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'Smart' card maker ahead of the curveJeff Buckstein Tuesday, March 05, 2002 The post-Sept. 11 world has opened up new possibilities for a small Hull-based company whose work with advanced photo-ID cards and smart cards has gained increased recognition over the past five years. Today, for instance, with many companies wanting more sophisticated photo ID than simple pouch cards with a laminated picture inside, the demand has increased for security-related information that can be stored and recalled from a database. Clients also want digitized information that makes greater use of biometrics -- a personal identifier one is able to carry that includes such things as the dimensions of one's face, or a thumbprint, fingerprint or retinal scan. That increased demand is good news for Synercard Corporation, but its creativity will also be tested by increased competition, says Bruce Bianco, 30, the company's founder and president. For instance, more companies are going to be offering biometric storage, and that world is changing. While fingerprints represent the most popular biometric because the resulting files are small and easy to carry, the retinal scan "is probably the best biometric in the world. That's what they're talking about for airports now, because it's the best," says Mr. Bianco. This could easily be incorporated into Synercard's product. If Synercard's software was in more widespread use, "nobody's going to be able to rent a plane without the FBI potentially having access to recall that data. If that airport was on our system, they could call up the people's pictures when they logged on and so forth. Maybe some signs of alert would trigger it. That's what people are interested in now." To date, the 20-employee company has received about $2 million in external financing, including rounds of $1 million in each of 2000 and 2001, on top of about $200,000 in self-financing and debt investment required during the start-up phase in 1996 and 1997. In December, Mr. Bianco was named Entrepreneur of the Month in Quebec by the Canada Economic Development Corporation. Synercard's mission has always been to be a leading supplier of innovative, advanced card personalization solutions. But after Sept. 11, with identification taking on new urgency, the company has expanded its scope to provide more emphasis on producing software designed to give clients a more complete identity solution. If, for example, an employee travelled to an affiliated office in another city only to discover they'd forgotten their ID card, they would still be able to gain entry, since their identity credentials would be stored in the system and could be activated by something as simple as placing their thumbprint on a reader. "It's changing our thinking in terms of realizing that not everybody has to necessarily carry a card," he says. Synercard's software also allows clients to securely transfer biometric information over the Internet. "Because we have built in secure communication over the Internet using the latest technologies, we can confidently secure the clients' ability to transmit if their printer was to break down," Mr. Bianco says. In April 2001, Synercard released the newest member of its photo ID software family, Asure ID Express. This product acts as part of a stand-alone card production system. Because Express can transmit information securely, it also provides an important backup function by enabling the use of remote card printers. In December 2001, the Version 4.0 edition of Enterprise, Synercard's original photo ID software product, became available, as did the company's Version 4.0 of Asure ID Connect free photo identification software that allows smaller organizations to design their own photo ID cards. Major long-term clients include the Museum of Nature in Ottawa and Pacific National Aquarium in Vancouver, which are using the Asure ID software to produce access card badges, and the Nisga'a Nation in northwestern British Columbia, which is using it to produce citizenship cards. The company also recently added some government clients, including the U.S. military, as well as a prominent aerospace company, also based in the U.S. Although Mr. Bianco can't yet quantify the impact of Sept. 11, he notes that the business continues to grow as the company's products mature, new investments are made and its marketing and branding becomes better recognized. "Sure, 9-11 has brought a lot of focus to our history, but has it translated into direct sales? I'm not sure. I can't honestly say that the people who've talked to us after the tragedies weren't already planning to beforehand. But I would hate to think it was just Sept. 11th that's taken us to where we are. I like to think that we're doing other things correctly." He does note that Synercard has been getting increased calls from people such as security directors who say things like "we've been struggling for a long time to get a new system included in our budget and after Sept. 11 the company's given us a green light to put it in." The company has entered into an alliance with Bioscrypt Inc. of Mississauga whereby a thumbprint template would give access to all information about an individual on a smart card, to be presented at a door. © Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen About Synercard CorporationSynercard Corporation was formed in 1997 to exploit the emerging market opportunities in the areas of Internet and Intranet-enabled card personalization and issuance for advanced photo ID cards. Today, Synercard designs, develops and, through an international network of value-added resellers, markets software products which simplify and streamline the process of managing and issuing advanced photo ID cards for organizations of any size anywhere. Synercard's flagship product line, the Asure ID Family of Products™, is a suite of powerful, flexible, Internet-enabled photo ID software products. Organizations that do not wish to purchase card issuance equipment can have their advanced photocards printed through an approved Asure ID Card Service Bureau. For more information, visit www.synercard.com. For More Information Contact: All trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders in Canada and/or other countries.
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