This is a Research Note from Blake Kozak, senior analyst for Security and Building Technologies at research firm IHS Inc. – For more than four years now, one of the most talked about trends has been field communication (NFC). NFC was supposed to change the face of the access control industry by eliminating the need for cards, subsequently reducing the administrative burden on organizations of all sizes all while increasing security. However this has not yet come to pass, with suppliers offering little more than pilot projects, with limited real-world installations.