FATH Mechatronics GmbH is a specialist for electronic locking systems and manufacturer of the innovative access control system TANlock 3. Within the framework of the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), FATH Mechatronics was honored for its outstanding research and development performance with the award “ZIM Individual Project of the Year 2021” by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Mr. Peter Altmaier.

Once again, the innovative company from Bavaria has succeeded in winning a valuable award. “This makes us really proud” expressed the CTO Jürgen Sept, today after the award ceremony.  The security of critical infrastructure already starts at the server cabinet. Data center operators, enterprises and municipalities need to protect network and server cabinets from unauthorized access. At the same time, uncomplicated access for authorized persons must be guaranteed. The access control system “TANlock 3” meets these high demands on the security of the infrastructure to the highest degree and has been able to prove this impressively in many projects.

The “TANlock 3” locking system can be integrated into standard interfaces such as SNMPs, Syslog, MS ActiveDirectory and LDAPs without the need for additional software and also offers a high level of security. The TANlock 3 system makes this possible with special “authentication modules” (TANlock Authentication Modules), which can be replaced within a few minutes if necessary. In this way, data center operators and companies can react particularly quickly to individual security requirements. The basic structure of the TANlock 3 is completely identical, regardless of which authentication module is ordered. A new security requirement, e.g. for an RFID (radio-frequency identification) standard, palm vein scanner or fingerprint scanner, can be met immediately by changing the authentication module in the security lock. There is also the option of 2-factor authentication or encryption via blockchain technology.

By consistently minimizing complexity, it was ultimately possible to develop a product that is easy to install and operates without additional hardware or software. For example, a separate power supply was also dispensed with and common standards such as PoE (Power over Ethernet) were used. “For the first time, it is also possible to connect sensors for temperature, humidity, smoke, etc. directly to the electronic server cabinet lock,” Jürgen Sept reported in conversation, adding with pride that market acceptance is very high. Within a very short time, TANlock was recognized as the innovation leader in the field of “electronic locking systems for server racks”. For example, the TANlock product won the prestigious “German Data Center Award”. In the meantime, individually adapted TANlocks have been developed for several corporations (including those listed in the DAX). In total, the TANlock already comprises several hundred variants.