The rise in cooperative working has demonstrated how valuable shared office space has become, with small businesses, individuals and start-ups wanting to reap all of the benefits that an office environment provides without the overheads associated with a full-time commitment.

For organisations, rather than losing out in the move away from traditional working patterns, this actually presents an ideal opportunity to leverage existing business assets.

Uber has often been used as an example of a successful service-driven operation. It has shown how companies can optimise existing assets through lean structures and minimal cost investment by leveraging an ‘as-a-service’ model delivered through the cloud, sharpening performance and redefining structures that allow for the business to take advantage of opportunities for profit and growth.

Unlocking business intelligence

Beyond the obvious additional security benefits of access control as-a-service (ACaaS), the capabilities can allow for organisations to monetise space without impacting on existing office flow. This can lead to new revenue streams through sub-letting office space, offering desk rental services or even divesting the business of unused space to improve profitability.

The systems collect access data and provide valuable business intelligence to inform decision making, proving a powerful tool for office and facilities managers to better optimise assets and resources. Knowing the right time to reduce or increase the amount of floorspace available, when to introduce hot desking, when to engage with employees on home working, and how to leverage spare resources for profit are powerful insights which were simply not available using legacy systems.

Today’s integrated access control systems can be used to show how employees move around a building and, with enough data, provide predictability models that reveal areas that are fully utilised versus those that are not. In addition, external workers can book office space online, receive an automated access code and come and go as they please.

Cost efficiency and productivity

For most companies looking to reshape budgets and improve performance, optimising the use of existing assets is an intelligent move in the era of changing employee requirements. The average company now has 100 employees and a floor space that can easily accommodate 200. Some of these employees are part time, others have adopted flexible or hot-desk working practices, so the modern office model is ripe for monetising assets from collating this occupancy data; made possible using an ACaaS model.

Intelligence about the utilisation of space can bring with it the potential to also make informed decisions in other areas, for example, energy usage. Considerable savings can be made by reducing heating in seldom used areas, and similarly automating the process of turning off lights when not required. The ability to access the system via a mobile phone means that real time data can be accessed to inform decisions on-the-go, based on live data.

Investing in ACaaS

In addition to a new revenue stream, the visibility over office behaviours that an ACaaS system can provide has motivational benefits for staff. Being able to predict and alleviate congestion in busy periods can improve employee productivity and engagement, while the ability to move around the building with ease can strengthen relationships and allow for greater collaboration with colleagues.

ACaaS is no longer simply about managing entrances and exits. Access control, particularly an access control as-a-service model, represents an investment, allowing organisations to pay for what they use, without worrying about large up-front capital investments. This ensures an easily scalable and affordable solution, providing powerful data analysis for the creation of intelligent insights. ACaaS is increasingly adaptable to suit changing working requirements and a reliable way of getting the most from technology and the insights it can provide.