Volume 48

I was in Seattle last week visiting SAFR, part of RealNetworks. I went there to answer one question: do they have the right to win?

For context, SAFR is led by Rob Glaser, founder and CEO of RealNetworks. Glaser spent ten years at Microsoft in executive roles before founding RealNetworks in 1994 and launching RealAudio, the first commercial audio streaming solution for the internet. He essentially pioneered the technology that turned the web into a multimedia platform. In 2020, he put $10 million of his own money into the company to support its pivot into facial recognition and computer vision. Under the new SAFR President, Charisse Jacques (and a random fact uncovered when we met: Charisse and I went to the same middle school in Florida), the team has expanded into access control, retail loss prevention with SAFR Guard, and workforce management. SAFR is not a startup guessing at a market. This is a technology company with 30 years of building platforms, making a deliberate move into physical security. I had no idea.

What struck me was the culture of innovation. The depth of talent and resources they've assembled. But more importantly, they showed me something I hadn’t fully grasped before: the difference between electronics and intelligence…Continue reading by subscribing to The Access Control Executive Brief.

Podcast | Secured: Episode 4

In Episode 4 of Secured, Lee unpacks the signals hidden inside Allegion and ASSA ABLOY’s earnings and what they reveal about the platform transition reshaping access control. He also introduces “human-first biometrics” and calls out a bigger issue: physical security is missing from the world’s most important security conversations. 

Podcast | Secured: Live from Intersec Dubai 2026: Joachim Mahlstedt, ASSA ABLOY

Recorded live at Intersec Dubai, Joachim Mahlstedt, Chief Commercial Officer DAS & Managing Director of Kentix (ASSA ABLOY Group), discusses why the region is becoming a proving ground for large-scale innovation, the convergence of mechanical and digital security, and the growing opportunity in data centers and critical infrastructure. Listen now.

Webinar | Designing The Future of Security
Most security failures don’t happen at install, they happen at design. Join the Secure Building Council and 4Liberty on March 5 for the first session in a 4-part webinar series on building smarter, safer security programs from the start. Register here.

Breaking News | PSA Network and The Access Control Collective release State of Security Integrators 2026 Report

The State of Security Integrators 2026 report, built from PSA’s Financial Metrics Survey and insights from 116 integrators, offers a rare, data-driven look at where the industry is growing, and where it still needs to evolve. Access the report here.

The PhySec Collective Breakfast is a community-first gathering bringing 300+ physical security operators, builders, and leaders together before ISC West, with proceeds benefiting FAST. Sponsored by Grid Squared Systems, YourSix, Sharlic, PDQ, PassiveBolt, Acre Security, Brivo, Connectivity Standards Alliance, HID, and SwiftConnect. Register here.

ACS26, The Access Control Summit, is heading to New Zealand in 2026, hosted in collaboration with our city-host, Gallagher Security. Join us October 7–8, and sign up here to be notified first when registration goes live.