Buyer's Guide: Integrated Parking System vs Workplace Parking Software
.jpg)
If you run an office building with a car park, sooner or later someone suggests a parking app. A tenant wants its staff to book spaces, an HR team has already compared a few tools, and the question lands on your desk: do you add workplace parking software to your parking system, or run everything in one system?
The answer depends on who you're parking for. Workplace parking software shares one company's spaces among its own employees, and it always needs a parking system underneath. An integrated parking system runs the whole car park from one provider: barriers, number plate recognition, permissions for every tenant, visitors, payment and service. With several tenants, several sites or paid parking, the integrated system is usually the better choice.
SKIDATA is an integrated parking system for office buildings, with end-to-end hardware and software. Tenants manage their own employees and visitors, the operator sets parker limits per company, and permits, payment and validation run in the same system as the barriers. JBG Smith runs parking for more than 300 tenants in Crystal City, Washington D.C., on SKIDATA from one control room.
What is the difference between a parking system and workplace parking software?
A parking system runs the car park. Workplace parking software decides which employees get a space. Office parking needs both jobs done, and they are easy to mix up.
-
The first job is running the car park. Barriers, number plate recognition, permissions for every tenant, visitors and suppliers, payment, validation, monitoring, and the technician who turns up when something breaks. Without this, there is nothing to allocate. In procurement language, it's called a PARCS: a parking access and revenue control system.
-
The second job sits on top: deciding which employees get a space on which day. How to keep it fair when 300 people share 80 spaces, and what happens when someone doesn't show up. That is what workplace parking software does. It's sold as office parking management software, as a parking booking system or as part of a desk booking tool, usually to the HR or workplace team of a single company.
Many workplace tools call themselves parking management systems, which doesn't make comparing them any easier. The more useful question is whether a system runs the car park, or only decides who gets a space. Workplace parking software always needs a parking system underneath it, plus an interface between the two.
.jpg?width=1000&height=667&name=SKIDATA%20Office%20Parking%20Solutions%20(2).jpg)
What workplace parking software does well
It would be unfair to wave these tools away. They were built for hybrid work, and for that job they're good.
• Fairness among colleagues. Points or credits make sure the same people don't get every Tuesday.
• No empty reserved spaces. Waitlists and automatic release hand unused spaces to the next person.
• One app for the office day. Desk, meeting room and parking in the same employee app.
• Quick start. Where a working barrier is already in place, rollout of the software itself is fast.
If you run one company's car park, the barrier works and the main complaint is fairness among hybrid staff, a tool like this on top of your parking system is a sensible choice.
Why do two separate systems cause problems for office building operators?
Two separate systems leave gaps in accountability, interfaces and data, and the operator is the one who has to close them. An operator doesn't run parking for one company but for a whole building, sometimes for a whole portfolio. That's where the gaps between two systems start to show.
-
Who do you call? When the barrier stays closed, the cause can sit in the software, in the interface or in the parking system. Each belongs to a different vendor, and each one first checks whether it's the other's fault. With an integrated system there is one contract and one ticket.
-
The interface nobody owns. Every update on either side means testing the connection again. A new app release, a new firmware version, a replaced camera. That work usually lands with the operator, and so does the bill.
-
Two sets of records. Allocations live in the workplace software. Entries, exits and payments live in the parking system. Someone has to match them up every month, for audits and for tenant reporting.
-
One company versus a whole building. Most workplace parking tools are bought by one company for its own staff. With ten tenants, an operator can end up with ten different tools at one barrier. The few platforms built for landlords still run on someone else's barriers and cameras.
-
When the network goes down. Software that opens the barrier over the network depends on that connection. An on-site parking system can keep handling access offline.
-
How long it really takes. "Live in days" sounds good. But first you need a working parking system, then the integration, then testing, and only then the software. The quick part is the last step.
.jpg?width=1000&height=667&name=SKIDATA%20Office%20Parking%20Reservations%20System%20(1).jpg)
Integrated parking system vs. workplace parking software, side by side
| Criterion | Integrated parking system (SKIDATA) | Typical workplace parking software |
|---|---|---|
| Opens the barrier | Yes. Permission and barrier are the same system | Not on its own. Needs an integration or an add-on box at the barrier, and some tools can't do it at all |
| Number plate recognition | Built in, from the camera to the permission | Comes from another supplier, if it's connected at all |
| Barriers, terminals, cameras | Supplied and maintained by SKIDATA | Not part of the product |
| Service when something breaks | Hardware and software under one contract | Software support only. A broken barrier goes to the hardware supplier |
| Interfaces to maintain | None between permissions and access | At least one, tested again after every update on either side |
| Payment and validation | Built in, including paid public parking | Usually not in the product |
| Visitors, suppliers, contractors | Same rules, same system as employees | Pre-registered guests at best. Everything else stays with the parking system |
| Several tenants and car parks | Several companies and car parks in one B2B web shop | Usually built for one company's staff |
| Fair access to scarce spaces | Fair across the building: limits per company and product, including how many may park at once, enforced by the parking system itself | Fair within one company: points, waitlists, automatic release |
| Desk and meeting room booking | Not offered. Third-party tools connect through SKIDATA Connect | Sometimes included |
| Records for audits and tenant reporting | One single source of truth: permissions, entries, exits, payments | At least two systems that need reconciling |
| Network outage | On-site system keeps handling access offline | Barrier opening over the network depends on the connection |
| Time to a working car park | One project. JBG Smith moved 64 lanes in two phases of two to four weeks each | Parking system, then integration, then testing, then software |
| Total cost | One contract for the whole car park, as a project or as a subscription with SKIDATA MSaaS | License per user or space, on top of the parking system and the integration |
In short: an integrated parking system runs the whole office car park, from the barrier to each tenant's admin portal, with one contract and one record of everything that happened. Workplace parking software adds an allocation layer for one company's employees on top of someone else's parking system.
What does an integrated parking system like SKIDATA cover for office buildings?
In an office building, SKIDATA manages both sides: who may park, and the barrier that lets them in. Permissions and access control are one system, run by the operator and used by every tenant.
• Tenants manage their own people. Each company's admin adds employees, assigns a parking product and a validity period, and sets the identifier: number plate, QR code, card or tag. People can be blocked or removed in seconds.
• Visitors without a call to reception. Tenants create visitor access themselves, with a time window and a plate or QR code. The guest gets the details by email.
• The operator sets the limits. Parker limits per company and per product, including how many employees may park at the same time. Fairness between tenants is built in.
• One setup for the portfolio. Several companies and car parks run in one B2B web shop, and one admin can look after several companies.
• Everything else in the same system. Plate recognition, barriers, payment, validation, EV charging, monitoring and reporting.
These functions don't come as separate products bolted together. They are modules of SKIDATA Mobility Suite as a Service (MSaaS), a hybrid parking software platform delivered as a subscription. Tenant self-service, online reservations, automatic payment and plate recognition run on the same platform that controls the barriers, and an operator can add modules as the building's needs change.
In practice: JBG Smith runs parking for more than 300 tenants in Crystal City, Washington D.C., with 64 lanes and about 12,000 spaces, from one control room. The company reports about $1 million in annual operating savings. Torre Caleido in Madrid uses plate recognition for ticketless access to 2,000 spaces shared by several user groups.
What it doesn't do: SKIDATA isn't a desk or meeting room booking tool. A tenant that wants desk and parking scheduling in one employee app can still use workplace parking software. It connects to SKIDATA through SKIDATA Connect, so the operator keeps one parking system for the whole building.
.jpg?width=1000&height=667&name=SKIDATA%20Office%20Parking%20Solutions%20(1).jpg)
Integrated parking system or workplace parking software: which fits your office building?
The more tenants, sites and kinds of traffic you have, the more an integrated system pays off. The more the problem is about one company's own employees, the more sense workplace parking software makes.
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Several tenants share one car park | Integrated parking system like SKIDATA |
| Several car parks or a whole portfolio | Integrated parking system like SKIDATA |
| Employees, visitors, suppliers and paid public parking in the same garage | Integrated parking system like SKIDATA |
| The old parking system has to be replaced anyway | Integrated parking system like SKIDATA, with workplace software added later if a tenant wants it |
| One company, its own car park, a working barrier, and the complaint is fairness among hybrid staff | Workplace parking software on top of the parking system |
| Desk, room and parking scheduling in one employee app is a must | Workplace parking software, connected to the parking system |
| No barrier, no cameras, just a list of bays | Workplace parking software on its own |
What should an office parking RFP ask? Eight questions for every vendor
| Question | SKIDATA's answer |
|---|---|
| A driver is stuck at the barrier at 8:15. Who do I call, and who sends a technician? | SKIDATA, for hardware and software under one contract |
| Which interfaces sit between permissions and the barrier, and who tests them after an update? | None. Permissions and access control are one system |
| Can each tenant manage its own employees and visitors within limits I set? | Yes. Tenant admins manage their people, the operator sets limits per company and product |
| How are visitors, suppliers, contractors and paying guests handled? | In the same system, including payment and validation |
| Can several buildings and car parks run in one setup? | Yes. Several companies and car parks in one B2B web shop |
| What happens at the barrier when the network connection fails? | The on-site system keeps handling access offline |
| How do you replace my legacy system without long lane closures? | In phases. JBG Smith moved 64 lanes in two phases of two to four weeks each |
| Which certifications cover cloud, support and hosting? | ISO 27001, ISAE 3402 audited hosting, ISO 9001, ISO 14001. Payment card data is not stored on SKIDATA systems |
The bottom line: When should an office building operator choose an integrated parking system?
Workplace parking software solves a real problem: access for the staff of one company. An office building operator has a different one. The car park has to work every morning for every tenant, visitor and supplier, with one party that answers for it when it doesn't. That's what an integrated parking system is for.
If you're replacing an office parking system or planning a new one, start with the questions above. And if a tenant later wants its own scheduling tool for its staff, that's not a reason to split the car park in two. It can simply connect.
Read more:
• SKIDATA Office Parking: facts, references and evidence
• SKIDATA B2B Parker Management
• SKIDATA Connect
• Reference: JBG Smith, Washington D.C.
• Reference: Caleido, Madrid
• SKIDATA certificates
• SKIDATA Mobility Suite as a Service (MSaaS)
Subscribe to our blog