feature Online technology ParkMavens Lydia Woodward explains what parking technology has in common with sliced bread On the rise arking technology is fantastically mundane to those outside the industry. Taken for granted by most, only dedicated professionals understand the impact such innovations make to streamline our lists of daily chores. ParkMaven, a cloud platform for car park management, launched in June this year to an impressive fanfare. The following week, it was exhibited at Parkex, celebrating a place in the events Innovation Trail competition final. Since then, perhaps the greatest invention since the sliced loaf has quietly retreated from the spotlight. So what has happened since ParkMavens debut? P Clear definition Touting three all-new software solutions Channel Manager for real-time parking space management; Booking Button for online bookings; and Smart Dashboard for storing all data in one place that had been carefully guarded during development, the team faced a steep learning curve as its products hit the market. Despite a lengthy beta-testing phase, no-one could predict which products would generate the greatest demand or would perform most effectively for ParkMavens clients. Developers were pushed to identify top-performing packages and implement these quickly in order to demonstrate the value of the firms much-hyped software as a service solutions. Throughout the process, ParkMavens mission re-emerged with clearer definition. Harrison Woods, CEO, says: Our core focus right now is providing online pre-book technology. Booking Button our white-label reservation platform and our cashless payment solution are easy to implement. Operators love the simplicity and feel empowered by the ability to take bookings through their own websites. Green map In an era where every aspect of human life is steadily becoming digitalised, ParkMaven aims to be the bread and butter of the parking industry. Technical director Charles Cridland wants the company to be the go-to provider for online technology within the parking industry. Where car park operators source their automatic number plate recognition cameras from companies like MAV and Genetec, and their kiosks from the likes of Parkeon and Metric Group, we want ParkMaven to be the obvious solution for parking software, Cridland explains. Theres a socially conscious twist to the rapid rise of this new business. The firms parent company, YourParkingSpace.co.uk, recently announced a partnership with Zap-Map. Users of the electric vehicle-charging platform will soon be able to make bookings for EV-enabled YourParkingSpace locations through Zap-Map. If that sounds something like ParkMavens Booking Button, thats because the ParkMaven team developed the bespoke software behind the Zap-Map and YourParkingSpace integration. In the parking industry, no-one else is doing exactly what ParkMaven does. Its a luxury that has allowed the team a little extra space to experiment, without competition snapping at their heels. A short pause from a heavy promotion schedule has permitted the team to lay foundations for long-term sustainability commercially and environmentally. Watch this space. In an era where every aspect of human life is steadily becoming digitalised, ParkMaven aims to be the bread and butter of the parking industry 48 Britishparking.co.uk PNDec18 pp48 Commercial Feature.indd 48 26/11/2018 16:29