We previously discussed how the advancement of digital parking and mobility technologies are enhancing the customer experience. Digital parking solutions are increasingly improving the way parking owners and operators are able to do business. It has allowed them to focus more on the ultimate goal of serving customers while helping to streamline their procedures, increase revenues, and implement cutting edge technologies with little upfront cost or disruption in their operations.
The three assets that require active management and maintenance in a parking operation are – the equipment, the employees, and the facility. In this blog we explore how the digital transformation is reducing the equipment management and maintenance responsibility and the cost thereof, for garage operations.
As we explored in our last two blogs, when parking operations go digital, most of the bulky and expensive equipment gets virtualized, and gives way to the software in cloud. Digital rationalization leads to minimization of the hardware and software footprint onsite in the garage. Further, this next generation, digital-ready, minimal hardware and software is built to be self-managing to a large extent, and also has very efficient remote monitoring and management features.
As the bulk of garage equipment is virtualized, all the expenditures for procuring and up keeping the equipment, shifts from the capital to the operating expenses for the operator. In most cases, even this operating expense is transferred over to the technology vendors, as they are now responsible for managing their own systems. Vendors are able to deliver on these promises because digital minimization has reduced the costs of onsite hardware and software from tens of thousands of dollars to a few hundreds of dollars, making them more or less disposable. So now if the equipment is not performing optimally, the vendor gets alerted remotely, and in most cases can replace it in no time before it affects garage operations. This is a great alternative to the vendor spending their expensive field engineering resources to troubleshoot or repair it.
In a digital garage, expensive PARCS systems, ticket dispensing machines, pay-on-foot machines, cash registers, etc. all give way to cheaper sensors and readers, and the mobile payment on customer phones. Gates and barriers will eventually give way to ALPR based enforcement. Desktops and server machines from the garage move over to the software and virtual machines in the cloud. Wayfinding signage will give way to digital signage, guiding the customer all the way from entry to their vacant parking spot, reducing carbon emissions and the time to park. Old lighting systems give way to smart energy efficient, sensor controlled lighting systems, giving customers a pleasant parking experience, as well as a strong sense of safety.
As all this monolithic equipment gives way to a minimal equipment footprint in a digitally transformed garage, not only is one left with very little equipment to maintain, but also with a lot cleaner and greener garage with reduced energy consumption, and almost no e-waste and paper waste.
ParkEngage offers a complete suite of digital products over a powerful Digital Platform. Check out ParkEngage Touchless Self-Parking, Touchless Valet, Online Reservations, and Permit Parking for more on how you can completely transform your garage operations into a digital garage.
