Biometrics Technology

It’s not been so long that the biometric identification was considered only for large-scale projects. But with the introduction of Biometrics-as-a-Service, now small and medium businesses can also utilize the benefits of biometric authentication. Here are a few more advantages, because of which small and medium enterprises are interested in availing themselves of Biometrics-as-a-Service: 1. Instant Deployment: Biometrics-as-a-Service can be deployed rapidly, as all you need to do is just connect through a Web API to perform 1: N authentication. It’s a matter of only a few hours to integrate and reduces unnecessary hassles and the expense of developing a whole biometric system. 2. IT Infrastructure & Maintenance: On-premises biometric systems require specialized IT infrastructures, like servers and networking. This infrastructure is not only expensive but maintenance is also troublesome. Biometrics-as-a-Service doesn’t require any specialized IT infrastructure or ...

The negative effects of employee time theft on a company are well documented. Time theft not only drains profits but it can also lower employee morale, stifle accountability and damage loyalty. Despite these facts, employees who are overly productive at work may feel that they are entitled to occasionally sneak a couple of extra minutes here and there on breaks or during working hours because they more than make up for it through high productivity. Their philosophy about time theft is rooted in the misconception that performance above and beyond standard job responsibilities and exceeding established expectations is somehow entitlement to steal time. Not only is this a fallacy and a ridiculous justification of time theft, but what these employees may not realize is the ripple effect that this type of rationalization can have on other staff through the power of influence. Overly productive employees tend to be role models within a working environment by setting a good example...

Perhaps foreshadowing a future shift for micro-credit banks across the globe to start using biometrics for customer identification, we distributed a News Release today announcing that ASMAB, a micro-credit bank in the country of Benin, has started to use fingerprint biometric banking technology for customer identification. The genesis for ASMAB’s decision to start using fingerprint biometrics was the widespread fraud and corruption that plagued their business, specifically customers falsifying their identities. These problems were undermining customer confidence in their process so ASMAB (with help from HPC Informatique, a technology solutions provider) decided to incorporate fingerprint biometrics to identify customers, eliminating fraud and corruption in their system and helping to secure consumer confidence. Read more…

A high-performing workforce management system, like Kronos, facilitates enterprises to forecast, schedule, and manage the time & attendance, absenteeism, labor activities, analytics, and collect employee’s data. Depending on the organization’s type and purpose, Kronos offers different workforce management suites like Workforce Central, Workforce Dimension Suite, and Workforce Ready Suite. The core objective of all of these solutions is to ensure maximum productivity by leveraging employee accountability, controlling labor costs, and increasing efficiency. But when it comes to time theft, it can cause some major issues and hamper the data’s accuracy and the effectiveness of the Kronos workforce management suites. Time Theft and its Impact on Business Time theft occurs when an employee is paid for the time they have not actually worked, or for the time they were not actually at work at all. Sometimes they will use friends and colleagues to help punch in his or her office...

In biometrics, iris and retinal scanning are known as “ocular-based” identification technologies, meaning they rely on unique physiological characteristics of the eye to identify an individual. Even though they both share part of the eye for identification purposes, these biometric modalities are quite different in how they work. Let’s take a closer look at both and then explain the similarities and differences in detail: Retinal Scanning:  The human retina is a thin tissue composed of neural cells that are located in the posterior portion of the eye. Because of the complex structure of the capillaries that supply the retina with blood, each person’s retina is unique. The network of blood vessels in the retina is so complex that even identical twins do not share a similar pattern. Although retinal patterns may be altered in cases of diabetes, glaucoma or retinal degenerative disorders, the retina typically remains unchanged from birth until death. (Source: Wikipedia) ...

According to a recent report by FactMR, the biometric middleware solution market is likely to see more demand in the coming years. This kind of solution facilitates enterprises to rapidly deploy biometrics solutions without any development hassles within a very affordable budget and the demand is rising dramatically. What is Biometric Middleware? Biometric middleware is a ready software solution that facilitates biometric identification (1:N) or authentication (1:1) functions for desktop or web applications with the help of a biometric scanner and a biometric matching engine. When using biometric middleware, it’s just a matter of hours to deploy a full-fledged biometric system. Some middleware solutions, like Hybrid Biometric Platform by M2SYS, even comes with support for multiple biometric modalities like the fingerprint, finger vein, iris, and facial recognition. Market Scenario Research conducted by Fact.MR disclosed their report on the market size of biometric middlewa...

An article published today in the University of Vermont’s campus newspaper The Vermont Cynic reported that the campus recreation center has adopted M2SYS finger vein technology for student member identification. Tim Lewis, associate director for campus recreation made the decision to use finger vein biometrics for member identification after brainstorming ideas on how to eliminate students carrying ID cards. Happy to see our finger vein biometric identification system used at the University of Vermont through a partnership we have with Vermont Systems, a recreation and parks software provider based in Essex Junction, VT. Modern-day membership management software is designed to help create efficiencies that antiquated methods simply can’t provide. In an effort to eliminate ID cards, prevent identity fraud, and create a more convenient user experience, many membership management facilities are evaluating vascular biometrics (finger vein) for identification because of the distinct ...

As biometric identification management deployments continue to evolve around the world, the scope and complexity of administering these projects continue to grow as program administrators begin to expand the technology’s reach to more and more segments of society. A technology once used exclusively by government entities mostly in a military capacity has expanded to include virtually all classes and cultures thanks in large part to advances in system inefficiencies, lower costs and wider acceptance and understanding of the benefits by the public. The intricacies and conditions of biometric identification deployments from initial set up to enrollment to identification/verification and the ever-present push to achieve near 100% identification accuracy has been a key motivator for biometric identification management vendors who design and build the software and hardware that power deployments. There is little doubt that biometric systems have become more user-friendly, customizable...

Several years ago, if you questioned most identity management professionals whether they imagined the use of biometrics for individual identification management would turn out to become mainstream for authentication security, a majority would have said that the technology could be used in some areas, but only few could have forecasted the tremendous scale and scope of some larger deployments developing all over the world. The reason behind adopting biometric technology is because traditional authentication tactics like the once thought to be ubiquitous password/username are insufficient for personal identity simply because they can only provide evidence of ownership or proof of knowledge whereas biometrics provides unique advantages as it relies on identifying someone by “who they are” compared to “what you know “or “what you have.” For those who have adopted or are considering adopting biometrics for identification, the most recent pre-deployment question due in part to the...

Driving the Development of a Culture through Biometrics In recent times, more and more companies belonging to a variety of different backgrounds, industries, and niches, are adopting biometrics as a means to optimizing their customer service and allow individuals to tap into the amazingly convenient and trustworthy world of biological identification mechanisms. However, it is not as simple as simply putting up a fingerprint scanner upfront. There are a number of factors that must be taken into account in order to ensure that your service is achieving the goals you have set for it and is actually proving to be beneficial for you and your mission in the long run. At the end of the day, the goal of any employer or organization employing the use of biometric technology in their operating sphere is to build a culture an environment based on trust, accountability, and security. For that purpose, it is important to ensure that all of the below mentioned key elements are being fulf...

Patient safety in hospitals is improving, a report says that over the last several years 2.1 million fewer patients affected, 87,000 fewer patient deaths, and around $19.8 billion in cost savings due to hospitals efforts to patient safety. Still, proper patient safety is long away from the satisfaction level. A stat says that around 440,000 people die every year from preventable errors in hospitals. Generally, we define patient safety like how hospitals and healthcare organizations ensure the safety of their patients from accidents, injuries, infections, and errors. Based on those data, some hospitals are sincere to keep their patients safe, when some hospitals lag behind. Everybody should consider medical safety the number one priority at every hospital. Medical errors can causes serious harms to the patients in a different way. Visitor Management System One of the main concerns for hospitals is figuring out a way to track the large volume of patients and visitors who are passing ...

The car rental giant Hertz recently deployed biometrics in their process to speed up the car rental process for their customer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This will make them the first rental car company to deploy biometrics in their system. Over the years we have seen the evolution of biometrics in different sectors. It has migrated over the last 50 years from secure government facilities to banks, airports, mobile phones and even to offices that ensure security just by a single touch. For example, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) deployed a biometric SIM card registration system throughout the country using our Bio-Plugin™ image capture system and M2-EasyScan™ fingerprint reader. This deployment of the M2SYS biometric identification solution has helped telecommunications companies and the NCC to create a centralized database that includes over 140 million SIM card user fingerprint biometric templates to more easily trace and track mobile ac...

Biometric technology plays a vital role when it comes to workforce management by providing a foolproof mechanism to accurately track employee time and attendance and process payroll. Biometric time and attendance systems have become more of a necessity in environments such as manufacturing plants, transport, and distribution, retail operations, corporate management, schools and universities, government offices – essentially, nearly all workforce environments. A lot of organizations are implementing biometric workforce management systems to eliminate employee time theft. Biometric workforce management systems can be configured with a variety of hardware modalities including; fingerprint, finger vein, iris, facial, and voice recognition and are easily integrated into workforce management software. The use of biometrics for employee time and attendance has the potential to pay multiple dividends to employers including the elimination of altering manual time sheets that can lead to ...

Improving employee efficiency is key A lot of organizations have abandoned the typical 40 hour work week as the standard that we live by, which makes sense. Most employees work longer hours than their ancestors as consumer choices continue to exponentially multiply and pressure increases to boost revenues and remain competitive. Increased work hours do not necessarily mean increased efficiency though. Conversely, an increase in work-hours may sometimes have a negative effect on employee efficiency. The question then becomes: How can you improve employee efficiency when work hours increase? Here are three ways to improve employee efficiency and productivity: 1 – Empower & Communicate Empowering employees is an important element to increase efficiency. A lot of employers tend to have direct involvement in all day-to-day operations to make sure that quality is not compromised. While it may be true that employers involved in day-to-day operations contribute to organizationa...