OpenPath's New Tech Opens Doors for New Building Entry
This post originally appeared on Marketplace Advertiser, Connected Real Estate Magazine and the Broker’s List.
Mullion Smart Reader lets tenants use their cell phones to enter office buildings—hands free.
Commercial real estate owners have been on a mission to make their buildings as connectivity-friendly as possible in response to tenants’ demands for reliable service so they can use their mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices without any issues.
Recently, Openpath, which specializes in creating smart and secure access systems for today’s office, announced a new technology that will help commercial real estate owners address another tenant demand—effortless building entry.
The company launched the Mullion Smart Reader, which will allow it to provide hands-free, keyless mobile access to businesses everywhere. Openpath developed this technology after a study showed 94% of its users use their smartphone over a key card to get into their office, but a lot of buildings lacked solutions to accommodate this trend.
“Employees want convenience; they don’t want to go through a bunch of steps to get into their office in the morning,” Openpath co-founder and CEO Alex Kazerani said in a statement. “With the majority of our users agreeing that the simplest way to unlock their office door is to stand in front of it, we developed the hardware and software to deliver that experience to any office setting.
By achieving 94% mobile adoption over traditional access credentials, we have cracked the code to delivering the user experience employees want with the elegant, easy-to-install hardware businesses need.”Openpath’s user analytics also revealed many of its users not only use their mobile phone for access, but also want to leave it in their pocket or purse when they enter their office.
The company’s Touch access feature provides employees with the convenience of an automatic door with the security of an encrypted, credential-based access system. Openpath Touch automatically recognizes a user’s smartphone as they approach the building, even if their device is in their purse or pocket, and lets them enter by waving their hand or touching the reader.
The Mullion Smart Reader is easy for commercial real estate owners and businesses to install Openpath wherever the most convenient area for hands-free entry with Touch in their building would be, according to the company.
The technology is designed to fit anywhere and bring a modern look and feel to locations that require a smaller reader form factor. Plus, the Mullion Reader can be mounted on any wall or doorframe and leverage existing reader wiring.After Openpath’s technology is installed, it will use Bluetooth and motion detection to authenticate the user and unlock the door.
The new model will continue to support keycards and fobs to ensure options remain flexible for people who want to use other types of credentials.“To truly enable convenient, elegant, smart mobile access for all, we need to make it more accessible,” Openpath co-founder and President James Segil said in a statement. “With the introduction of this Mullion form-factor to our existing Smart Reader line-up, we are able to provide the many design and deployment options necessary to meet the demands of any building configuration. With the Mullion Smart Reader, we ensure that any office can utilize our technology in a way that is both practical and affordable while keeping security, aesthetic and ease of use a top priority.”