Located in the City of London, following the recent merger of Lee Baron and Navana they required an efficient and cost effective new way to manage access control for their team of 160 people at their HQ. LB Navana manages 7,000,000 sq. ft of commercial space which equates to £5B of UK assets managed.
We sat down with Nathan D’Alessandri, Associate Director – Governance & Compliance Lead, and Charlotte Crawley, Chief Experience Officer & Lifestyle Director, to have a chat about how Sentry Interactive, powered by Doordeck has impacted LB Navana’s innovative approach to property lifecycle services.
Active Users
160
Access Control Integration
Paxton
Building App Integration
Sentry Mobile Access
Exciting times ahead following the merger! Can you share your thoughts on the future prospects and opportunities this brings?
Most certainly. Following our merger, LB Navana is excited to embark on a journey where we’re uniquely positioned to offer best-in-class services throughout the lifecycle of both commercial and residential property management. This merger brings together decades of experience and a shared mission to anticipate and implement future trends for the best client solutions. We’re enthusiastic about the opportunities this presents for our colleagues, clients and customers.
Why did LB Navana choose Sentry Mobile Access as a software solution for building access technology?
In being able to facilitate a seamless mobile access user experience for both Lee Baron and Navana employees, it made perfect sense to us to roll out remote access management capabilities from the outset, after the merger. In recent years the office has evolved and now requires a technology-first approach to building, access and facilities management. Our property lifecycle services provide future first solutions that embrace the benefits of technology through companies like Sentry Interactive that deliver mobile credentials to support our low carbon ESG credentials.
“Post merger, LB Navana faced the challenge of integrating staff from both companies with cost-effective and simplified approach to access management. We needed a scalable, efficient solution that could be quickly rolled out to our employees from both companies, without the logistical complexities of issuing physical fobs or cards”
Nathan D’Alessandri,
Associate Director, Governance & Compliance Lead
How does Sentry Interactive facilitate access control within LB Navana’s green initiatives?
Minimizing access control system ‘rip and replace’ of existing and perfectly functioning hardware goes against our sustainable ethos. By not needing to remove any of our old readers and access infrastructure it meant there was no need for electronic plastic waste, any rewiring, repainting and re-plastering. Also, we had a minimum order quantity of 1000 key fobs, and the hassle and administrative time involved in programming these fobs meant that updating our existing access control system with Sentry Interactive’s software-only solution made perfect sense from both a cost and ESG perspective.
What are the advantages Sentry Interactive has brought in terms of operational efficiency and user experience?
Sentry Interactive has reduced the demands put on LB Navana’s front desk team. We are now able to mobilize our front desk receptionist by issuing digital mobile access permissions ahead of when a visitor arrives or for when temporary access is required. No longer are key fobs required to be issued and managed. Through being able to issue mobile entry ahead of visitors arriving or new staff starting, our front desk team don’t get the same level of front desk queues and can now focus more on community building and support. Our tenants can now enjoy fast, frictionless mobile access to spaces, via an excellent app-based user experience. Whilst our front desk team are able to minimize disruptions and maximize their productivity.
As security is a key concern when adopting cloud-based solutions for a building, how does Sentry Interactive ensure secure access?
We required a robust, flexible access control solution for a hybrid work environment to be able to easily handle irregular building usage and the influx of staff and visitors. Building security is enhanced with features like multi-factor authentication, banking-level encryption and remote access management. Sentry Interactive provides a secure and streamlined mobile-first user 4 contractors. We can manage and monitor mobile access credentials in real-time, without the security risks and expense of issuing and managing key fobs. Sentry Mobile Access’s cloud-based access control infrastructure provides a dynamic yet secure access solution, adapting quickly to changes in building usage without compromising on security.
