ADDA is an apartment management system, a comprehensive solution that has the capability to successfully fulfill requirements like facilitating communication between owners, tenants, and association members and Facility Management solutions for managing the property. The startup also has a Billing and Accounting Solution to help the management committee send bills, collect maintenance dues online and Security Management System to stop unauthorized visitors from entering, notify Residents for visitor entry, etc. Ms. San Banerjee, Co-Founder of ADDA answered questions related to the organization, technology, and the future ahead in an exclusive interview with IT-Voice.
Prateek: Tell us about the vision and mission of ADDA.
San Banerjee: Since its inception, ADDA has been a pioneer in community management for building networked communities for over 11+ Years. ADDA has Built a reputation for keeping our subscribed communities up-to-date in response to changes in real estate compliance and best practices. Today, ADDA is used by more than 500,000+ users in five countries around the world. ADDA has grown significantly from private social networks and support services for gated communities, and now the company has evolved into a platform that meets all the needs of running any residential complex. ADDA’s vision is to be the best in the world in community management SAAS in the proptech sector.
Prateek: How drones would simplify life in gated communities?
San Banerjee: As this technology advances, drones are ushering in a new era of affordable aviation that can bring tremendous benefits to society. Drone delivery could reduce inequality in access to quality products, especially for the elderly, people with disabilities, and health problems. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also taken the following small but important steps to strengthen government policies allowing the use of drones for both civil and commercial purposes. At the initial stage, they have selected seven companies for the trial run, including food delivery and delivery companies – Zomato, Swiggy, and Dunzo, healthcare providers – Zipline and Redwing, and conglomerate Tata Advanced Systems Limited. We expect businesses to be able to deliver goods safer, more efficiently, faster, and at a lower cost than traditional road transport. The whole process is completely Covid19-friendly, so shoppers, especially the most vulnerable customers, can shop safely from the comfort of their own homes.
Prateek: What is the scope of society management apps in India?
San Banerjee: In India, between 2009 and 2012, when ADDA was launched, a few players entered the market and the social management platform grew slowly. Since then, social management portals have mushroomed exponentially, most of them local and directed to only one or several cities. Around 2015, the focus was on managing visitors, with multiple companies launching offers in the same area and later expanding to other areas of the community management platform. As a result, most local platforms have either completely switched to visitor management or have collapsed. As of, there are few local players in this segment, with a few people across India. The average housing estate in India today is 300 units compared to 50 units 10 years ago. Big gated communities almost have up to 3,000 units with multiple clubhouses and dozens of towers. Imagine the state-of-the-art infrastructure you need to operate. Management of such real estate involves several aspects, such as facility management, financial management, vendor management, and above all, communication management, in order to build a harmonious and networked community. It’s hard to even think of managing all these aspects without a community management system or an interactive resident app.
Prateek: How ADDA is helping 3000+ housing societies in India deal with COVID-19?
San Banerjee: To manage the COVID19 pandemic in an efficient manner, it gave rise to the launch of the “Quarantine Tracker” in the ADDA app. This puts the list of all homes in the gated community under quarantine just to make people aware and it was voluntarily reported by each house in a responsible manner. It helped other neighbors to notice these isolated homes and expand their help. Next, we provided an “in-house parcel management” function that prevents the delivery person from going to the main door. Parcels were collected at the front gates of the society. The parcel entry will be made in the ADDA GateKeeper application. Residents were notified via the app to pick up their parcels at their front door or nearest doorway. Many communities have found hidden benefits in this process. Security has improved because 70% of visitors are delivery drivers and no longer need to come to the community. Another important feature was the “VaX Tracker”- This shows the number of people who have already been vaccinated in the company. This helped the association organize vaccination camps in the community and maintain the record.
Prateek: What are your future plans?
San Banerjee: Community management applications in India will be developed alongside the community management business itself. We are working on the integration of biometric attendance data, automatic gym gates to reduce the risk of transmission of germs and viruses, and the Automatic Number Plate Reader (AMTR) – which will be very useful for quick information and easy vehicle tracking. All of these operations interact with the hardware. We want to act like a socket that many organizations or businesses can connect to for additional services. The community will evolve with technological development and try to adapt to advancements in artificial intelligence access control and automatic gates.
