Telaeris and LenelS2: Decades of Extending Access Control Beyond the Door

Telaeris’ long-standing partnership with LenelS2 has resulted in a robust integration that addresses real-world security challenges. Telaeris’ XPressEntry supports safety and security professionals by extending the OnGuard access control system to areas where doors don’t exist.

Humble Beginnings

For over two decades, Telaeris has helped customers extend their OnGuard access control systems beyond fixed readers to anywhere in their facilities. Telaeris’ flagship product, XPressEntry, has been primarily shaped by these customer requests, with many of XPressEntry’s new features first implemented and tested with the OnGuard integration. This progress was driven by a shared commitment to enhancing security, extensive enterprise deployments, and technical resources available through the OpenAccess Alliance Program (OAAP).

Before Telaeris was embedded in access control, the company focused on RFID solutions. Telaeris’ first interaction with LenelS2 was in 2006 for a well-known oil & gas company. They were looking to validate identities from a remote parking lot, which Telaeris provided by installing an access panel, RFID reader, batteries, and network connectivity into a Rubbermaid push cart. This was the first “mobile access control system” which looked just like a regular panel to OnGuard (read more about this in the original blog).

This project was deployed using LenelS2’s legacy DataConduIT, before the OnGuard OpenAccess API was established. As OnGuard evolved, Telaeris and XPressEntry grew alongside it. The original customer was so pleased with the initial solution that they requested additional developments, which required a more advanced software integration.

Those early days proved that customers face physical security problems that traditional access control systems and fixed readers can’t solve on their own. And this notion holds true more than 20 years later. XPressEntry was built to fill those gaps for customers, and these early developments helped lay the groundwork for what XPressEntry is today.

XPressEntry: A Mobile Extension of LenelS2 OnGuard

OnGuard is known for its extensive device support through the Open Access Alliance Program (OAAP). OnGuard’s API enables direct, bidirectional communication between XPressEntry (XPE) readers and a facility’s existing OnGuard database. This enables security personnel to view cardholder information directly on the handheld device’s screen, unlike other solutions that only show a green or red light to indicate access permissions. The integration also supports useful features unique to the OnGuard system, such as a device panic button.

Enterprise-Ready Use Cases for OnGuard Systems

XPressEntry works as a mobile extension of the access control system, supporting the following use cases:

1. Badge validation
2. Occupancy tracking
3. Emergency mustering
4. Entry/exit tracking
5. Event attendance

Expanding on these core capabilities, XPressEntry readers are used for various scenarios including:

• Shuttle Busing – Telaeris’ largest customer in North America uses XPressEntry handhelds integrated with OnGuard to verify workers shuttling into secure entertainment parks.
• Canteen Management – A massive mining company with global sites leverages mobile readers and its OnGuard system to manage “drink tickets” at the site bar.
• Vehicle Entry Tracking – First built for a hospital that wanted to verify multiple users entering the facility in one vehicle.
• Muster Mapping – Feature enabled for a Windows tablet for an oil and gas company that wanted to visualize emergency headcounts in the field.
• Fingerprint Scanning – First built leveraging PIV cards for a US government system.
• Visitor Management – An early integration feature first developed for a major oil & gas company. Using the handheld to capture photos of drivers and their licenses, security guards could enroll them as users and sync them back to OnGuard for secure visitor tracking.

XPressEntry + LenelS2 OnGuard Integration Features 

• Authenticate based on OnGuard Reader Access Level: Enables badge verification, occupancy tracking, and more.
• Biometrics: Verify identities with Onguard Fingerprint Templates or with Facial Recognition via cardholder photos
• Support for Custom User Defined Field (UDF) and Badge Defined Fields (BDF)
• Live Device Status in OnGuard (Device Translator): Shows whether handheld devices are on or offline
• Panic alarm on device: Configurable button on the device silently sends a Panic Alarm event to OnGuard’s Alarm Monitoring client
• Logical Device: Track which guard/user is operating a device for clearer accountability
• Segmentation: Partition data for different sites in a single system, ideal for enterprise or multi-site environments.

While many of the features available today were first engineered specifically for OnGuard deployments, XPressEntry integrates with a plethora of systems. It’s a flexible product with a wide range of applications, and none of the lists in this blog are exhaustive. Customers often approach Telaeris with seemingly unique security challenges that can typically be solved with XPressEntry. On the other hand, customers may have a single need in mind, but end up finding other uses for handheld devices around their facility. 

That isn’t to say that these solutions came simply. They require coordination, testing, validation, and a fair amount of creative engineering. The Telaeris team has invested deeply over the years in understanding different access control system architectures to make XPressEntry work seamlessly with them, so that when a customer needs something unconventional, Telaeris can deliver.

Innovations Ahead

The Telaeris team is especially excited about the upcoming integration with Elements, LenelS2’s cloud-based access control system. As organizations move toward cloud infrastructure, XPressEntry will support the same mobile capabilities for cloud-native deployments.

Telaeris’ mission is to deliver reliable, tightly integrated solutions that help our customers better protect their people. Contact us to learn how XPressEntry extends existing OnGuard systems with mobile badge and biometric readers.