Take a scroll or two through your favorite social media platform or website. No one gets far, especially in the business world, without having to worry about ROIs and CPCs and CTRs in your marketing strategy built out with your CRM…IYKYK. Either way, some multifamily acronyms are a little too important for your apartment operation to forget. For instance, IoT (Internet of Things) refers to any combo of smart apartment automation systems installed on an apartment property.
All about IoT Systems
IoT systems are used in different industries all over the world connecting networks and devices in homes, offices and more. In the multifamily setting, we use IoT to speak about smart apartment automation both on the resident lifestyle side, and the property management side.
Across a full apartment community, smart home IoT systems are an intelligent ecosystem for all of your smart home devices to connect and operate on. Devices like smart thermostats, locks, and leak detection all communicate through a network to create remote lock access, thermostat temperature scheduling and other operational efficiencies like vacant unit viewing and management.
In addition, all of these IoT features need to be managed in one place for residents and property staff to effectively use the tool. In most cases, that single access point is through an app. An app allows users to work through all beneficial functions from wherever they are at work, shopping, out of town…or just in the other room and don’t want to get up (we’ve all been there).
What is an IoT App used for?
An IoT app serves as a digital gateway, allowing users to remotely control and monitor connected devices or systems. It enables seamless management of smart devices, offering functionalities such as adjusting settings, receiving real-time data, automating tasks, and enhancing overall convenience and efficiency in various aspects of daily life or business operations.
How will an IoT Management Application Make Life Easier?
IoT apps are overall designed to create efficient actions for users on tasks that traditionally take much longer to do- or aren’t capable of doing if not present. On a basic level, those actions can be broken down into 3 groups: consolidated control, remote capabilities, and automated actions.
Consolidated Control
Apps, apps, apps. Our phones and computers are filled with hundreds of apps for playing games, sending emails and texting. And moving between those apps to complete singular tasks is clunky–especially with separate logins for each one.
With an IoT app, there’s no need to log into separate applications several times a day to perform simple tasks. Your IoT app can connect to different devices across your apartment and eliminates the need to open product-specific apps. The smart device control center is arguably one the most important tools for users to successfully create efficiency in their work and home life. m.
Remote Capabilities
Remote capabilities in an IoT system happen between using an app to communicate with your apartment from anywhere. On the management side, property staff are able to have visibility into the status of smart devices in various locations around a property, then create actions on those devices from sitting at their desk. On the resident side, users use IoT apps to operate devices within their home from changing the temperature on their thermostat or giving temporary access for a friend to enter their apartment.
Automated Actions
Automated actions are where residents and property staff are really able to dig in and create efficiencies around their community and within residents’ homes. Customized automated processes allow users to create actions that expect the flow of their everyday life. For example, residents can create thermostat schedules that turn off their heat while they’re at work in the winter, and turn back on to warm up before they get home.
On the flip side, property staff are able to create automated actions with move outs, vacant units, new move-ins and more.
How to use an IoT apartment app
Different IoT apartment apps from different IoT providers will always vary in look and function. As a user, it is important to use the tool you have access to, to create efficient practices. In a general sense, find functions within the app that work for your life at home or at work and jump in with it. It should make a user’s life easier, not harder.
More specifically, the three groups of actions in the paragraph above are a great place for users to start experimenting with their IoT app. Test out automation techniques that individually fit your life and work style- and use that remote access to your advantage with friends, family, delivery drivers and vendors.
IoT technology continues to evolve in the multifamily industry to create more operational efficiencies that bring higher value to apartment communities and operators, property staff and residents.
For more information about Quext IoT, check out our website or other IoT related blogs.
