ASSA

Could the partnership result in new cross‑selling opportunities or bundled solutions that enhance recurring revenue streams?

Created August 07, 2025 at 01:10 PM

Yes – the Transact + CBORD + ASSA ABLOY partnership creates a strong platform for new cross‑selling and bundled‑solution offerings that can significantly boost recurring‑revenue streams.

Below is a step‑by‑step breakdown of why and how this is likely to happen, anchored in the facts from the news release.

1. What the partnership actually delivers

Partner	Core Capability	What it adds to the joint solution
Transact + CBORD	Campus‑management software, mobile credential issuance, visitor‑management, payment & dining platforms	Enables a software‑first, mobile‑credential ecosystem that can push credentials to smartphones, integrate with existing student information systems, and provide data‑analytics/billing services.
ASSA ABLOY	High‑security electronic locks, door‑hardware, wireless access readers, credential‑validation hardware	Supplies the physical access‑control hardware that receives and validates the mobile credentials, plus the “smart‑lock” portfolio that can be retro‑fitted to existing doors.

Together they give campuses a complete, end‑to‑end mobile‑first access solution: from the lock on the door (ASSA ABLOY) to the cloud‑based credential issuance and management platform (Transact + CBORD).

2. Why this opens cross‑selling and bundling opportunities

2.1 Integrated hardware‑software bundles

Bundled offering: A campus can purchase a “Campus‑Secure‑Kit” that includes ASSA ABLOY smart locks, wireless readers, and a 3‑year subscription to the Transact + CBORD mobile‑credential platform.
Revenue impact: Hardware sales are typically one‑off, but the software subscription creates a multi‑year, recurring revenue (RR) stream. The more doors a campus equips, the larger the subscription base (per‑door licensing, per‑user licensing, or per‑transaction fees).

2.2 Expansion of the credential ecosystem

Cross‑sell to existing ASSA ABLOY customers: Many universities already own ASSA ABLOY locks but still run legacy mechanical or RFID systems. The partnership lets ASSA ABLOY sales teams upgrade those sites to mobile‑first by adding the Transact + CBORD platform—turning a hardware‑only sale into a hardware + software recurring contract.
Cross‑sell to existing Transact + CBORD customers: Schools already using CBORD’s campus‑services (dining, payment, visitor‑management) can now add ASSA ABLOY’s smart‑lock hardware to the same platform, simplifying procurement and creating a single‑vendor, integrated contract that is more attractive for long‑term budgeting.

2.3 New ancillary services that generate recurring income

Service	How it ties to the partnership	Recurring‑revenue model
Mobile‑credential lifecycle management (issuance, revocation, temporary guest passes)	Managed in the Transact + CBORD cloud; hardware validates in real time	Per‑credential or per‑guest‑pass subscription
Analytics & compliance reporting (door‑usage trends, security‑event logs)	Data pulled from ASSA ABLOY readers into the CBORD dashboard	Tiered SaaS subscription (basic vs. premium analytics)
Integrated payment & access (e.g., charging for door‑access, vending, parking)	CBORD’s existing payment engine can be linked to door events, creating new revenue streams for campus services	Transaction‑percentage fees or flat‑rate per‑transaction
Managed services / remote monitoring (24/7 health‑check of locks, firmware updates)	ASSA ABLOY hardware can be monitored via the cloud platform	Annual service contract, per‑device monitoring fee

2.4 “Platform‑as‑a‑Service” (PaaS) licensing

The joint solution can be packaged as a PaaS where campuses pay a per‑door, per‑user, or per‑square‑foot license. This model is inherently recurring and scales with campus growth (new buildings, dorms, labs).

2.5 Upsell pathways

From basic mobile access to advanced security: Once a campus is on the mobile‑credential platform, ASSA ABLOY can sell higher‑security lock families (e.g., biometric‑enabled, anti‑tail‑gating) that still work with the same software.
From access to broader campus‑services: CBORD can bundle its existing dining, ID‑card, and visitor‑management modules with the new access‑control suite, creating a “Campus‑Operations Suite” that is sold as a single recurring contract.

3. Market dynamics that reinforce the revenue upside

Indicator	Relevance to the partnership
40 % of organizations now actively use mobile credentials (up from 32 % in 2022)	Shows a rapidly expanding addressable market; campuses are moving from mechanical locks to mobile‑first solutions, creating demand for both hardware and software.
Nearly 100 campuses already supported	Demonstrates proof‑of‑concept and a ready pipeline of reference customers that can be cross‑sold additional modules or upgraded to higher‑tier bundles.
Trend toward “software‑defined access”	Schools prefer subscription‑based, up‑gradable solutions rather than large capital‑expenditure lock upgrades. This aligns with a recurring‑revenue model.

4. Quantitative illustration (hypothetical)

Assumption	Calculation
Average campus size: 5,000 doors (including dorms, labs, admin)
Hardware sale: $250 per smart lock (ASSA ABLOY) → $1.25 M one‑off
Software subscription: $2 per door per month (Transact + CBORD) → $120 k per year
Additional services (analytics, guest‑pass, payment integration): $30 k per year
Total recurring revenue per campus: ≈ $150 k/yr
If 20% of the 100 existing campuses upgrade: 20 campuses × $150 k = $3 M annual recurring revenue (plus the hardware margin on the 20 % upgrade).
Cross‑sell potential: 20% of those 20 campuses add biometric locks (+$50 k hardware) and premium analytics (+$20 k/yr) → $1 M additional recurring.

These numbers are illustrative, but they show how a modest hardware‑upgrade can generate *multi‑hundred‑k‑dollar recurring streams** per campus.*

5. Strategic take‑aways for both partners

For ASSA ABLOY	For Transact + CBORD
• Leverage existing lock‑install base to sell software licences. • Bundle “hardware‑first” pilots with a mandatory 3‑year software term to lock in recurring revenue.	• Use the hardware credibility of ASSA ABLOY to accelerate adoption of its mobile‑credential platform. • Offer tiered SaaS packages (basic access, advanced analytics, integrated payments) that can be upsold to the same campus.
• Create a “Secure Campus” portfolio that can be cross‑sold with other ASSA ABLOY products (e.g., door‑controllers, anti‑pass‑back).	• Expand the CBORD ecosystem (dining, payment, visitor‑management) into the same contract, turning a single access‑control deal into a multi‑service campus‑operations agreement.

6. Bottom line

The partnership is primed to generate new cross‑selling and bundled solutions that will turn one‑off hardware sales into sustainable, multi‑year recurring revenue streams. By combining ASSA ABLOY’s high‑security smart‑lock hardware with Transact + CBORD’s mobile‑credential and campus‑services platform, both companies can:

Package hardware and software together as a single, subscription‑based solution.
Upsell additional services (analytics, payment integration, managed monitoring).
Leverage the growing adoption of mobile credentials to expand the installed base across existing and new campuses.
Create a platform‑as‑a‑service model that scales with campus growth, delivering predictable, recurring cash flow for years to come.

Thus, the partnership not only modernizes campus security but also establishes a robust, recurring‑revenue engine for both ASSA ABLOY and Transact + CBORD.