Next-generation badges with smart chips are changing the way companies manage secured premise access with employee authorisation and tracking.

Striking a tricky balance between securing premises and assets while also allowing for hassle-free movement of employees, companies are turning to a range of maturing smartcard technologies for responsive solutions.

These vary from solutions which can instantly identify where any particular employee is via mobile tracking, or via a more complicated inferred model by deciphering logged movements of employees through doorways and buildings.

Long gone are the laminated bits of printed paper as authentication token where it was dependent on visual inspection, and a security officer having to draw conclusions about whether the photo on it matches the person showing the badge, according to Claus Hansen, Asia VP for security business at Gemalto.

It is not uncommon to see a plethora of badges and paraphernalia dangling from an employee's lanyard as smartcard technology gains a winning acceptance for enterprise security applications. Even with electronic systems to validate badges, one can still use the badge to tailgate or socially engineer a physical access.

“Hence, you will see enterprises moving towards backing it up with voice recognition and biometrics,” Hansen predicted.