Avigilon Alta Access Control & Video Installation in NYC
Impera Security installs and configures Avigilon Alta — the platform formerly known as Openpath — for commercial buildings, mixed-use properties, and larger residential buildings throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Alta's defining strength is that access control and video surveillance run on one unified cloud platform rather than two systems that have to be stitched together.
What Is Avigilon Alta?
Avigilon Alta is the cloud security platform from Avigilon, a Motorola Solutions company. The access control side of Alta originated as Openpath, which Motorola acquired and subsequently rebranded under the Avigilon Alta name. If you've been researching Openpath, you're researching the same product line.
What distinguishes Alta from most cloud access platforms is scope. Rather than access control alone, Alta covers access control and video surveillance under one platform, one interface, and one set of credentials. For buildings that would otherwise run separate access and camera systems from separate vendors, that consolidation is the entire value proposition.
Why Avigilon Alta for NYC Properties
Unified access and video — this is the reason to choose Alta. An access event and the video of that event live in the same platform. When you look up who entered the loading dock at 11:40pm, the footage is attached to the entry record rather than requiring you to cross-reference timestamps in a separate camera system. For buildings with real security review requirements, this collapses an investigation from an afternoon into a minute.
Touchless entry — Alta's Wave to Unlock lets users open a door by waving a hand near their phone without removing it from a pocket or bag. Practical in a NYC context where people arrive carrying things, and a feature tenants and employees notice.
Multiple credential types — mobile, card, fob, and PIN on the same system. Nobody is forced onto a phone, and buildings with mixed user populations can accommodate everyone without running parallel systems.
Enterprise-grade platform — Alta is built for larger and more complex deployments. Multi-site, multi-building, tiered administrative permissions, and detailed reporting. For portfolio owners and larger NYC commercial properties, it scales without hitting the ceilings smaller platforms run into.
Motorola Solutions backing — the platform sits within a large established security manufacturer, which matters for long-term support and product continuity when you're making a decade-long infrastructure decision.
Video analytics — the Alta video side includes analytics for search and event detection, which reduces the time spent scrubbing footage looking for a specific event.
Avigilon Alta Products We Install in NYC
Alta Access — the cloud access control platform. Manages doors, users, credentials, schedules, and access events across one building or a full portfolio.
Alta Access Readers — credential readers supporting mobile unlock, Wave to Unlock, card, fob, and PIN. Available in form factors suited to interior suite doors and weather-exposed NYC building entrances.
Alta Access Control Units — the door controller hardware connecting readers, locks, and door hardware to the Alta cloud, sized to door count and building layout.
Alta Video — cloud-managed video surveillance operating on the same platform as access control. Cameras, storage, and analytics under the same login.
Alta Video Cameras — the camera range covering entrances, lobbies, corridors, parking, loading areas, and exterior coverage.
Alta Mobile Credentials — smartphone-based access with Wave to Unlock, issued and revoked instantly from the dashboard.
Where Avigilon Alta Fits Best in NYC
Alta is strongest where access control and video both matter and where the property is large enough that running them separately becomes a real burden.
Well suited to:
Commercial office buildings and multi-tenant commercial properties
Larger residential buildings with substantial common areas and multiple entry points
Mixed-use buildings with distinct commercial and residential access requirements
Warehouses, distribution, and light industrial properties
Medical office buildings and facilities with access documentation requirements
Multi-building portfolios under unified management
Properties replacing both an aging access system and an aging camera system at once
Less suited to:
Small single-door installations, where the platform's capability exceeds the need and simpler systems cost less
Small residential buildings whose primary need is visitor entry, which is an intercom problem
The clearest signal that Alta is right: you're replacing both access control and cameras, and you'd rather not run two vendors, two dashboards, and two support relationships.
Alta vs Brivo vs Kisi
All three are cloud access control platforms. They diverge on scope.
Avigilon Alta unifies access control and video on one platform. Choose it when video surveillance is as important as access control and you want them genuinely integrated rather than merely connected. Strongest on larger commercial and mixed-use properties.
Brivo is access-control-focused with broad hardware compatibility and strong integration into video intercom platforms and property management software. Choose it when access control is the priority and the building — particularly residential or mixed portfolio — needs a platform that plays well with existing systems.
Kisi is workplace-focused and built around mobile credentials and identity provider integration. Choose it for offices, studios, and co-working where access should follow employment status automatically through Google Workspace or Okta.
We install all three and have no incentive toward any of them. During the assessment we'll tell you which fits your property and why.
What's Included in an Avigilon Alta Installation by Impera Security
Free on-site assessment — we walk every door and every intended camera position, and assess existing hardware, power, network infrastructure, and how the system needs to operate day to day.
Door hardware evaluation — we assess strikes, maglocks, closers, and frames on every controlled door and identify what needs replacing before installation rather than discovering it mid-job.
Camera placement planning — coverage angles, lighting conditions, and blind spots planned deliberately. NYC entrances present specific challenges around glare, mixed lighting, and tight sightlines, and camera positions are chosen accordingly.
FDNY egress compliance review — electronic locking on required egress doors must fail safe. We identify egress-path doors and configure hardware to meet NYC and FDNY requirements.
Privacy and notification review — for camera coverage in common areas, we confirm placement avoids areas with a reasonable expectation of privacy and advise on the notice signage NYC Local Law 50 requires.
Professional installation — controllers, readers, cameras, wiring, lock hardware, power, and network configuration.
Full platform configuration — Alta dashboard setup, user and credential enrollment, access groups and schedules, camera configuration, and access-to-video linking.
Administrator training — we walk your management team through the platform so they can manage users, review events, and pull footage confidently.
Post-installation support — we are a local NYC company and we answer the phone after the job.
Avigilon Alta Installation Across NYC
We install Alta systems throughout New York City including:
Manhattan — Financial District, Tribeca, SoHo, Chelsea, Flatiron, Midtown, Hudson Yards, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Harlem, and all Manhattan neighborhoods
Brooklyn — DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Gowanus, Industry City, Sunset Park, Bushwick, and throughout Brooklyn
Queens — Long Island City, Astoria, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Flushing, and throughout Queens
Frequently Asked Questions — Avigilon Alta NYC
Q: Is Avigilon Alta the same as Openpath? A: Yes. Openpath was acquired by Motorola Solutions and rebranded under the Avigilon Alta name. If you researched Openpath previously or have an existing Openpath installation, it's the same product line.
Q: How much does Avigilon Alta installation cost in NYC? A: A single-door access installation typically runs $1,500 to $3,000 depending on door hardware. Multi-door commercial systems generally range from $5,000 to $20,000+. Adding Alta Video increases cost based on camera count and coverage. Alta carries ongoing subscription costs for both access and video, quoted separately so you see full cost of ownership.
Q: Do we have to use both access control and video? A: No. Alta Access can be deployed on its own. The unified platform is the main reason to choose Alta over alternatives, so if you only need access control, Brivo or Kisi may serve you at lower cost. We'll say so during the assessment.
Q: Can Alta integrate with our existing cameras? A: The tightest integration is with Alta Video. Integration with third-party cameras depends on the specific equipment. We assess your existing cameras during the site visit and tell you honestly what integrates cleanly and what doesn't.
Q: What is Wave to Unlock? A: A touchless entry method where a user waves a hand near the reader and the door unlocks using their phone credential, without taking the phone out. Practical when people arrive with their hands full, which in a NYC building is most of the time.
Q: What happens during an internet or power outage? A: Alta controllers retain credential data locally, so doors continue functioning during an internet outage and events sync on reconnection. Controllers are typically installed with battery backup, and egress doors are configured to fail safe as NYC code requires.
Q: Can we manage multiple NYC buildings from one Alta account? A: Yes. Multi-site management with per-site administrative permissions is one of Alta's strengths for portfolio owners.
Q: Is Alta appropriate for a residential apartment building? A: For larger residential buildings with substantial common areas, multiple entry points, and meaningful camera requirements, yes. For smaller residential buildings whose main need is buzzing guests in, a video intercom platform is the better and less expensive answer. We assess and recommend accordingly.
Get a Free Avigilon Alta Assessment for Your NYC Property
BODY: Schedule a free on-site survey. We'll walk every door and camera position, confirm what your existing hardware supports, and give you a clear itemized quote including subscription costs — no pressure, no upsells.