Mercury Security launches app platform for controllers

Mercury Security has commercially launched its embedded application environment, opening the platform to approved developers and OEM partners building software for Mercury MP Intelligent Controllers.

The system lets applications run directly on controllers using the latest Mercury firmware, extending the company's open-architecture approach to access control hardware. The launch moves the platform from preview to commercial availability, with developer onboarding underway and partner applications already in development.

By placing applications on the controller, the platform enables partners to add integrations and business logic at the edge rather than relying solely on upstream systems. This approach could support changes to controller functionality without requiring users to replace core infrastructure.

Approved developers go through a four-step onboarding process: proposal submission, technical evaluation with Mercury, access to development tools, and a security review before any application is distributed.

Partner apps

At launch, Mercury highlighted work with three partners to show the range of software being built for the environment, alongside its existing Mercury KS210 device app.

Commend Edge Bridge is intended to send real-time, hardware-level data directly to Commend device displays and audio products without middleware. A separate application from HiveWatch is designed to connect access control hardware to HiveWatch's cloud-based security operations platform.

Mercury said the HiveWatch software will give security teams centralised visibility into physical security events and panel-level device health events. The aim is to improve diagnostics, maintenance, and incident response by exposing issues closer to the source.

PassiveBolt's KeyShare Connect application focuses on door-level identity verification. The software will allow government-issued digital IDs, including mobile driving licences, to be verified for physical access in a Mercury-based environment while running natively on the controller.

The existing KS210 device app allows OEMs to integrate up to 32 KS210 OSDP server cabinet locks per controller.

Security focus

Security and governance are central to the application model. Applications are subject to structured testing intended to check performance, integrity, and alignment with cybersecurity requirements before broader distribution.

That emphasis reflects a wider concern in physical security, where network-connected access systems are increasingly expected to meet both operational and cyber-risk standards. Running third-party software on controllers can expand functionality, but it also raises questions about software review, update management, and isolation between applications and core control functions.

Mercury said its use of open standards should make integration easier for partners while giving end users more flexibility over time. In practice, that means customers may be able to modernise parts of an estate in stages rather than replace an entire system when integration needs or regulatory requirements change.

Mercury has long positioned itself around open architecture in the access control market, supplying controller platforms that software and hardware partners can build around. More than 5 million controllers have been installed worldwide since the business was founded in 1992, according to the company.

Mercury is owned by HID, which is part of the ASSA ABLOY group. HID's identity and access products are used across government, education, healthcare, finance, and industrial markets, giving Mercury a route into a broad installed base where physical and digital identity systems are increasingly converging.

Steve Lucas, Vice President of Sales at Mercury Security, said the launch marks the company's shift from platform preparation to broader partner use. "This is a milestone moment. We've laid the groundwork with a secure, open controller platform and validated distribution through OEM channels. We've created an environment where partners and developers can build apps on MP Controllers. Now, we have the program and tools to support a growing list of certified app developers."