Awaio is a workplace and property platform combining services such as door access, meeting rooms, desks, parking and shared building services in one application.
For physical access, Awaio manages the user, organisation and access rights, while Inlet provides the connection to the building's lock and access control systems.
Instead of Awaio having to maintain a separate integration for each access control platform, it communicates with Inlet through one integration layer.
What Awaio does
Awaio is the user-facing platform.
It handles:
- Users and tenant organisations
- Identity
- Access rights
- Door access requests
- Meeting room bookings
- Shared workplace and building services
For business users, identity can be connected to the organisation's Microsoft or Google environment.
Awaio determines who the user is and what they are allowed to access.
What Inlet does
Inlet acts as the integration layer between Awaio and the physical access control infrastructure.
When Awaio requests access to a door, Inlet translates that request into the functionality required by the connected access control system.
This allows the same Awaio integration to be used across different buildings and access control platforms without requiring Awaio to implement each lock system individually.
The Awaio integration material describes Inlet as supporting approximately 50 lock and access control systems, including systems such as ASSA ABLOY ARX, Integra and RCO.
The door access journey
1. The user requests access
An employee, tenant or guest requests access to a door from the Awaio application.
2. Awaio verifies the user and access rights
Awaio determines:
- Who the user is
- Which organisation the user belongs to
- Whether the user has access to the requested resource
For business environments, this identity can be connected to Microsoft or Google.
3. Awaio sends the request to Inlet
If the user has the appropriate access rights, Awaio sends the door request to Inlet.
Awaio therefore communicates with a single integration instead of communicating directly with each individual access control system.
4. Inlet communicates with the access control system
Inlet identifies the appropriate connected access control system and performs the requested access operation.
The underlying system could for example be ARX, Integra, RCO or another access control system supported by the Inlet platform.
5. The door opens
From the user's perspective, the entire process happens from inside Awaio.
The user does not need to know which access control system is installed in the building.
Multi-tenant buildings
Awaio is designed for buildings where several organisations share entrances, meeting rooms and common areas.
Each tenant can connect its own Microsoft or Google business environment, while Awaio keeps users and permissions separated between the different organisations.
The tenants can therefore have their own users and access rights while sharing the same:
- Awaio application
- Building
- Common entrances
- Meeting rooms
- Shared areas
- Access infrastructure
Inlet provides the common connection from Awaio to the physical access systems in the building.
Temporary PIN access
Awaio can also use temporary PIN-based access.
A PIN can be created for a specific door and a limited period, for example for:
- Visitors
- Deliveries
- Temporary access
The PIN is only valid for the configured door and time period.
Mobile Wallet access
The integration can also support access where a user's access credential is delivered through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
In this model, Awaio continues to manage the identity and access rights, while the wallet acts as the user's carrier for the access credential.
The exact functionality depends on the connected access control system and configuration.
Meeting rooms
Awaio can combine meeting room booking with physical access.
A meeting can be booked either:
- Through the Awaio application, or
- Through the Awaio Outlook integration
Both routes result in the same booking being managed by Awaio.
When the user arrives, the same identity and access flow can be used for the building entrance and the meeting room door through Inlet.
Parking and other access-controlled resources
The same architecture can also be used for resources outside traditional doors.
The Awaio documentation describes parking as an example: a parking space can be associated with a reservation, while the barrier can be controlled through the same Inlet connection used for doors in the building.
Technical flow
At a high level, the integration works like this:
User → Awaio → Inlet → Access control system → Door
Identity and permissions
Awaio determines who the user is and which resources the user should have access to.
Access request
Awaio sends the appropriate access operation to Inlet.
Integration
Inlet translates the request into the functionality required by the connected access control system.
Physical access
The access control system performs the physical operation at the door or other controlled resource.
This separation means that Awaio can focus on the workplace and tenant experience while Inlet handles access-system integrations.
Summary
With Awaio + Inlet, Awaio is the user-facing workplace platform and determines identity and access rights, while Inlet acts as the integration layer towards the physical access control systems.
This provides a common architecture across different buildings and access systems:
User → Awaio identity and permissions → Inlet → Access control system → Physical access
This is particularly useful in multi-tenant properties where different organisations share the same building and infrastructure while maintaining their own users and permissions.