris Bishop, Mytec's
director of partner development, adding that Mytec has an in-house sales division
dedicated to luring customers in major banks, government and
tele-communications sectors. Mytec is currently looking for systems integrators
that have a security focus to their practice as well as distributor arrangements to
hit specific vertical markets. "There's probably only a handful in Canada who
focus in that area, but we're talking to them all, we believe."
Resellers who don't specialize in biometrics may gain better access to products
from vendor partners also entering the market for the first time.
Key Tronic Corp., for example, began enhancing its line of keyboards with
products like its Secure Finger Scanner solution about a year ago, and
Mississauga, Ont.-based Simple Technology has become the distribution source
to its base of resellers. Dan Reio, Simple Technology's director of marketing,
said both vendors and the channel were only just beginning to grasp what
biometrics was capable of achieving. Some of Key Tronic's first biometric
keyboards, he says, were a little ahead of their time. "That's why it didn't
necessarily go off like gangbusters, and it was very expensive at the time too,"
he says. "The technology has come in line much more in the last year and now
it's much more reasonably priced."
Channel opportunities may also grow as biometrics dovetails with other
technologies, like smart cards, which are still struggling to gain mainstream
market penetration. That's clearly the plan behind a partnership between
Ottawa-based Entrust Technologies to integrate its public-key infrastructure with
Schlumberger's smart cards and American Biometric Company's (ABC's)
BioMouse Plus smart card reader. So far, the only channel player to benefit from
the Entrust Alliance is Cable and Wireless Omnes, a systems integrator in
which Schlumberger owns a 50 per cent interest.
Smart cards, keyboard-based systems and fingerprint scanners may have more
immediate potential anyway, as some customers are still getting used to the
sometimes-intrusive forms that biometrics make take.
"We're just educating the market about this," said Jared Kennedy, director of
strategic development at Marlton, N.J.-based IriScan.
"Our first partnerships are a ways away." |
