Entry-Master goes national

BALTIMORE--In an effort to move away from distribution and installation, access control software Entry-Master has signed a national distribution deal with American Perimeter Security and is transferring much of its installation and service work to Baltimore integrator Varia Systems. "It was always the intent to establish dealers in every major city in the country," said Entry-Master president Kevin Baker. Baker's five-year-old company evolved from an earlier venture, founded in 1988 by Baker and a partner, that created Entry-Master's software line. Entry-Master signed American Perimeter as a regional dealer in 2005. But "they wanted to do national, so we allowed them to step up to the plate," said Baker. Entry-Master brought American Perimeter to Baltimore to conduct dealer training under Entry-Master's supervision and "we were very pleased," said Baker. "They're doing dealer support, training, etc., so we can focus on making the product better." One of the main focuses, said Baker, is on an entry-level product that integrators will like because it can scale up to enterprise-level without replacing wiring and much of the hardware. "The entry-level systems are just that," he said. "All the decisions are being made on a single-board system. You hook all the readers to that board, and that board connects to a laptop or a desktop to do the programming." He said the next generation will be wireless. "The entry level systems are being received very well," agreed Doug Horensky, president at Varia. "It's a very good price point that makes us competitive. They have many of the features of the full-blown system, though scaled back." Horensky said the work Entry-Master is throwing his way includes "some pretty high-profile clients," including Johns Hopkins University and the State of Maryland.