In this episode of Beyond the Tech, Dan Drogman sits down with Dominic Bruning, Director of Strategic Alliances (Mobile) at HID, recorded at PropTech Connect Dubai. Because Smart Spaces and HID are partners, the format flips halfway through — instead of Dan running the interview solo, Dom turns the questions back on him, making this as much about how Smart Spaces thinks about mobile access as it is about HID's view of the market.
They talk about why mobile access is no longer an unproven technology, the eight-plus stakeholders it can take to get a single building project signed off, and why 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2030 have already been built — meaning retrofitting is the real battleground, not new construction. The conversation moves from physical access into identity, why AI-driven deepfakes are accelerating that shift, and how an AI agent inside the Smart Spaces platform is already changing how customers use their own building data.
Topics covered include:
• Why "trial it and see" doesn't apply to mobile access anymore
• Getting eight-plus stakeholders aligned on a single building deployment
• Retrofitting the 80% of buildings that already exist
• The shift from access to identity, and what AI deepfakes mean for security
• Space Agent Max, the AI reshaping how customers use their building data
• Why cloud vs. on-prem is no longer a binary choice
• The strangest real-world uses of a mobile credential, from vending machines to waste tracking
Whether you're in proptech, security, or just curious how the buildings around you are quietly going digital, this is a look at what's replacing the keycard.