business fundamentals, like utilisation and booking rates. Likewise, they’re looking for locks that improve the customer experience and create an attractive, easy- to-use product. As manufacturers and product innovators, this changes what we need to offer customers in 2026 and beyond. T he balancing act – new tech and simple solutions There is a lot of hype around AI at the moment. And understandably so if you’ve used ChatGPT or similar. The UK government is looking for the country to become an ‘AI superpower’ while also using the new technology to do things like free up NHS hospital beds. With all this attention on bleeding-edge technology, however, people can be led to think that access control must follow the same path: that because everyone’s talking about tech, it’s what customers will be demanding in 2026. However, despite the attention lavished on breakthroughs like AI, many customers are still looking for simplicity of operation and maintenance in their access control solutions – even the entrepreneurs. “With any new tech, there’s hype and there’s practical application. European customers aren’t demanding AI in their
access control solutions right now,” said Steve Newman, Regional Director for Codelocks Europe. “That’s probably for several reasons, not least because simplicity is something they prioritise.” The demand for simplicity is especially strong in the locker market, where most facility and building managers are responsible for looking after thousands of different lockers that require regular maintenance. In large sites such as student accommodation or government offices, small issues quickly add up to be a large drain on resources. “For lockers – which make up the majority of our business – most customers are choosing either mechanical locks or hard-wired solutions because they want to avoid battery maintenance,” said Mark Samuelson, Director for Codelocks Australia. Mechanical lockers are ideal for short- term, multiple occupancy applications requiring simplicity and minimal maintenance to keep costs low. Hard- wired solutions don’t tick all these boxes, though. The cost of installing new wiring can outweigh the cost of avoiding batteries, leaving mechanical locks as the simplest and best choice. Still, with an eye on the future, we don’t think customers will have to make these kind of choices for much longer. Battery harvesting will
soon become popular, using the power in people’s mobile phones to temporarily power a cabinet, door or locker lock. Despite all of this, the real winners in 2026 will be those organisations that listen to their customers. Those companies that focus on solving fundamental customer challenges without over-egging the latest trends. “Protection concerns have driven people to effectively over-specify the locks they need, which is neither cost- effective nor necessary,” said Matt Welty, Vice President at Codelocks Americas. “For us, this has been an opportunity. We’ve guided many companies toward the right-fit product, rather
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