We were covered by The Ken on 6th April 2020 in the article ‘Covid-19 casts businesses into three concentric rings’. In it, they discussed how “companies like MyGate, which have become a part of the official response to the crisis, are in the best possible position” after the Covid outbreak.
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Here are a few snippets from the article:
The article describes MyGate as being part of ‘The Magic Ring’, reserved for companies that have become part of the official response of Covid-19. It states, “…The new order… consists of companies that have become the official lockdown product or service picked by authorities. MyGate, a security management app for apartment complexes, has tied up with the Karnataka State Police to become the official pass issuing platform for all companies that operate as an essential service.”
It then recounted the story of how the partnership came to be, and the benefits that have accrued to the city of Bengaluru as a result of it. It states, “The Bengaluru Police called Arisetty (MyGate CEO & Co-founder) on the first day of the lockdown for a solution that would automate the process of issuing passes. Until then, companies were queuing up for passes at the various Deputy Police Commissioners’ offices, turning them into Covid-19 hotspots.
“The Bengaluru Police was directed towards MyGate by one of its senior officers who had been with Nasscom for three years and knew the market, said Anucheth MN, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield. In times like this, the government couldn’t wait for companies to submit bids for such projects.
It was a project right up MyGate’s alley. “MyGate is a gatekeeper,” said Arisetty. “We issue passes to those who are authorised to go through the gate and reduce friction. We used the same concept for the entire city.” All MyGate had to do was tweak its gatekeeping app, which is used in 9,000 gated communities with 1.6 million homes across 14 cities. The new, modified app is owned by the Karnataka State Police but operated by MyGate. After a pilot in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, it was rolled out city-wide on 30 March. The app has since issued over 137,000 passes to over 20,400 organisations. That’s only a small fraction of the number of passes the companies applied for, according to the police.”
It also shed light on upcoming plans for the company. “To prevent misuse and backlog, MyGate is planning to roll out an API-enabled solution where passes will be generated only when an order needs to be delivered.
The API integration was something MyGate had implemented for its own gatekeeping product.
“We did the API integration because we wanted to make sure only a background-verified delivery executive is entering the complex,” said Arisetty.
“It was also to make it a seamless process. The idea was to give better security while bringing convenience.” Companies will have to approach the Karnataka Police to sign off on the API integrations.
The State Police hopes to roll out this system after it establishes round-the-clock helplines. Police authorities from Telangana and Kerala, too, have approached the Karnataka Police for this solution, according to DCP Anucheth. Arisetty is confident that MyGate has built a scalable solution. “The API integrations will mean seamless pass issuance in other states too,” he said. If the administrations give the go-ahead, MyGate can roll out the new solution in as many cities as required.
Working as a part of the official response not only gives companies visibility, but it also sets them up well for a post-Covid world. MyGate is not looking to acquire any new apartment complexes at this time, but the APIs of thousands of companies integrated with the app is a gold mine. These relationships could become a moat that makes MyGate more attractive than its competitors.
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