2019 - The Year of The Gate Cloud

This is that time of year when we put a little brain power into what we will see in 2019 regarding the gate industry. First we have to look at last year and see what what got some traction and what simply seemed like a nice-to-have effort.

The first thing that stands out is the expansion in the area of access control into a cloud based communication device running over cellular or IP and accessed by mobile device. The standout this past year was Cell-gate which released it’s Android-based Watchman EVO. With a focus of building their system on a stable and widely supported Android platform, they were able to more efficiently develop their system without relying on proprietary software costing more and creating longer development cycles. The excitement in this product is the full motion video delivered to a mobile device (mostly cell phones) which allows users to make remote access decisions in an age of everything delivered. With a face camera and area overview camera, the user has better information on whether to allow and access of deny it providing a potentially higher level of security.

While other companies like Liftmaster, Doorking and Elika have provided stronger support for cellular service and VOIP as the traditional POTS line have started fading from the technology landscape, we have not seen the strong mobile solution that Cell-gate brought to a younger renter market where Mobile devices are a critical staple of life management. Liftmaster and Doorking have strong, stable solutions in cloud-based management of users and Elika has also come in strong with simple to use and intelligent user management. In the case of Liftmaster, it’s strongest feature is it’s direct integration via wireless communication to it’s gate operator products.

Like anything that goes from simple to complex (or heavily featured) you gain some added simplicity and sexiness while opening up Pandora’s box for additional challenges like connection and cloud issues. We will see more migration and better stability throughout 2019 in cloud based access making lighter weight products more relegated toward simple residential use which often times is sustainable on simpler solutions.