Mobile development for Equiem: access control, Apple Wallet, and end-of-life system maintenance in PropTech
About the project
Equiem is an Australian PropTech company headquartered in Melbourne and a leader in the Tenant Experience segment within Commercial Real Estate (CRE). Its flagship platform, Equiem One, serves more than 150 clients, 800+ buildings, and over 256,000 users worldwide. Its client portfolio includes Canary Wharf Group, British Land, Brookfield, JLL, and Knight Frank.
In 2023, Equiem acquired SpaceOS, a Polish PropTech company that had been developing a similar platform for nearly six years. SpaceOS had its own customer base and a range of established features that Equiem initially did not intend to maintain. However, many SpaceOS customers chose not to migrate to the Equiem platform due to differences in functionality. As a result, SpaceOS continued operating alongside Equiem for the following two years after the acquisition, supporting loyal customers and continuing to generate revenue.
fireup.pro provided a Senior Mobile Developer, Patryk, who worked across both projects simultaneously for 16 months (April 2025 – July 2026).
Busieness
- Maintained the SpaceOS mobile applications (Android and iOS) throughout the product’s end-of-life phase, ensuring they remained available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Expanded the Equiem platform with access control integrations, enabling users to unlock doors using their smartphone or smartwatch instead of a physical access card.
- Implemented Apple Wallet and Google Wallet integrations for Equiem’s enterprise clients as a premium feature of the platform.
- Provided technical support to help customers resolve issues related to access control integrations.
Technological
- Integrated SDKs from leading access control providers (Gallagher, Swift Connect, SaltoSpace, Roger (Assa Abloy), onUgo, and ICT) into native Android (Kotlin) and iOS (Swift) applications.
- Maintained and updated the native SpaceOS mobile applications to ensure compliance with the latest App Store and Google Play requirements.
- Migrated the SpaceOS Merchant application (React Native) from React Native 0.63 to the latest architecture after four years without any updates.
- Built and configured Apple Wallet and Google Wallet testing environments from scratch.
From challenge
Key Challenges
No physical access to hardware
No physical access to hardware
Solution: Patryk sent test builds to a colleague in Warsaw, who was the only team member with an access control reader installed at home. The colleague tested the application by tapping the phone against the reader, while Patryk monitored the logs remotely and refined the implementation through multiple iterative testing cycles.
Wallet integration test environments built from scratch
Wallet integration test environments built from scratch
Solution: Patryk rebuilt and configured the entire testing environment independently, relying on external vendor documentation and his own investigation of the existing system, with support from the QA and DevOps teams.
Three-party coordination for Wallet deployments
Three-party coordination for Wallet deployments
Example: The Apple Wallet deployment for Canary Wharf, one of Equiem’s largest clients and a major office complex in London, was originally scheduled for November but was only completed on the last day of June the following year. A single client, a single Wallet integration and an eight-month delay caused entirely by external dependencies.
Codebase untouched for 4 years
Codebase untouched for 4 years
Solution: Patryk successfully completed the migration and redeployed the application using Claude Code Opus 4.7. Cursor and GitHub Copilot, even when powered by the same underlying model, were unable to complete the task, freezing for up to 20 minutes without producing a usable result.
Key functional and non-functional requirements
Smartphone-based access control - users can unlock office doors by tapping their smartphone against an access control reader through the Equiem app, eliminating the need for a physical access card. Supported systems include Gallagher, SwiftConnect, SaltoSpace, Roger (Assa Abloy), onUgo, and ICT.
Apple Wallet and Google Wallet integration – once an access credential is added to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, users can unlock doors without opening the Equiem app, simply by double-clicking the iPhone’s side button or tapping with an Apple Watch or Android device. The integration requires onboarding with the access control provider, as well as application whitelisting and configuration by Apple or Google.
100 white-label applications across app stores - Equiem is built on a single shared codebase that generates approximately 100 separate white-label applications for the App Store and Google Play. Each application is published under the client’s own brand and developer account, while remaining fully compliant with the latest platform requirements.
SpaceOS maintenance - two native mobile applications (Android in Kotlin and iOS in Swift), along with approximately 14 white-label builds, had to remain available in the App Store and Google Play while continuing to provide reliable service for around 2,000–3,000 active users.
Access control support – Patryk played an active role in resolving customer support cases related to access control systems, identifying whether issues originated from the mobile application, the access control provider’s SDK, or the client’s system configuration.
Through the solution
Through the solution
Two projects, one developer
Patryk worked across two projects simultaneously -serving as the primary mobile application maintainer for SpaceOS, while also acting as the developer responsible for access control integrations and technical support for the Equiem platform.
SpaceOS: maintenance through end of life
The primary objective for SpaceOS was to ensure that its mobile applications remained available in the App Store and Google Play, continuing to serve customers who chose to stay on the platform despite its planned retirement. This required continuous updates to meet the latest Apple and Google store requirements, as applications that are not maintained are automatically removed from the stores.
When the SpaceOS Merchant application disappeared from the App Store, Patryk performed a complete product assessment, documenting its functionality, identifying technical requirements, and migrating the application from React Native 0.63 to the latest version a 23-version leap involving a complete architectural upgrade. Using Claude Code, he completed the core migration work in half a working day. The same task was estimated to require 2–3 months of manual effort without AI, while the entire migration and deployment process was completed in just 5–6 working days.
Equiem: access control integrations
Each access control SDK integration followed a structured and repeatable workflow: documentation review → implementation → remote testing with a colleague in Warsaw → test deployment → iteration. One of the integrations, for Roger (Assa Abloy) readers, had previously been considered too complex and ultimately abandoned by the previous team. Patryk successfully delivered the integration in just one week.
For Apple Wallet and Google Wallet integrations, Patryk coordinated the entire three-party deployment process between Equiem, the client, and the access control provider, ensuring that every technical and administrative requirement was completed in the correct sequence.
Working methodology
Development tasks at Equiem were assigned by the Head of Product Europe. Alongside feature development, Patryk also handled ongoing support requests from end users and property managers. A key part of his work involved documenting every configured environment and deployment process, creating structured knowledge that had not previously existed within the organization.
To the success
Technological outcomes
Apple Wallet deployed for Canary Wharf
One of Equiem’s flagship clients, the Canary Wharf office complex in London’s financial district, gained the ability to unlock doors using Apple Wallet. This was the first Apple Wallet integration ever deployed on the Equiem platform.
6 access control systems integrated
Gallagher, SwiftConnect, SaltoSpace, Roger (Assa Abloy), onUgo, and ICT were successfully integrated into the platform. Each integration was implemented through the vendors' native SDKs for both Android and iOS applications.
SpaceOS Merchant migrated and restored to the App Store
Migrated from React Native 0.63 to the latest architecture a project previously estimated to require 2–3 months of manual work. The core migration was completed in half a working day using Claude Code.
~100 Equiem white-label builds and ~14 SpaceOS builds
Maintained in the app stores throughout the entire project, with full compliance with App Store and Google Play requirements across both Android and iOS platforms.
Apple Wallet and Google Wallet testing environments
Recreated and fully documented, making them ready for future Apple Wallet and Google Wallet deployments.
Business benefits
Equiem clients gained the ability to offer their tenants digital building access using a smartphone or smartwatch instead of a physical access card. This directly increased the attractiveness of property managers' offerings for corporate tenants.
Canary Wharf Group, one of Equiem’s most prominent clients, implemented Apple Wallet as a premium feature to enhance the tenant experience across its office complex in London.
The Equiem platform expanded its access control integration portfolio to six providers, increasing compatibility with the existing infrastructure used by clients across Europe and around the world.
SpaceOS remained fully operational and available in the app stores throughout the project, ensuring that customers who chose not to migrate experienced no interruption in service.
Documentation was created for the Support team, Customer Success Managers (CSMs), and future developers to enable faster issue resolution and more effective knowledge sharing across Equiem.
By working from Europe, the fireup.pro team enabled up to 16 hours of daily platform development and customer support coverage, thanks to the 8–10 hour time difference between the European team and Equiem’s team in Australia.
Project team
Patryk
Senior Mobile Developer
Tech stack
Kotlin
Swift
React Native
GraphQL
Apple Wallet
Google Wallet
Claude Code
Fastlane
Shipbook
Gallagher
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Conclusions & recommendations
Claude Code succeeded where Cursor and GitHub Copilot stalled.
During the SpaceOS Merchant migration, Patryk tested three AI tools in parallel: Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Claude Code, all using the same model. Cursor and Copilot froze when handling the complex mobile problem. Claude Code analyzed the codebase, created a new architecture template, migrated the required files, and launched the application in simulators. For mobile projects with legacy code, the difference proved to be incomparable.
Hardware integrations can be tested without physical hardware, but it requires careful coordination.
Lack of physical access to access control readers is a real constraint that must be addressed during the planning phase. A remote tester with the required hardware, effective communication, and iterative build cycles provide a proven solution, but they require dedicated resources on both sides.
"Impossible" integrations are worth validating through real-world implementation.
The integration with Roger readers had previously been set aside by the previous team as being too complex. In practice, with the SDK documentation and a structured testing approach, the happy path implementation took just one week. Assessing technical complexity without attempting an implementation can be misleading.
Documenting processes is essential in projects with high team turnover.
Knowledge about Wallet environment configuration and deployment processes no longer existed in any structured form after the previous developers had left. Every new developer would have had to start from scratch. Systematic documentation is an investment that protects project continuity regardless of team changes.
