In part two of our integrations deep dive, we're going to pick up right where we left off. If you haven't yet familiarised yourself with the 'what, when and why' of software integration for workspace management, here's a quick refresher. 

Now that you're up to speed - we're going to explain the various kinds of integrations you can create within your operational 'stack', what we consider the essentials and how to separate them from the nice-to-haves. 

The essentials.

Integrations range from access control (automating the way you let people in and out), to accounting, payments, printing management, WiFi credentials, Single Sign-On (SSO), resource bookings, visitor management, Point of Sale (PoS), reporting and even digital signatures. But you don't have to worry about every single one right away. 

In our opinion, the essential categories are access control and payments. While we recognise that Stripe, GoCardless, Square, Salto, Kisi or Doorflow will come at a cost, the service and operational improvements are too significant to overlook.

Access Control.

Electronic access control, in contrast to a physical key, is much more secure as you can instantly enrol or remove any user. Space owners and operators can also utilise this integration to gather insights on how their spaces are utilised. There are no keys to order, no copies to worry about and the days of changing locks are now in the past.

By incorporating access control within your management software, you can dynamically adjust access privileges when a member changes their plan. Moreover, by adding access control to meeting rooms, you can better manage bookings and ensure they're adhered to. 

Payments.

Integrated payment applications provide benefits at both the service level and the operational level -  operations, billing and costs. At Nexudus, we improve the service aspect even more by providing an electronic, simple and fast means of payment through native integrations with the best-known payment providers worldwide. 

The improvements we get by integrating with payment gateways such as Stripe, GoCardless and Square make members' lives easier and make their spending much safer. They also negate any human error when it comes to setting up, amending or removing payments tethered to unique member plans. No more missing charges or double-billing.

On the operational side, we ensure the process is as simplified (and as fully automated as possible) for operators. By plugging this functionality into access control and a CRM, operational teams can onboard a member on the same day as granting building access, charging an invoice for a muffin they bought and checking them into the space with WiFi credentials.

Imagine having to raise a ticket for each of the above steps. 

Nice-to-haves.

A caveat: how you prioritise non-essential integrations will depend entirely on the types of services you offer to members. In our decade-long experience managing spaces across the world, here's what we've found to generally be the best bonus integrations.

WiFi Networks / Check-in.

With these systems in place, space operators can ensure a check-in is performed as soon as a customer enters the space and connects one of their devices over WiFi.

On their own, WiFi check-in systems offer you the possibility of monitoring how a space is utilised by customers and also anticipate possible cancellations based on previous patterns. For added security, or in the event of an emergency, you'll quickly be able to see which users are currently within the space. When members with space usage limits extend their stay, this system also helps notify them of their time spent while allowing owners/ operators to maximise revenue.

Visitor management.

Streamlining space tours was, is and will continue to be a wonderful way to use integrations. We have found that, when the concept of visitor management became a mainstay in workspaces, there was an average of five emails exchanged (some automated, and some not) to schedule a visit. 

Today, using a tool like Calendly allows a potential customer to simply choose a convenient time for their visit, avoid any clashes or have to communicate any changes via email. Having a tool like NexIO in your space management arsenal can make this process an even more enjoyable way to manage visitors. 

NexIO adds many powerful self-sign features and lets visitors sign in digitally, with a pin, to any of your spaces. All notifications of a visit are then automated between your customers and their visitors. 

Booking resources and SSO.

We think it's an excellent idea to make your customers' lives easier by streamlining the process of first setting up a meeting, then booking a room, and then setting up a Zoom link for those joining remotely. Using native Zoom integrations within meetings allowed us to keep member communities engaged during the pandemic, and it continues to help us facilitate communication in a hybrid working world.  

We also find Single Sign-On (SSO) a useful tool to recommend in spaces where businesses with an emphasis on secure working standards come together. For example, our native Okta integration allows any business user to log into their Nexudus account using the same credentials as their organisation's network, and adds two-step authentication for added peace of mind.

Thoughts on Zapier.

If you are wondering what Zapier is, we put together a handy Zapier guide some time ago. Zapier is a "connector" that enables you to integrate the different apps you use, as seamlessly as possible, with each other. Think of it as a translator that gets apps - including Nexudus - talking to each other and working together.

With Mailchimp automation through Zapier, customers using Nexudus can set up a smooth onboarding process, and fully automate it, to ensure the best possible experience for new members. 

Build your own integrations.

If this series of integrations blogs has sparked your curiosity, we would encourage you to try and optimise your processes by strategically automating the more repetitive tasks, so human beings can manage my exception - and in a hassle-free manner.

In instances where a plug-and-play integration might not suit, or your unique tech stack requires requires tailor-made integrations, we recommend exploring our REST API and Public API. Through these, we empower clients with tools to craft their perfect integration and ensure that it works seamlessly with other digital tools in their spaces. Custom integrations offer a variety of ways to solve problems intelligently and can unlock any operational hurdles, allowing teams to maximise both revenue and customer experience.

At Nexudus, we’re passionately building technology that provides space owners and operators with fully customisable, easy-to-integrate digital solutions for their spaces, across coworking, commercial real estate, hospitality and beyond. Since 2012, our award-winning technology has helped workspace owners and operators in over 90 countries digitally transform their spaces, manage them more efficiently, provide exceptional customer experiences and gather advanced analytics for better decision-making.