Organized attacks have exposed the limits of key-based ATM access. According to the ATM Industry Association, jackpotting and cash-out schemes account for 70% of reported ATM crime in the U.S. Physical keys are part of the problem: they can be lost, copied, or shared.
Managing electronic safe locks has meanwhile relied on manual, hardware-bound processes — on-site visits, manual configuration, and records kept on paper. The result is high service costs, slow deployment, and room for human error.
dormakaba, one of the world's leading providers of security and access solutions, set out to replace those processes with controlled mobile credentials and centralized management — without compromising on security, and scalable across a global installed base.
Working closely with dormakaba, SABO IT provided software development and integration services for the dormakaba Safe Locks mobile app, a dormakaba platform available for iOS and Android.
The app enables the digital, controlled, and efficient management of electronic safe locks — worldwide. A key advantage of the solution: despite a wide variety of lock types, only a single app is required.
The Safe Locks platform is a dormakaba solution developed as part of dormakaba's global portfolio of secure access and safe lock technologies. SABO IT contributed software development and integration services as a technology partner.
From the very beginning, SABO IT pursued a clear goal: maximum scalability and long-term investment security.
The underlying architecture is designed to be flexibly expanded and operated over the long term.
To ensure the reliability of this complex ecosystem, a comprehensive automated testing strategy was developed, including hardware-in-the-loop and backward compatibility tests.
dormakaba
received several awards:
Keyless access — shared mechanical keys replaced by secure BLE credentials through the dormakaba Safe Locks mobile app.
Controlled technician access — digital credentials assigned to individual users, so there are no shared service keys.
Automatic audit capture — every access event is recorded, creating audit-ready records without manual logs or paperwork.
Centralized access management — permissions added, removed, or updated remotely, without on-site changes.
The result: a fully digital, controlled process — with no paper handovers and no media breaks.
In addition to work on the Safe Locks app, SABO IT supported integration of the CenconX firmware into the broader dormakaba solution, including automated testing within a CI/CD pipeline. This supports stable releases and short development cycles.
Reliability across the ecosystem is secured by an automated testing strategy, including hardware-in-the-loop and backward-compatibility testing.
The dormakaba Safe Locks platform has evolved from an initial deployment into a scalable global platform, supported by contributions from multiple technology partners, including SABO IT.
All agreed requirements and change requests were delivered and formally accepted in August 2025. Since then, SABO IT has provided warranty and support services in a monthly cycle, with continuous monitoring and regular app releases.
Benefits for users of the Safe Locks app:
The software replaces insecure manual processes with a consistently secure, modern architecture:
The result: a fully digital, secure, and controlled process –without media breaks.
