Advanced features of cloud-based visitor management systems

Guest registration is required in most office buildings. With cloud-based visitor management systems (VMS), the registration process can be automated, saving effort, reducing costs and improving the guest experience.
 
There are many solutions on the market, but at their core all VMS solutions allow visitors to check-in for a visit, and once they’ve checked in, the person they are visiting is notified via email notification or text message.
 
Advanced VMS features include allowing guests to preregister ahead of an appointment via web, email, text or app; the ability to have guests electronically sign agreements and forms; and multilingual support for the check-in process.
 
All these features allow the front desk to process entries quicker and avoids a crowded reception area. This is especially helpful when hosting large events with high footfall traffic.
 
“Frequent visitors will not have to enter their details each time they arrive. Exiting is also a hassle-free process, requiring the pass to be placed in the drop box. Visitors will leave with a positive impression of your organization,” said Ann-Christin Barck, Product Marketing Manager of Nexus Group, a provider of identity solutions for access control.
 
Since guest information will be stored in the database, security personnel can also search historical visits and create a watch list of unauthorized or problematic visitors. Because the VMS is closely related to a property’s security, advanced systems sometimes allow for integration with access control.

Enhanced visitor experience

 Andy Alsop, President of The Receptionist, a cloud-based VMS solution provider, said advanced VMS differentiated by taking “visitor experience” more seriously.
 
“Rather than having all visitors check in using the same standard check-in process, the best visitor management systems offer the ability to customize and segment visitors based on their reason for visiting an office or location,” Alsop noted.

“For example, the check-in process for an interviewee is very different than the check-in process for a delivery driver or contractor, so offering up unique check-in pathways for each visitor type is crucial,” Alsop explained.
 
Ann-Christin Barck from Nexus Group said: “With customization, you can create a unique experience from badge designs to the check-in flow to match your existing processes and brand.” This would improve the experience for visitors and automate the welcoming of guests, she added.

Biometric identification

When it comes to advanced VMS features, at the forefront of the development is use of biometric technology to screen visitors. M2SYS Technology’s VisitorTrack, for example, used fingerprint, finger vein, face and iris recognition to identify visitors “with a great deal of certainty,” said Shaon Shahnewaz, Team Lead of M2SYS. “It allows us to separate authorized visitors from the troublemakers conveniently.”
 
Among M2SYS’ clients is HCI Group, a healthcare IT consulting company. VisitorTrack was installed at 30 terminal points of access to track the activities of onsite trainers. A database that contained all the trainers’ biometric templates was created.
 
“The visitors now scan their biometric at the front desk, collect a digital badge in their smartphone and submit their vital visitation details,” Shahnewaz said.
 
The system also had other added benefits. “The use of biometric technology also added tremendous value and costs savings to the HCI group by removing the need to manufacture and maintain plastic ID cards, barcode readers, or PIN pads,” Shahnewaz noted.
 
Steve Van Till, CEO of Brivo, a cloud access control solution provider, believes facial recognition will be adopted even more in the future. “The second time you visit, for example, a visitor management system could recall your face from the first time you visited, and spare you the trouble of entering your personal data all over again."