The ROI of Unified Access: How Cohesion's Platform Reduces Operational Costs While Strengthening Security Protocols

Access control has traditionally been viewed as a necessary building function—but in today’s smart buildings, it’s also an opportunity for operational savings, security enhancement, and portfolio-wide efficiency. Managing who gets in, when, and how no longer needs to rely on multiple vendors, siloed systems, or labor-intensive processes. With a unified platform like Cohesion’s, real estate leaders can centralize access control, reduce administrative overhead, and enhance security posture—all while generating measurable ROI.

From multi-tenant high-rises to enterprise portfolios, unified access control helps teams streamline operations, reduce risk, and make better decisions through real-time insights and data integration.

Introduction to Unified Physical Access Control

Unified physical access control refers to the centralization of all physical entry points—main building doors, suites, meeting rooms, amenities, elevators, and parking—into a single, integrated platform. Unlike IT-based access control, which governs user permissions for networks and systems, unified building access control focuses on the physical movement of people throughout a real estate space. Cohesion’s platform makes this process seamless, scalable, and secure.

Why unified physical access control matters:

• Streamlines credentialing for occupants, tenants, employees, and vendors across multiple properties
• Improves visibility into who is entering, when, and under what level of access
• Supports integration with other building systems, such as HVAC, lighting, and visitor management

As buildings adopt more advanced smart technologies, fragmented access systems have become a liability—slowing down operations, increasing costs, and leaving gaps in security. Cohesion’s unified platform addresses these issues with enterprise-ready access solutions that scale, integrate, and adapt.

Operational Challenges in Traditional Access Systems

Legacy access control systems were often deployed on a building-by-building basis, using different technologies, vendors, and credential formats. While they served basic security needs, these fragmented systems create significant challenges for modern operations and security teams—especially across large portfolios.

Common issues include:

• Disparate access platforms across properties make centralized oversight and reporting nearly impossible
• Manual physical credentialing processes are time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to scale
• Poor incident response coordination, as access data may be delayed, incomplete, or require multiple systems to reconcile

These inefficiencies add up, not just in labor hours, but in risk exposure, missed insights, and occupant frustration. By unifying access under one cloud-based platform, Cohesion eliminates the redundancies and blind spots that traditional systems can’t avoid.

What Is the ROI of Security Integration?

While access control is often viewed as a cost center, integrating access systems into a broader smart building platform can generate tangible financial and operational returns. The ROI of unified security isn’t just in reducing incidents, it’s in automating workflows, lowering support costs, and making better-informed decisions.

Key ROI contributors include:

• Labor savings from automating credential onboarding, management, and offboarding, reducing manual oversight, and consolidating vendor relationships
• Improved incident response with centralized logs and real-time monitoring that minimizes risk and liability
• Long-term value through future-proof infrastructure, fewer point solutions, and reduced maintenance across the access control tech stack

For building owners, security integration delivers measurable return not only through operational savings but also through improved tenant satisfaction and risk mitigation—factors that directly influence lease renewals and asset value.

How Unified Access Reduces Labor and Administrative Costs

Managing access credentials manually across multiple buildings is not only inefficient—it’s costly. Cohesion’s unified platform reduces labor hours and administrative overhead by automating access management and consolidating control into one dashboard.

Efficiency gains include:

• Automated credential issuance and revocation: New tenants or employees can receive access credentials digitally and instantly, while offboarding is just as quick, minimizing risk from outdated or forgotten badges.
• Streamlined visitor management workflows: Cohesion integrates visitor pre-registration, mobile credentials, and entry permissions into a seamless check-in process, reducing front desk congestion and staff involvement.
• Reduced training and support hours: Rather than training teams on multiple access systems, operations staff can manage and maintain all access-related workflows from a single, intuitive platform.

These improvements translate to real savings in time, wages, and long-term system management, especially for portfolios with diverse buildings and user groups.

Enhancing Access Management Efficiency Across Portfolios

For real estate operators managing multiple buildings, consistency and visibility across sites are key. Unified access control centralizes permissions, policies, and credential management, allowing operations teams to enforce standards and respond quickly, without jumping between disconnected systems.

How Cohesion boosts portfolio-wide efficiency:

• Single-dashboard management: Control access across multiple properties from one centralized interface, assign roles, issue credentials, and monitor events in real time.
• Role-based credentialing: Streamline access based on user type (e.g., tenant, vendor, property staff) with defined permissions that apply automatically across all locations.
• Systemwide policy enforcement: Ensure compliance with building access protocols by pushing real-time updates and configuration changes across the entire portfolio.

This level of control helps reduce inconsistencies, eliminates duplication, and dramatically improves the operational agility of building and security teams.

Strengthening Security Protocols Through Centralized Control

Security is only as strong as its weakest link—and in buildings with disconnected access systems, those links are hard to detect. Centralizing access control strengthens overall security posture by providing a unified, real-time view of access points, user behavior, and policy enforcement.

Key security benefits:

• Elimination of badge loopholes: Deactivate credentials instantly across all properties when access is revoked—no more orphaned badges floating around.
• Consistent enforcement of security policies, any additional biometric authentication, time-based access restrictions, or vendor-specific access levels.
• Cross-referencing access logs with occupancy and building system data to detect anomalies (e.g., access granted in unoccupied zones, unusual time-of-day entry attempts).

Cohesion’s platform brings clarity and control to access management, helping teams respond faster, investigate more effectively, and ensure that the right people always have the right level of access—no more, no less.

Building Credential Management: Eliminating Redundancy

Traditional access systems often result in overlapping credentials, especially in multi-tenant buildings or portfolios with multiple vendors and decentralized onboarding processes. This redundancy leads to inefficiencies, security risks, and confusion during credential audits or tenant transitions.

How Cohesion simplifies credential management:

• Reduces duplicate credentials by linking user profiles across buildings, so tenants and vendors have one mobile credential that works everywhere they're authorized.
• Streamlines tenant onboarding and offboarding, allowing access to be granted or removed across all relevant areas with just a few clicks—no need for badge collection or reprogramming doors individually.
• Integrates with HR, SSO, and identity platforms, enabling automatic provisioning of credentials when new employees are added or terminated from a company's internal systems.

By centralizing credential control, Cohesion helps eliminate gaps, reduce administrative load, and create a more secure and efficient user experience for both tenants and operations teams.

Enterprise Access Solutions Designed for Scalability

For enterprise portfolios, access management needs to be not only secure—but scalable. Whether you're operating a single flagship building or a global portfolio of properties, Cohesion’s access solutions are designed to grow with you.

Features that support scalable access management:

• Flexible platform architecture that supports buildings of all sizes and system types—new construction, retrofits, and everything in between
• Custom configurations tailored to enterprise-grade security requirements, including support for third-party integrations, complex permission hierarchies, and compliance needs
• Unified data streams that enable CRE and security leaders to track access behavior across buildings and regions—supporting risk management, staffing decisions, and portfolio planning

This level of scalability ensures that organizations can maintain high security standards and efficient workflows, even as assets expand and operational demands evolve.

Financial Impacts on Security Budget Allocation

Security systems often represent a significant portion of a building’s operational budget—especially when they involve multiple hardware vendors, software platforms, and ongoing maintenance agreements. Unifying access control through Cohesion can reduce these expenses and introduce greater predictability into budgeting.

Where the savings show up:

• Lower ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs: By consolidating disparate systems, you reduce the need for specialized support, version upgrades, and expensive patchwork fixes across different platforms.
• Minimized capital spend on redundant hardware: Unified credentialing removes the need for multiple badge readers or physical access devices at overlapping points of entry.
• Cloud-based cost efficiency: Cohesion’s centralized, cloud-native platform reduces reliance on expensive on-premise servers and simplifies future upgrades—delivering consistent value over time.

This approach allows security and operations leaders to better allocate funds, plan more effectively, and reduce unexpected costs—while still improving the overall security and access experience.

Data-Driven Decision Making for Real Estate Leaders

In today’s CRE and corporate real estate landscape, data isn’t just about reporting, it’s a competitive advantage. Unified access control generates rich, real-time insights that help real estate leaders make smarter decisions about space utilization, staffing, leasing, and long-term capital investments.

Examples of access data insights:

• Informing space rationalization by analyzing usage trends, peak hours, and amenity demand, helping teams create more responsive tenant offerings.
• Optimizing staffing levels based on actual access patterns and occupancy data, reducing unnecessary coverage and improving efficiency.
• Identifying security vulnerabilities by flagging unauthorized access attempts, credential sharing, or unusual activity across properties.

When combined with analytics tools like Savvy, Cohesion’s access data becomes an asset for both day-to-day management and portfolio-wide planning.

The Future of Smart Building Access

Access control is evolving quickly, from keycards and fobs to mobile credentials, biometrics, and intelligent automation. As technology advances and tenant expectations rise, the future of smart building access will be defined by its flexibility, security, and intelligence.

Emerging trends shaping the future:

• AI and predictive analytics: Access systems will soon do more than track movement, they’ll predict behavior, flag anomalies, and automatically adjust permissions based on risk or occupancy patterns.
• Mobile and biometric credentialing: The shift to phone-based and biometric access (facial recognition, fingerprint scanning) will continue to eliminate friction while enhancing security.
• Compliance and regulatory evolution: As data privacy laws tighten and ESG standards become more embedded in real estate operations, access systems will need to support transparent, auditable workflows.

Cohesion is at the forefront of this shift, offering a future-ready platform designed to adapt as new technologies and regulations emerge, helping properties stay secure and competitive.

Why Cohesion’s Unified Platform Makes a Strategic Investment

Cohesion’s unified access control platform does more than manage doors, it consolidates physical security, tenant experience, and operational efficiency into one intelligent system. For real estate leaders focused on cost control, security posture, and long-term scalability, it offers a clear return on investment.

What makes Cohesion a smart choice:

• Full platform consolidation: Access control, visitor management, tenant engagement, and analytics are all built into one cohesive (and secure) environment.
• Interoperability: Seamlessly integrates with existing systems, from building automation to HR platforms and identity providers.
• Ongoing innovation: Regular updates, analytics enhancements, and expanding integrations ensure that your access strategy stays aligned with future needs.
• Occupant experience at the forefront: Cohesion simplifies access for end users through a mobile-first experience—enabling tenants and employees to manage credentials, check in visitors, and interact with the building from one intuitive app.

By simplifying operations and enabling data-driven decisions, Cohesion turns access management into a value driver—not just a security measure.

Ready to Unify Your Access Strategy?

Cohesion helps real estate teams reduce cost, streamline operations, and strengthen building security—without adding complexity. Whether you’re managing one property or a national portfolio, our platform adapts to your needs and grows with your goals.

Let’s connect. Contact us to schedule a demo and see how unified access can transform your building operations.

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