As physical security operations grow more complex, quick incident response relies on having complete context in a single view. Historically, investigations meant toggling between isolated systems and manually cross-referencing camera feeds, floor plans, and access logs to piece together a sequence of events.
To solve this problem, we are expanding Verkada Access Control with new platform capabilities designed to give teams complete situational awareness and granular administrative control. With the integration of Access Control into AI-powered unified timeline, maps in Command, and custom roles, organizations can now investigate incidents faster, navigate site activity visually, and delegate administrative power with precision.
Access Control in AI-Powered Unified Timeline
In 2025, Verkada launched AI-powered unified timeline, a powerful tool to investigate sightings of a given individual and visualize their path through buildings. Today, unified timeline is even more powerful with the incorporation of access control events.
Physical security incidents often involve access-controlled doors or users with building access. Historically, piecing together an event required security operators to manually navigate to door pages and correlate separate logs to figure out who someone was or where they went. Now, these layers are combined into a single, cohesive view, offering organizations a richer picture of activity on their properties.
This integration accelerates incident response across several common security scenarios. For example, if a security operator sees suspicious activity on a camera stream but does not know who the individual is, unified timeline displays access control events related to that camera footage, making it simple to identify the individual from their access control events and see every room they accessed in a building. Alternatively, if the individual is unknown, operators can quickly uncover how they gained access, such as through tailgating, a door forced open, or a door held open. Security teams can also start directly from a door security event and immediately identify additional camera sightings associated with the person responsible.
Beyond real-time investigation, any unified timeline can be automatically converted into an incident report for easy collaboration, recordkeeping, and sharing. Access control events are seamlessly integrated into these reports, adding crucial door context.
Verkada also gives organizations full, granular control over these features, so administrators can choose which features to enable and which Command users have access to sensitive unified timeline data.
Access Control in Maps
Locating doors and tracking movement across a large facility can quickly become a bottleneck during critical events. By integrating access control devices directly into the new maps feature in Command, users can gain immediate awareness across properties they have access to. Admins can place access control devices directly onto floorplan maps as interactive visual markers, providing instant spatial context for sites. Selecting a door gives users visibility into live camera feeds, door status, and recent entry activity, while providing quick-action controls to unlock doors or override schedules ad hoc. By bringing these live controls directly into the map view, teams can monitor properties and respond to incidents more efficiently, streamlining day-to-day management and accelerating response times.
Custom Roles for Access Users
Managing physical security requires giving users the exact access they need to perform their duties without over-provisioning permissions. With custom roles for access control, organization admins can now bundle specific access control permissions – along with permissions outside access to control – to construct and assign tailored administrative roles for functions like security officers, HR personnel, or temporary staff. Instead of choosing between broad administrative rights or rigid defaults, organizations can precisely scope what each role can see and do within Command, delegating operational responsibilities while maintaining strict administrative oversight.
Availability
These features will be available to all customers starting on October 8, 2026. To get a personalized demo or learn more, contact your Verkada sales representative or email [email protected].
This blog post contains forward-looking statements. Please keep in mind that forward-looking projections are subject to change, including general release timeline, product features and functionalities, certifications and pricing.
