Core and Oracle: Working together to deliver secure, highly available access control systems for today's demanding security landscape.

Founded in 1982, Ireland's Core International is a successful developer of Oracle based e-business software for large and mid-sized enterprises. Last year Core International recorded a record profit growth of over 35%. The company operates in various markets but specialises in HR applications and has seen more recent growth in its access control systems business.

On the surface it may not seem as though these two lines of business have much in common, but the link between the two is not quite as tenuous as you might imagine. Barry McMahon, Sales & Marketing Manager, at Core said "It all stems from our HR system which is used to cater for all employee requirements from initial recruitment through to eventual retirement. It makes sense to be able to manage an employee's on-site access rights through a single integrated solution."

Access control is a particularly important issue for the pharmaceutical sector, one of Ireland's most important industries and hence a key market for Core. The company's product, CoreAccess, is currently used by ten of the world's top fourteen pharmaceutical businesses, not to mention dozens of organisations in other sectors such as government, education and aviation. A large number of American multi-nationals base their European headquarters in Ireland and with security more important than ever before, this has fuelled an increase in demand for Core's access control technology.

CoreAccess provides organisations with the ability to enforce stringent security and safety controls for access to all types of operational sites and buildings. In addition to the CoreAccess software the Core solution comprises all access control elements including the fully integrated Kaba Benzing Hardware devices, turnstiles, revolving doors and CCTV integration. Core have led the way in implementing the latest in Access Control Hardware devices with the deployment of biometric technology. A recent example being the deployment of over 900 devices in Dublin, Shannon and Cork Airports which included the roll-out of biometric devices at key locations. Core also partner with the LG Iris Technology Division to offer fully integrated Iris Recognition. Designed for use in the most demanding of environments, CoreAccess is able to maintain site security even when some of its functions are offline. In addition to controlling and monitoring access to locations, the system also provides dynamic 'missing lists' in the event of an emergency by tracking which workers and visitors have swiped their cards at the designated safe zones. Key to the success of CoreAccess has been its ability to provide a seamless and unobtrusive solution to all on-site security and safety needs.

Core currently employs over 100 staff and has strong export sales to the UK, Europe and beyond, with CoreAccess deals recently completed in the Middle East. The company has been an Oracle partner for over 15 years, and its technical team stays closely involved with Oracle in respect of the future strategy and technical development of the platform.

McMahon said "The type of large multinationals that we deal with tend to use Oracle. Because of the nature of the systems we have, data security is a highly critical element of our software. Oracle has a proven record in database security and it brings a level of credibility to our sales process when we're working with the Oracle platform."