As the Internet of Things continues to expand its reach and practical uses, many multifamily communities are considering upgrading from traditional locks and keys to cloud-based access control systems. These flexible, keyless solutions offer a host of benefits, including savings of time and money, more convenience for users and administrators, and improved security.

But there’s a hidden benefit to many modern access control solutions. They also generate data, the useful kind that can help keep people safer and offer valuable insights. Access systems with built-in reporting functions easily allow multifamily owners and operators to get insights with just a few clicks. For example:

  • Access User Report: A list of users/guests who are active, upcoming, deactivated, or expired;
  • Event Reporting: Access event with a time stamp, door at which event occurred, type of event, and method of entry;
  • Device Report: Battery power level, network status, and serial number—all useful data for maintenance when troubleshooting devices; and
  • Admin Log: More in-depth report of events history and show details like who the administrator was and the action he/she performed.

A filter function can be used on any of the above reports, allowing you to narrow the data to a certain location, date, time, or user. Plus, all of these reports can be quickly exported to a CSV file (tabulated in plain text), so you can organize, save, and share the data with others who may not have access to the platform.

Diving Into the Data

Now that you have all this data, how can you use it? For multifamily property managers, access control data can be used in a number of ways.

  • Analyze Amenity Use: Access control data can inform decisions around whether to eliminate amenities, improve them, or even charge fees for them. For example, you could determine how many people are going into the fitness room, when they’re using it, and how many are there at any one time.
  • Enhance Safety: Knowing when and where access events occurred can be incredibly useful if there’s a safety breach or emergency on the property. Imagine easily printing out a complete list of every door’s activity for a specific date in just a few clicks. That’s the kind of visibility that enhances safety for everybody.
  • Deploy Contract Tracing: Access control data has never been more useful in maintaining social distance, limiting occupancy, and tracing people who either have been exposed to or already contracted the COVID-19 virus. After all, wouldn’t your residents want to know if they were in the elevator with a resident who later tested positive for the virus? With an advanced access control system, you can quickly run audits on space usage to determine who was where and when.
  • Conserve Energy: In multifamily buildings, access control data can also help determine when to lower heating, cooling, and/or lighting in common spaces. After all, energy consumption is often a top expenditure in large buildings, so every little bit counts.

Get Your Data and Much More

While multifamily owners and property managers have a range of options in access control solutions, ensuring this helpful data is easily accessible should be a top priority. The software that’s driving your access control is equally, if not more, important than the connected hardware on all your doors. To that end, make sure your access control software platform delivers the data you need, along with the following practical benefits.

  • Is cloud-based so you and any authorized staff can manage and control from anywhere;
  • Is easy to use;
  • Uses one central dashboard to manage and control whole-portfolio access;
  • Offers a wide range of hardware choices;
  • Covers every door—hard-wired ACS, smart locks, and algorithmic PINs for offline locations;
  • Integrates smoothly with other essential business software, e.g., property management software and booking platforms;
  • Allows you to assign different levels of permission when it comes to who can use the software; and
  • Is scalable and future-proof.

Learn more about how RemoteLock’ universal access control platform can help you gain powerful insights into your property and streamline remote access control to every door.

Kim Garcia
Director of Marketing, RemoteLock

Kim has over 17 years of strategic marketing management and sales experience in the security industry. She specializes in corporate communications, B2B marketing, channel marketing, media relations and product marketing with specific expertise in wireless security, access control and integrator perspectives. Prior to joining RemoteLock, she led marketing for PSA Security Network and Inovonics.