While transitioning into civilian life after more than a decade in the Indian Air Force, I was struck by how the growing propensity to ask for goods and services to be home delivered was causing disruptions in traditional security processes at gated communities.Security guards were unable to deal with the increased traffic at the gate and the existing processes and technologies were proving inadequate. It became clear that the authentication process needed to be digitized. This was a weak signal, no doubt, but I was convinced that it warranted deeper analysis.
We built a strong solution for these problems, and, in doing so, we were not only able to ensure seamless verification of all visitors, but deliver a number of other conveniences to residents. We could help them manage their deliveries when they were away, inform them of the arrival of their maid, enhance the security of their children, notify guards if delivery executives overstayed their welcome, among much else. A business is always looking for ways to quantify the utility of its solution. You want to know that it is a painkiller (need to have), and not just a vitamin (good to have). It is difficult to be certain.
Then, for the second time in three years, rains hit Chennai in November 2017. Connectivity dropped all across Bengaluru, which receives internet from cables laid under the port city. Our services were hit. Gate notifications weren’t reaching our customers and there was nothing we could do about it. Every one of us had to drop what we were doing and answer the phone. Within eight hours, around 40% of our customer base had contacted us to complain. We were delighted! A day or two later, internet speeds went back to normal and we went back to work, buoyed by the knowledge that what we were building really was a painkiller. Fast forward two years and MyGate has seen phenomenal growth. Our security solution is now in 1.2 million homes across 5,000 gated premises in 11 Indian cities. Ironically, the strongest indicator of our impact was a weak (internet) signal.
[“source=livemint”]
