The French publisher Saasoffice has just announced the acquisition of Welcomr, specialist in 100 % cloud access control, to strengthen its offer in the field of smart buildings. With this operation, Saasoffice continues its consolidation strategy of the workplace Management market by integrating a critical technological brick, namely physical access to tertiary spaces.
Tl; Dr – Saasoffice acquires Welcomr to build muscle its smart workplace platform
👥 For whom is it important?
- Real estate decision -makers seeking to digitize access management
- Office operators, coworkings, multisite tertiary land
- Integrators and Facility Managers operating connected systems
- IT and SIRH managers in charge of access and security flows
- European Smart Building investors and players
💡 Why is it strategic?
- Adding a Cloud access control module to a modular SaaS suite
- Software + hardware vertical integration, in a sovereign logic
- Interoperability with existing systems (Office 365, HRMS, etc.)
- Complementarity of product and industrial expertise
- International expansion vector via an already referent brand
🔧 What it changes concretely
- Centralization of reservation, access and building management functions
- Deletion of silos between physical control and digital management
- Cloud access compatible with market standards (Aperio, OSDP, etc.)
- Strengthening RGPD guarantees and local data processing
- Acceleration of industrialization and deployment on a scale
A European ambition in a recomposition market
Created around the trio Christophe Courtin, Didier Fornetti and Brice Arnavon, Saasoffice develops a modular suite of software for the management of work environments. Its solutions send the challenges of space booking, management of equipment, energy management or even multisite supervision. The objective is to offer a unified, interoperable and centered offer on the new uses of professional spaces.
In a context of rapid transformation of the office (hybridization of uses, explosion of coworking, rationalization of surfaces), Saasoffice intends to structure a French alternative to international verticized consequences, especially North American. The integration of Welcomr is part of this dynamic by making it possible to link digital flows (SaaS) to physical flows (access, security, occupation) within the same interface.
Welcomr: a native hardware brick, 100 % cloud
Founded in 2016, Welcomr specializes in digital access controls, compatible with industrial standards (OSDP, Aperio, Simons Vos), and usable via a Cloud interface. Its platform makes it possible to remotely manage access to buildings via badges, QR codes, Bluetooth, or mobile opening. Its technology is used by actors like BNP Paribas Real Estate, ICADE, SNCF or ENGIE, and today represents around 50 % of the French coworking market, according to the company.
Welcomr provides Saasoffice with a rare industrial capacity, namely the control of the whole chain, from the manufacture of hardware to the software interface. This integration will allow the group to propose a solution combining digital supervision and secure physical access, while respecting the RGPD requirements on the processing of sensitive data.
A modular strategy, controlled by the use
Unlike certain actors who bet on closed platforms, Saasoffice claims an ecosystem logic. Its modules can be integrated into the tools already in place (HRSH, ERP, calendars, etc.), without imposing a proprietary environment.
By adding the “access control” layer to its software suite, Saasoffice now covers the entire management spectrum of a tertiary building (planning, reservation, supervision, security, opening), all from a single interface, adapted to the needs of operators as well as end users.
