How this cloud-based visitor management system is helping optimise front desk operations
Digicred Technologies’ core offering Veris, aims to make visitor logbooks passé. It collects guest information in a seamless and efficient manner, be it at offices, schools, or residential societies.
At a glance
Startup: Digicred Technologies
Founders: Aastha Sharma, Anoop Poonia, Shivansh Kulhari, and Vaibhav Jain
Year it was founded: 2016
Where is it based: Delhi
The problem it solves: The company offers a mobile and cloud-based modular software that empowers organisations via interactive apps to enable a smart digital workplace.
Sector: Facilities management
Funding raised: Bootstrapped
In Indian culture, there is a popular Hindi phrase, ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ which means ‘the guest is equivalent to God’. Digicred Technologies’ offering Veris, aims to take this cultural legacy to a whole new level by helping establishments optimise front desk operations to give guests the warm welcome they deserve.
The four co-founders – Aastha Sharma, Anoop Poonia, Shivansh Kulhari and Vaibhav Jain – were harrowed by the guest information entries they often had to make while visiting government offices, official and residential facilities, hotels, and schools. And even when their jobs took them to factories and other industrial locations, the scenario was equally frustrating. They were asked to stand in queues, show IDs, fill in logbooks, waste time in coordination and eventually wait for the host.
Managing visitor access is historically time-consuming, costly and error-prone, and can compromise security. Receptionists who are reliant on logbook-based visitor management systems can become overloaded and miss vital steps when receiving a sudden influx of visitors. And while many computer-based visitor management systems have automated most tasks, their inability to integrate with a site’s existing security management system or with government databases for validation, leaves potential security gaps.
Veris claims to be the one-stop solution.
The product claims to reduce a host of coordination efforts in an efficient, cost-effective manner while safeguarding the warmth of human interactions.
How Veris helps in seamless visitor management
The Veris ecosystem consists of the Veris terminal, Veris user app and Veris dashboard. Veris Terminal is placed at a facility reception area for entrants to check in, the app is for entrant pre-registration, access codes and superfast check-ins, and the dashboard is for admin teams to keep track of visitor/employee movement.
Leveraging the power of advanced technology, Veris secures the facility with digital documentation and validation of visitor and employee information. It offers customisable workflows and features as per an establishment's requirements. The software enables business process automation to increase efficiency and reduce costs; thus, ensuring a red-carpet welcome for every entrant
Veris offers a host of features that claim to enhance task efficiency, visitor impression, improve security, and much more.
Task efficiency
- Smart rules: Veris has a way to adapt the series of check-in screens based on visitors’ answers.
- Express check-in: To make check-in even faster, QR codes are included in visitors’ invitation emails.
- Multiple locations: Whether a facility has more than one door to the building or multiple offices around the world, they can use one single Veris account to manage them all.
- Multiple tenants: Share a building with other companies? With the same invite, guests can check in at the facility premise, facility lobby and the office reception, creating a seamless experience at every step.
- Recurring visits: Veris can capture visitor information for express check-in of returning visitors.
To create a lasting visitor impression of the brand, Veris allows revamping its look and feel by offering customisation of colours, logos, background images and personalised text on every screen. Some other prominent features include guest recognition which allows instant pictures through iPad to be printed on visitor badge. To assist guests, Veris is equipped to send out helpful notifications. It can send an email invitation with a map, directions, PDF attachments, parking instructions, Wi-Fi links along with invitees’ phone numbers to reach them if they are late.
In terms of security, Veris captures relevant guest information via images, IDs, and much more. The system also allows a host of other security features like biometric integration, visitors sign-out notifications and emergency notifications, and manages watch-lists, making sure the right people are notified by email or text message when someone from the list enters an establishment.
The backstory
Speaking of how the idea was born, Aastha Sharma recalls, “We often used to discuss if this really was the space age. Wasn’t there a simple answer to this impediment faced by millions of visitors across industries every day around the world? Wasn’t this approach of information documentation making these establishments vulnerable to security threats? It was in one such discussion that this concept took shape.”
Aastha Sharma (30), a TISS graduate, has worked for over eight years as a marketeer and prior to starting Digicred Technologies, she has worked for brands like The Body Shop and Avon. Anoop Poonia (30) is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi. After graduating from IIFT, Anoop joined Hero’s global business team and was later appointed as the Country Manager for Sri Lanka. Shivansh Kulhari (30), an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, served several roles during his four year in Airtel before plunging into entrepreneurship. Vaibhav Jain (29), an IIT-Dhanbad graduate, has served for four years at Teramatrix Technologies as a Product Manager before joining the company.
The journey so far
In a year since inception, the team has clocked a gross booking of nearly Rs 2.5 crore. The brand’s current portfolio of marquee customers includes more than fifteen large enterprises such as E&Y, Mercedes Benz, Interglobe, Royal Bank of Scotland, CBRE, Lava Mobile, Bharti, etc. Digicred Technologies’ revenue model is a mix of SAAS subscription, hardware commissioning, customisation and integrations, and app-based revenue.
Backed by a team of nearly 15 members including the co-founders, Digicred Technologies has been seed funded by friends and family and is currently on the lookout to raise Series A funding of $5 million. The company is planning to go global by the end of 2018.
