Insights & Buyer’s Guides

The Malibu Blog

Straight answers on access control — ownership and licensing, cloud vs. on-premise, and the questions worth asking before you sign anything.

A crossed-out ring of brass keys with an arrow pointing to a checkmarked phone tapping a Malibu reader at the glass door of an office building, beside the headline "5 Signs Your Business Has Outgrown Keys and Locks."
Getting Started

5 Signs Your Business Has Outgrown Keys and Locks

Why growing businesses are making the move to smarter access control

You hand a new hire a key on their first day. Six months later they leave, and you’re left wondering whether they ever made a copy — here are five signs it’s time to think about something better.

|4 min read

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Five stacked blocks numbered 01 to 05 — hardware and installation, software licensing, credential / per-user fees, support and maintenance, and switching cost — climbing under a rising arrow toward a "5 years" badge, beside a Malibu reader mounted at the glass door of an office building.
Buyer's Guide

The Real 5-Year Cost of Access Control

It’s tempting to compare access control quotes on one number: the installation price. That number tells you what you’ll pay on day one — here are the five cost categories that decide what you’ll pay by year five.

|4 min read

Three side-by-side panels comparing where an access control system's brain lives, each showing the same glass-fronted building with readers at the door — On-Premise, with a local server tower and "internet not required"; Hybrid, adding cloud-based remote management on a laptop and phone alongside auto updates, plug-and-play replacement and low IT overhead; and Cloud, managed remotely from anywhere.
Getting Started

Cloud vs. On-Premise Access Control

Dealers throw around “cloud-based” and “on-premise” like you’re supposed to already have a preference. You don’t need one — here’s what the terms actually mean for your building, plus the hybrid option most buyer’s guides skip over.

|7 min read

Six numbered question cards — what happens if licensing stops, do I own the hardware, what is the 5-year cost, can the system scale later, what does support look like, can I talk to a current customer — beside two people reviewing a tablet at a door fitted with a Malibu keypad reader.
Buyer's Guide

6 Questions to Ask an Access Control Dealer

Choosing an access control system is really choosing a Dealer. Here are six questions worth asking every Dealer you talk to — their answers will tell you a lot more than their sales pitch will.

|3 min read

A three-step diagram — credential (card, fob, keypad, or mobile), then reader, then controller software making the decision — beside a person badging a card at a Malibu reader with an "Access granted" indicator.
Getting Started

Access Control Basics

If you've ever handed out a spare key and then spent months wondering who still has a copy, you already understand the core problem access control solves.

|4 min read

A man badges a card at a Malibu reader beside a sign reading "Owned by you — no monthly fees, no lock-in, full access, total control," opposite a chained and padlocked gate under a neon cloud warning about subscription paywalls.
Buyer's Guide

Do You Really Own Your Access Control System?

Most access control systems are sold like a security product but billed like a streaming service. Here's the question worth asking before you sign: if you stopped paying tomorrow, would your doors still work?

|3 min read

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