If you’re involved in the development or management of high-end gated and or guarded communities, it is only natural that you would want the best security system to protect your residents, homes, and assets. These days, it’s not enough to have the gate, fence, and 24-hour security team. Most communities also implement cloud community access control systems to enhance the effectiveness, convenience, and efficiency of managing security and access for a large community.
You’ve got plenty of choices when it comes to community gate access control systems, but these are the essential features to look for when acquiring a security solution.
1. Integrated Gated Community Access Control
When you look at all the security considerations of a single-family residential community or condominium complex there are many different types of systems and hardware available. Furthermore, they all work a little bit differently from one another. For example vehicle RFID access control, visitor management, telephone entry and intercoms, and license plate recognition. Typically these systems are stand-alone or disparate. Managing each one of these systems independently can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Not only that but you’ll find yourself spending more capital for all the different hardware components required for each system and spending more on the installation and labor required for each system’s install. You’ll want to look for a system that ties in all of these functions together so that your entire visitor management and access control operation can be managed from a single login and database working through one vendor instead of four.
2. State-of-the-art visitor management
Gated community access control systems are about more than just gates and fobs. Ensure that the system you choose can automatically pull transaction and visitor logs for a more reliable experience. Not only does it protect residents, but it is also a great way to provide valuable evidence to authorities in the case of an incident. Make sure that you also choose a gated community access control software that tracks visitor processing entries, including license plate numbers, at all of your perimeter gates as well as any interior doors and gates with one-time use telephone entry codes or visitor pass scanners.
3. Smart features that connect with other security solutions
Technology changes quickly, and it’s important to have a future-proofed security system that you can grow with and expand on. Proprietary off-the-shelf solutions can become obsolete quickly and can be money pits when you try to switch out and upgrade later. You don’t want to change your access control software every time a new technology becomes available or when you hire a new vendor if the system is proprietary. Here are some of the features that you should consider having if you are installing it in your high-end residential development:
- Automatic move-in, move-out credential management
- Facility smart lock capabilities
- Smartphone mobile credential compatible
- Residents can issue ePasses and access codes for unmanned entry points
- Self-service visitor entry
- Virtual monitoring and visitor management
- Guest arrival notification for residents
- License plate recognition for entry and exit gates so that you can run report on who is still on premise
- Vendor access management
- Visitor PIN codes for service providers
4. Intuitive and user-friendly gated community access control software
For gated communities without an IT department, it’s critical to choose a solution and installer who can give your community the proper training and support, especially during the first few months of using the system. Consider going for software that is easy to implement, intuitive, and user-friendly, so your team utilizes and maximizes the system. It’s also very important to understand how data is added to the software. Does it require manual entry or can you export your existing data, clean it up, and import it into the new software? The quality of your data and database is crucial to getting the most out of a cloud-based community access control system.
If you have an existing security solution, make sure to consider your security system administrator’s opinion when choosing a community access control system. The same goes for your property manager, security staff, and board members.
When considering to implement a new cloud security solution or switch from an existing one it’s important to understand where your current weak points are, your current resident and staff behavior, your existing hardware and infrastructure, and the quality of your data. Schedule a call with one of our consultants today to get the hand-holding required for making a decision as important as the security of your HOA and homeowners.