The world of multi-tenant buildings is undergoing a significant transformation after a turbulent year of loss of tenants, high vacancy rates, and rising costs.
In 2025, the industry will look to attract tenants back to physical premises. And one overlooked way commercial buildings can set themselves apart is with an advanced multi-tenancy access control system.
From enterprise offices to co-working spaces and mixed-use developments, ensuring commercial building security and operational efficiency while maintaining a premium tenant experience is a critical challenge. A secure tenant access management solution plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges.
Housing various user groups, these buildings require sophisticated systems that are scalable and flexible enough while providing a seamless experience that elevates not hinders the working day.
Traditional systems are no longer sufficient to meet these demands, struggling to manage diverse user groups at scale, while ensuring compliance, integrating with broader building management systems, and providing robust security. These siloed legacy systems do not provide the seamless experience tenant’s demand.
Gallagher Security, a global leader in integrated security systems, offers a unified access control system designed to simplify security and deliver a modern experience for multi-tenancy environments.
Key Challenges in Multi-Tenancy Access Control
Navigating the intricacies of multi-tenancy access control is not without its hurdles.
The diverse population within multi-tenant buildings mirrors the varied roles and interactions found within large enterprises, where seamless integration and coordination are essential to fostering a cohesive and productive atmosphere.
However, multi-tenant buildings come with added complexity. Key challenges include:
- varied user groups and access levels
- security and compliance requirements
- operational inefficiencies
- siloed systems
Varied User Groups & Access Levels
Multi-tenant buildings house diverse groups of individuals balancing permanent tenants and employees, contractors, and temporary visitors each with distinct access requirements.
Without a secure tenant access management solution in place to efficiently manage cardholders and access zones, multi-tenant buildings face significant operational and security challenges.
Security & Compliance Requirements
The security and compliance requirements of multi-tenant buildings are complex and critical. With numerous individuals accessing these spaces daily, property managers must implement scalable access control solutions to protect tenants, assets, and sensitive data.
Beyond securing entry points, these systems must align with evolving regulations such as data protection and privacy acts such as GDPR ensuring that cardholder data and access records are handled responsibly.
Achieving a balance of both physical and cybersecurity demands advanced technology that simplifies access management while baking in cybersecurity at every level, reducing risk for property owners and managers alike.
Operational Efficiency
Managing multi-tenant buildings presents a unique set of operational challenges from poor space utilization to reactive maintenance practices, inadequate energy management, and lack of real-time security monitoring.
Manual interventions for permissions or troubleshooting delay workflows and introduce inefficiencies. These decentralized operations coupled with a lack of data analysis can cost owners of commercial buildings 20-30% of revenue each year.
Integration with Existing Systems
A lack of smart building security integration in multi-tenant buildings can create further operational challenges for facilities managers.
Disconnected systems can lead to operational silos where critical security and building management systems (BMS) cannot effectively exchange information meaning many of the benefits of automation would be lost.
For example, administrative tasks like turning lights on and off or adjusting heating and cooling would rely on manual intervention, resulting in inefficiencies and higher energy costs.
For commercial building security, this challenge is more pronounced as the diversity of tenant needs demands flexibility and customization. Something that legacy systems struggle to deliver.
Gallagher’s Approach to Multi-Tenancy Access Control
Gallagher Security addresses these challenges with a comprehensive approach that ensures robust, scalable, and flexible commercial building security solutions.
Centralized Management with Command Centre
Command Centre is Gallagher’s award-winning site management platform, and was the first system to offer intruder alarms, access control, and perimeter security in one single product.
As one of the most feature-rich integrated security systems available, it has been designed to connect seamlessly with a wide variety of systems and hardware, creating a single operating platform which manages commercial building security and access.
From Command Centre’s single platform, you can see everything that is happening across your network, physical and virtual servers, endpoints, and applications. And with powerful analytics and reporting, you can quickly identify threats and trends before they become serious problems.
This centralization simplifies the oversight of multi-tenancy buildings and ensures that security policies are consistently applied across all areas.
Scalability & Flexibility
Gallagher’s scalable access control solutions are designed to be highly flexible, allowing property managers to easily add or remove tenants and adjust access levels as needs evolve. This adaptability ensures that the security system can grow and change in tandem with the building’s dynamics.
Advanced Credentialing & Authentication
The concept of secure tenant access management is at the core of commercial building security. Ensuring that every tenant has safe, flexible, and controlled access to their spaces is no longer a luxury but an expectation.
Gallagher supports various credentialing methods, including keycards, mobile access, biometrics, and PIN codes. These credentialing methods ensure robust security by providing multiple layers of protection without compromising convenience.
Furthermore, Gallagher’s Command Centre enables facility managers to assign access rights based on the day, time, area being accessed, validity of the cardholder token and any relevant competencies the cardholder possesses (such as training, licenses, inductions or medical clearances).
Real-Time Monitoring & Alerts
Gallagher’s commercial building security solutions offer real-time monitoring and alerts, providing immediate visibility of security events and potential breaches. This enables security professionals to respond quickly to incidents, mitigating potential risks and ensuring the safety of all occupants.
Integration with Wider Security & Building Management Systems
Smart building security integration plays a crucial role in enabling cost and operational efficiencies, enhancing security, delivering seamless experiences for building users.
From one centralized platform, facilities managers can:
- Manage cardholders, credentials, elevators, garage access, room availability, temperature settings, air quality, alarms and so much more.
- Reduce utility costs through simple automations, such as automating switching on and off lights.
- Enforce compliance with industry regulations, preventing non-compliance issues before they arise.
- Streamline reception tasks and enhance security protocols, with integrated visitor management systems, all while improving the visitor experience.
- Enhance security and user experience by integrating access control with elevator systems, ensuring authorized floor access through a centralized platform.
- Improve situational awareness by providing real-time visibility into security events, enabling users to respond quickly and effectively to potential threats.
- Identify patterns and trends indicating potential security risks, providing critical insights into operations.
Because these security solutions are highly scalable, businesses of all sizes can easily adjust them to meet their changing security needs. By adopting smart building security integrations, businesses can achieve significant cost savings while also greatly enhancing the overall tenant experience.
Most importantly, an integrated security system creates peace of mind. With the right combination of compatibility and protection, these systems ensure the people, assets, and data at the heart of business operations remain safely in their control.
Case Study: Gallagher’s Access Control in a Multi-Tenancy Building
Waikato Innovation Park, a dynamic business campus for Ag-Biotech, Food, and Innovative businesses in New Zealand, provides commercial tenancies and specialized support to companies in these sectors. Spanning 17 hectares and housing over 70 businesses including two factories, the park fosters a vibrant ecosystem of business connectivity.
Before adopting Gallagher’s multi-tenancy access control solution, the park relied on traditional lock-and-key systems. This method presented many challenges, such as the high cost and inconvenience of replacing lost keys, cutting new keys, and manually managing key distribution.
With the installation of Gallagher T-Series Readers at the entrance of each office space, tenants now benefit from a streamlined, secure, and efficient access system. As part of the tenancy agreement, Innovation Park provides access cards for all tenants and contractors, significantly reducing logistical hassles and costs.
The switch to a secure tenant access management system has not only enhanced security but also improved operational efficiency.
Furthermore, the system’s flexibility allows for quick customization to accommodate the evolving needs of tenants. Simon Travaglia, Infrastructure Manager at Innovation Park, explains: “We needed a security solution that could suit the different requirements of our tenants and which could be customized to their changing needs over time. The Gallagher system has the ability to do all that and more and allows us to respond to tenant requirements at short notice."
Overall, Gallagher’s solution has proven to be a robust and adaptable system for Waikato Innovation Park, ensuring enhanced security and efficiency while catering to the diverse requirements of its dynamic tenant community.
Future-Proofing Multi-Tenancy Security
As the landscape of multi-tenancy access control continues to evolve, staying ahead of emerging trends is crucial. Key trends include:
- Delivering premium tenant experiences
- Embracing AI tools
- Cloud based integrations
- Implementing digital wallets and biometrics
Tenant and employee experience has become a key trend for owners of multi-tenant buildings in recent years as part of return-to-office incentives in the post covid era. Embracing new smart building security integrations such as AI-driven analytics, cloud integration, digital wallets, and increased use of biometrics are crucial to enhancing the tenant experience.
These technologies offer enhanced capabilities for monitoring, managing, and securing multi-tenancy environments. And it’s not just about functionality or convenience; it’s also about perception. Implementing these technologies sends a clear signal of a tech-savvy tenant experience.
Gallagher’s dedication to innovation ensures that our integrated security systems are future-proof. Each year, 15% of Gallagher’s annual revenue is reinvested into Research and Development (R&D). Our commitment to R&D enables us to continuously evolve and adapt to new security trends and technologies, providing long-term security resilience for multi-tenancy buildings.
Embracing Scalable Access Control Solutions for Modern Multi-Tenancy Buildings
The global shift toward scalable access control solutions marks an evolution in the way we approach security technology. For multi-tenant environments, facilities managers cannot afford to remain attached to legacy systems that no longer meet the evolving demands and complexities of modern multi-tenant buildings.
Gallagher Security offers enterprise security for commercial properties that address the unique challenges of multi-tenancy access control. From centralized management and scalability to advanced credentialing and real-time monitoring, Gallagher’s approach ensures robust security for tenants, employees, and visitors.
For property managers and security professionals looking to enhance their multi-tenancy access control systems, Gallagher provides the expertise and innovative solutions needed to create a safe, compliant, and efficient environment.
Looking to enhance security in your multi-tenant building? Discover how Gallagher’s integrated security systems can help.