How Technological Advancement Is Changing Gated Community Management A number of housing society management solutions today enable communities to run smoothly while automating a number of processes

Large Indian cities have had housing societies for nearly as long as the country has been independent. However, even today, they're managed no differently than in the decades past. Register books, landline-based intercoms and heaps of paperwork run these societies, rather than the digital systems, we use to do everything else from buying furniture to filing our taxes.

At the same time, housing societies have also changed completely. The number of visitors has gone up tenfold, with the growing popularity of e-commerce and cab services, and the majority of new societies are extremely large gated communities that can have thousands of apartments.

The old way of managing a society completely breaks down at such large numbers. Residents just say "bhej do' (send him/her) to anyone security mentions to be at the gate and even small community issues become difficult to resolve.

All of this can be changed with the integration of technology in a gated community.

Simplifying Urban Living

When it's a matter of improving communication, the technology always finds an efficient and better way and visitor management solutions are a prime example of this. Technology has enabled residents of gated communities to send passcode invites that their guests can share with guards for seamless entry. It has also allowed residents to approve or deny entry requests to any number of delivery executives they may be expecting every day. This puts an end to the barrage of calls from the main gate and ensures that only the right people are let in.

Apps also inform residents that their domestic staff have checked into society, allowing them to better plan their day. If either the cook or nanny quits, it also helps them find verified domestic help from around the community. Automatic Number Plate Recognition recognizes resident number plates and triggers the opening of the main gate without any manual intervention. Convenient, isn't it?

Building Smarter Communities

There are over 200,000 housing societies in Indian cities, the vast majority of them registered as housing societies. Many of these are large operations, collecting annual maintenance bills in crores. At the same time, their running - which most residents take for granted - must be shouldered by a handful of committee members.

Before mobile technologies became commonplace, a significant chunk of the work was manual: sending reminders for non-payment of dues, printing of notices/getting signatures confirming receipt of the notice, collection of payment, recording of security guard attendance, management of parking spots and grading the performance of the facility agency, to name only a few.

This, too, has changed for communities that have begun to embrace technology. A number of housing society management solutions today enable communities to run smoothly while automating a number of processes. The treasurer can simply click a button to send payment reminders; the chairman can take quickly verify the attendance of all security staff.

These solutions bring efficiency to all those within a community. It enables security guards to focus on being vigilant rather than making phone calls; the management committee to focus on improving living standards instead of compliance; finally, it enables residents to enjoy their time at home, safe in the knowledge that their community is secure and free from incessant calls from their main gate!