A Hardware Park-based startup has integrated with a Washington-based property technology firm.
Patrick Campbell, CEO of the startup OpenVia, said its integration with Community Boss marks OpenVia's initial step in its strategy to become an enablement platform for other software companies with products or services that necessitate property access.
Campbell said the partnership is projected to yield new sales opportunities, and he is anticipating adding more sales and support positions over the next year as a result.
The partnership is intended to result in a product that lets communities control access to parking areas, entrances and amenity spaces with custom time increments. Together, Community Boss and OpenVia will allow communities to control access to main building entrances, gates, garage doors, elevators and shared amenity spaces.
One benefit of the integration, according to a news release from Community Boss, includes access control without the heavy cost. Communities can pair their existing hardware with OpenVia technology rather than purchase a replacement. A one-time installation upgrades older access systems. Then, Community Boss software allows for permit-based access control through on-demand pin codes or soft-button.
The technology is also smartphone based. Residents can register passes and permits and receive an access code on their smartphones, allowing managers to phase out physical key fobs. Community Boss offers a reservation system, Amenity Boss, to facilitate the booking process for amenities such as clubhouses, gyms and pools. Residents can reserve and manage their amenity bookings through the web-based platform. Users can gain approved parking access through their smartphone as well, even with older gate systems.
"Steep hardware and installation costs prohibit many older garden-style communities from implementing new smart technology,” said Joel DuChesne, co-founder at Community Boss. “We're excited to team up with OpenVia to provide affordable, permit-based access control for both parking and amenities. Together, we can help these communities modernize their buildings and shared space access with minimal investment.”
Campbell added that, through the newly formed integration, he believes Community Boss can increase the number and variety of properties it serves by offering a solution for traditional access control and intercom systems that otherwise couldn't be addressed with their platform.
"Given the natural overlap of some aspects of each of our products, we believe this is just the first step in a more deep and seamless integration between our two product lines," Campbell said.
