When I first got married, there was only one meagre set of cutleries in my kitchen cabinet. It had a single butter knife, and I didn't really mind having to use it to both spread butter on my roll AND cut my steak, even though it was only excellent at one thing and crappy at others. But things have changed now, and I can proudly say that I've upgraded from that set of cutleries to one which had different knives, forks and spoons catered for specific situations. Food Life is better now, thank God. The situation is comparable to the dilemma of some TCMS V2 users.
TCMS V2 is a comprehensive and powerful time attendance management tool and has been used with FingerTec devices for years, constantly evolving through the years to accumulate newer functions and satisfy more needs. However, TCMS V2 is not a cure-for-all and there are certain situations that may be better suited to Ingress, the integrated access control management application. Read more for the top 5 reasons why you should switch from TCMS V2 to Ingress.
Reason 1 - If you need a management tool for access control purposes, TCMS V2 may not be for you
Although TCMS V2 has its own set of features that can be used for access control, the ones available are rather limited as its main function is still to manage time attendance. FingerTec's Ingress, on the other hand, is developed and designed exclusively as a complete solution to centralize, manage and monitor FingerTec access control devices.
Among the access control functions that are available in Ingress, but not in TCMS V2, are:
- Graphical floor maps
- Real-time/off-line alarm and event monitoring
- IP camera software integration
- Comprehensive audit trails report
- Alert & notification configurations
- Live system control
- Fire alarm linkage
- Interlock
Reason 2 - Ingress uses MySQL, while TCMS V2 uses Native Fox Pro
As a 'veteran' on the data management software scene, TCMS V2 was developed with the Native Fox Pro database for its overall security and stability and proved to be an adequate way for the program to function. Ingress, however, uses the MySQL database and is more suitable for larger implementations as it can handle almost any amount of data, up to as many as 50 million rows or more. This means that potentially, Ingress will probably be able to do more than TCMS V2 in the future because of the different databases used.
Reason 3 - Ingress supports multi-tiered user roles
In TCMS V2, users can only use ONE administrator account to perform configurations. Ingress, however, enables you to use multi-client logins. This means that several people users can log into Ingress to use its functions as assigned by the administrator, according to the account's privileges. By default, the preset user role is the Administrator, which has the highest privileges and cannot be removed from the User Roles window.
Reason 4 - Ingress is a server-client based software
In TCMS V2, you will need to share its TCMSv2 folder in your network if other users from the same network requires access to the software. With Ingress, you can instead install the Ingress client at the PC to access Ingress at the server. This is useful for companies with various departments, whereby managers for each department needs to view information from the software.
Reason 5 - Ingress has lots of extra features!
- Fingerprint login for system administrator - optional verification method to enhance security
- Screen-lock function and automatic logout after timeout - decreases probability of security breach
- Detailed historic records and audit trail function - accurately tracks past configuration changes
- Add device by auto scan - look for devices on a network without having to know its specific IP address
- Permanent door open/close time zones - no need for an external tool to configure this setting, as it is now integrated in Ingress
- Add user by batch - provides method to import large amount of users from Excel sheets or pre-created card users.
- Watermark - generate user-definable reports, with customizable watermark for background image
So, technically, there are more than 5 reasons for one to switch from TCMS V2 to Ingress. Keep in mind, though, that I'm not in any way telling you to uninstall your copy of TCMS V2 straight away. Decisions like that require some proper help and guidance, so if you're interested in evolving your system from TCMS V2 to Ingress, do contact us first. Trust me, and ask support@fingertec.com. Hope to hear from you!