Spencer Marshall, Head of Europe at HID gives SJUK an insight to his day.

What is your role at HID?

As the Head of the PACS Europe business area, my responsibility is overseeing the operation and performance of the region. My role has many facets, including strategic planning, team management, budgeting and financial management, market analysis and customer relationship management.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I’m an early riser, so most days I am at my desk by 7:30 a.m. Working for a global company, email never stops, so I always check my inbox to see if there are any items I need to prioritise. I try to drive best practices with my team and therefore like to touch base with all my team on 1-2-1 basis throughout my day. Now that travelling has become normalised once again, its also important for me to visit our partners and clients across Europe and meet with them in person. I always ensure I take time for lunch as its important to take some time out for yourself in the day.

How would you describe HID’s approach to product development?

We lead our product development with technology innovation and customer centricity in mind. As a security organisation, we must be ahead of the game when it comes to what threat actors can do. We have close relationships with our channel partners, technology partners and analyst firms, where we exchange information and gather intelligence for future product development. The HID Origo Technology Partner Program is crucial in enabling a mutually beneficial relationship, where we can idealise, design, test and market new solutions.

How does the UK’s adoption of access control solutions compare to the rest of the world?

Mobile access, with its blend of convenience and enhanced security, continues to gain more traction among organisations in the UK. In our 2024 State of Security and Identity Report, published annually by HID, customers state they are increasingly interested in using digital identities as student IDs, employee badges and other corporate credentials. The HID survey found that two-thirds of organisations (64%) reported some level of mobile ID deployment, with that number expected to increase to almost 80% within the next five years. Industry partners are optimistic in their outlook, stating that a whopping 94% of their customers will have deployed mobile IDs. In fact, numerous flagship properties through European capital cities like London, Warsaw, Prague and others have already successfully deployed it.

What are HID’s plans for the UK market in 2024?

Throughout 2023, we’ve had successful projects that have become a blueprint, so to speak, of what lies ahead in terms of innovation in the mobile access space. HID is proud to have collaborated with leading technology partners such as Smart Spaces and SwiftConnect to deploy connected access through Apple Wallet in trophy buildings like 22 Bishopsgate and British Land, respectively. Employees only need to activate their employee badge in their digital wallet and can then gain access to not just their workplace, but also to enabled corporate applications.

Employee badge integration with wallet apps simplifies access control to buildings and improves the user experience to new levels, and we see the momentum continuing throughout 2024.

Another important trend we’re seeing is indoor positioning to show who’s using facility spaces—where, when and how, along with the building’s operational efficiency.

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