All things digital door access

Introduction to Blog („About and Why“):

This blog explores the rapidly evolving world of digital door access, drawing on a decade of experience in the German multifamily housing market and beyond. Authored by Karsten Nölling, CEO of KIWI, and Dr.-Ing. Florian Merz, CTO of KIWI, it is designed as an open, creative space to share insights, observations, and ideas – encouraging discussions within the global digital access community. We do not aim for academic rigor, the blog offers a think-tank environment where both structured concepts and imaginative possibilities have a place. And yes, we use ChatGPT – for English editing assistance only.

Core Beliefs: The foundation of this blog rests on several guiding principles:

Expanding the Vision: A $100bn Industry Over a $10bn Industry: We believe the potential of the digital access industry is vast and still largely untapped. This is not just about incremental growth; it’s about redefining the market itself. To put a number to it, we think there is truth in Lee Odess‘ estimate of a $100bn market – as a starting point.
Day One Mentality: Embracing the Unknown Unknowns: The digital access industry is still in its infancy, with countless unknowns yet to emerge. From producers, channels and software to pricing, installation and service to interoperability and AI and everything in between, there are opportunities for innovation at every turn.
End-to-End Solution Thinking: The future belongs to integrated, seamless solutions—not fragmented approaches with distinct producers, products, integrators, and channels.
Software as the Key Driver: While hardware is foundational, the true power of digital access lies in (open) software. It enables agility, scalability, and innovation, making it the cornerstone of the industry’s evolution.
Dynamic Over Hierarchical Permission Models: Moving away from rigid, hierarchical locking plans toward flexible, overlapping, and dynamic permission systems. These models better align with the complex, interconnected realities of modern access needs for unlimited numbers of doors and users.

14th January 2025

Three separate digital door access experiences are converging into one unified experience

by Karsten Nölling (KIWI CEO)

The fragmented world of digital door access is about to undergo a significant transformation. Today, three key aspects – installing hardware, managing permissions and opening doors – function as largely disconnected experiences. But this is starting to change, and the impact will reshape how we think about access systems.