Mobile based Security Gate Solutions making Apartment Complex Living more Secure No, Digital India is not a vision anymore, it's fast turning to reality. With mobile based apps now providing solutions to almost all our daily needs, why should security of our loved one's be left behind?
By Sangeeta Banerjee •
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If you step into Prestige Shantiniketan, an Apartment Complex with 3000+ flats in Bangalore, you will be greeted by a security guard, who will make your entry in an Android App on a tablet. The person who you have come to visit, will instantly get a notification regarding your check in, and most probably she'll call you right away to welcome you to the complex!
If you had to stand in a queue to make your entry in the tablet, the resident whom you came to visit, would ask you not to worry and would enter you as an Expected Visitor from her App, the next time you visit.
You will get an SMS, complete with geo-location and flat number of the apartment you are going to visit. Showing this to the security gate, you will get entry without having to stand in a queue to enter your details in the tablet.
The resident you came to visit will also tell you how an app has given her relief from her everyday hassle of following up with her cook/maid as their attendance information is now available on this app.
She will also mention how her worries about how to gather immediate help during any medical emergency for her elderly parents living with her, has been put to rest by the same app. With this app at a button press she can get immediate help from apartment security guards & also neighbors! She will tell you that this one app actually helps her take care of all her requirements related to her apartment and apartment complex.
Sounds a bit too futuristic? No, Digital India is not a vision anymore, it's fast turning to reality. With mobile based apps now providing solutions to almost all our daily needs, why should security of our loved one's be left behind?
Living in an apartment complex myself, being associated with the apartment management space for the last 8 years and hence being aware of the loopholes in Apartment Complex's security systems, I often worried about the security of our aged mother and son who would be alone at home. Thus came the genesis of ADDA GateKeeper.
Drawbacks in present Apartment Security Process
One of the primary motivations for anyone to buy/rent a house in a gated community is security of their loved ones. Most part of an Apartment Complex's budget also goes towards security. Still the apparent lacunas are many.
- Visitor information is captured in a manual register. This information is largely illegible and probably the data is mostly false. It's impossible to search and extract any information from the manual visitor register in case of any incident.
- Security is made up of a less skilled, transitional workforce, whose effectiveness and adherence to laid down processes needs to be closely monitored.
- There is no way to optimize the number of Security Guards as reports on visitor/staff entry are unavailable
- Sitting in office, or traveling, residents don't get any visibility into visitors coming to their Apartment
- With visitor counts increasing by 3-4 times or more, there is an apparent need to increase number of security guards, which is costly
Mobile App based visitor management has started to fill all these critical gaps in apartment complex security.
For working couples with elderly parents and/or kids at home, such solutions have come as a huge boon as they come to know real time about all visitors coming to their flat. Working mothers are relieved of the task of calling their home multiple times to find out if their kid's music teacher or tutor has come or having to call home multiple times to ensure someone is there in case you are expecting a courier.
Capturing visitor and staff entry data digitally opens up a plethora of benefits equipping the security guards to monitor visitors better. Example, Security guards gets alerts in case any visitor, example, a courier or delivery person is overstaying inside the complex.
As the data getting captured at the Gate is interfaced with residents, they can raise an alert in case there is an anomaly in visitor entry notifications (e.g., a Visitor daily enters taking the name of a locked flat, or an unexpected visitor comes when your elderly parents are alone at home)
Also visitors' data becomes seamlessly available to the management committee, society manager in form of easily consumable reports and dashboards through which they can check online If the security processes put in place by them are being followed diligently by the security guards.
All these aspects make sure that the overall security inside an apartment complex increases manifold.
Around mobile app based visitor entry, comprehensive Smart Security Management SaaS offerings are now being created, with ability to provide intelligence on visitor entry, send alerts on unusual visitor trends, identify residents from visitors, and which integrates with hardware to provide biometric verification of apartment complex staff, automatic apartment complex gates, printing of gate passes, etc.
One App for all requirements of an Apartment Resident
With most apartment complexes now adopting SaaS platforms for their management, residents through a single app can have discussions with fellow owners, raise maintenance related complaints to the society, make maintenance bill payment, check events or hobby classes being conducted in her society, stay updated with any important communication from the housing society and buy/sell between neighbors.
Now with App based visitor entry at apartment security gates, and these apps integrating with the housing society app in the hands of the apartment residents, residents are able to check domestic staff attendance, raise emergency alerts, get notification on visitor check in, enter expected visitors, through their same housing society app. This removes need for downloading and managing multiple apps.
The Way Ahead
With tremendous development happening in the space of security hardware and home automation systems using artificial intelligence, IoT and machine learning, the space of SaaS based apartment security systems looks extremely exciting.
Security of a community is a collective responsibility of – Security Guards, Apartment Residents and Management Committee (including society manager). SaaS based security management platforms brings together all these 3 stakeholders, who can then collaborate to make a community truly secure.
