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Breakthrough pricing and purpose-built design make Acre's premier cloud platform accessible to millions of businesses previously priced out of professional security.
AUSTIN, Texas – September 3, 2025 – Acre Security, a global leader in cloud-native security solutions, today announced the North American availability of its Acre Smart Controller (ASC), a purpose-built access control hardware solution that enables SMBs to access Acre's enterprise-grade cloud platform at a price point previously unattainable in the industry.
Following successful deployments across Europe and Asia-Pacific markets, including a global media company unifying 150+ sites on the Acre platform and a European national sports center that secured 500 doors with Acre's solution, the Smart Controller solves the industry's one-size-fits-all approach which forces smaller organizations to pay for enterprise features they don’t need. By engineering a solution specifically for the majority of access control systems that cover eight doors or fewer, Acre has created hardware that delivers the latest functionality without the enterprise price tag. This approach makes professional-grade, cloud-native security achievable for organizations that have been priced out of modern access control or forced to settle for inferior closed systems.
The Smart Controller manages up to four doors with eight readers while supporting 50,000 cardholders and maintaining 512 access levels per user, which is more than sufficient for organizations with hundreds of employees across multiple locations. Its open architecture ensures compatibility with both legacy Wiegand systems and modern OSDP protocols, allowing organizations to modernize incrementally without wholesale infrastructure replacement.
For organizations currently on legacy on-premise systems, the Smart Controller provides a streamlined migration path to cloud-native security without the complexity and cost that is traditionally associated with system upgrades.
Where a typical installation can require separate purchases of proprietary components, including boards, enclosures, and power supplies , the Smart Controller delivers a complete solution at nearly 50% less. When combined with Acre's server-free cloud architecture, organizations typically save thousands annually in eliminated server costs, maintenance contracts, and IT support hours according to Acre's Total Cost of Ownership calculator. For integration partners, the Smart Controller enables more competitive project bids while supporting the transition to recurring revenue models preferred by modern security businesses.
The Smart Controller integrates natively with the Acre Access Control platform for immediate access to cloud-native capabilities, including remote management, automatic updates, real-time monitoring, and seamless multi-site administration.
Full compliance with FCC, CE, and UL standards ensures deployment readiness across regulated industries, including healthcare, education, and government facilities. The two-year warranty and stable supply chain provide additional assurance for organizations making long-term security investments.
Industry data demonstrates that 80% of access control installations cover eight doors or fewer—a market segment worth over $10 billion globally that has been underserved by enterprise-focused solutions. The Smart Controller is purpose-built for this majority market. Following successful deployments across EMEA and APAC regions earlier this year, the small and medium business security market represents a substantial opportunity in North America, with millions of organizations seeking affordable, professional-grade security solutions.
The Smart Controller integrates seamlessly with Acre's broader security portfolio, including visitor management through Acre Identity, intrusion detection systems, and Comnet’s industrial networking solutions. This enables organizations to build comprehensive security programs without the complexity of managing multiple vendors and disparate systems.
The Acre Smart Controller is available immediately through Acre's network of certified integration partners across North America. Organizations interested in learning more can visit acresecurity.com/smart-controller.
