Tenants, visitors, and employees now expect seamless, secure, mobile-first access experiences, while property managers are under constant pressure to reduce operational costs and simplify access management across their portfolios.
For commercial real estate (CRE) operators, legacy access control systems with wired readers, keycards, or fobs are expensive to maintain, hard to scale cost-effectively, and slow to adapt and will simply become obsolete in the years to come. This is why operators are now looking to transition to modern mobile access solutions that can optimize operational efficiency and revolutionize user and visitor access experiences. They want to invest in a mobile access solution that can be easily scaled and provides flexibility with third-party tenant experience apps and other workplace management systems that are used by their tenants.
This has led CRE operators to look to SaaS-based alternatives when looking to upgrade and offer tenants the convenience and added security of using mobile credentials. SaaS mobile access solutions like Sentry Interactive’s readerless mobile credentials that can deliver measurable ROI by upgrading access capabilities, without the need to replace hardware or endure complex integrations that are associated with traditional hardware-based mobile access upgrades.
What are the legacy access control challenges driving CRE operational expenditure?
Property managers face a host of challenges associated with legacy physical access control that can eat into operational budgets:
- Fragmented access control systems: Many buildings still rely on keycard or fob-based access, requiring on-site administration to issue, revoke, or track credentials.
- High operational costs: Replacing lost keycards and fobs, maintaining aging hardware, and manually managing visitor logs consumes time and budget.
- Tenant expectations for convenience: Long waits or rigid access procedures reduce tenant satisfaction and retention.
- Complex multi-tenant security: Mixed-use spaces, co-working areas, and short-term leases require attentive on-site access control management, across multiple locations.
- Regulatory and cybersecurity pressures: CRE operators must ensure compliance while protecting sensitive tenant and operational data.
Traditional access control systems not only fail to meet these demands efficiently, they generate unnecessary costs that limit and reduce ROI.
How are SaaS mobile credential solutions delivering ROI?
Modern SaaS mobile credential solutions address these challenges while reducing cost and complexity:
1. Leverage the existing infrastructure with no reader hardware replacement
The SaaS mobile credential upgrade from Sentry Interactive doesn’t require new reader hardware or any changes to the existing physical access control system infrastructure to work, the software simply integrates with the current system. Operators avoid expensive rip-and-replace projects, disruptive renovations, and downtime, all while future-proofing their buildings’ access and providing tenants with the added option of mobile credentials that work, alongside their keycard or fob. Hardware savings alone can make readerless mobile credentials a high ROI achiever.
2. Integration with third party tenant experience apps and workplace management systems.
Non-proprietary mobile credential software from companies like Sentry Interactive can integrate with more than the legacy access control system. If a property manager has invested in a tenant experience app, there is the ability to add mobile access as a feature within it. Additionally, there is the flexibility to manage the mobile credential permissions on their current building management system and any other operational system they use. These integrations reduce operational complexity and scaling costs while providing a seamless, connected building ecosystem.
3. Data-driven Insights & smart building analytics
Mobile unlock analytics from integrating mobile credentials with dashboarding tools provide occupancy patterns, peak access times, and underutilized areas. CRE operators can optimize energy use, space allocation, and revenue opportunities, all contributing directly to operational ROI.
4. Enhanced security & compliance
Banking-level encryption, multi-factor authentication, and detailed audit logs ensure compliance and proactive threat monitoring. Integrations with identity and access management systems strengthen security without additional hardware investments.
5. A convenient digital credential solution
Employees and tenants have the added option to use their smartphones or smartwatches as credentials with readerless mobile credential solutions like Sentry’s. Lost or forgotten passes no longer create administrative headaches, access can be revoked or reissued instantly. Visitors receive digital passes, eliminating physical card handling and front-desk bottlenecks. This reduces labor costs while improving the tenant experience.
6. Cloud-based remote access management
Administrators can manage access permissions for single or multiple properties from web or mobile interfaces. Remote onboarding, instant revocation, and automated scheduling reduce staff time spent on manual tasks. This centralized model eliminates the need for on-site administration and scales efficiently as portfolios grow.
Upgrade building access with SaaS and maximize returns
As commercial real estate continues to evolve, the demand for secure, convenient, and scalable access solutions has never been greater. SaaS-based mobile access solutions like Sentry Interactive’s readerless mobile credentials, offer CRE operators a way to modernize access without the financial and operational burden of hardware replacement. By integrating seamlessly with existing access control system infrastructure, building management systems, and tenant experience apps, these solutions reduce costs, enhance security, and provide actionable insights that drive smarter building operations. Beyond efficiency, mobile credentials elevate the tenant experience, improve retention, and future-proof properties for the digital-first world.
Discover how you could upgrade your properties access control to accommodate mobile credential access today with just a software integration, and help your properties achieve smarter, safer, and future-first access while achieving a strong ROI.
