The Engineer Modernizing Real Estate's Overlooked Parking Systems

When people think about technology transforming industries, parking rarely comes to mind. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, and cybersecurity often dominate conversations about innovation. Yet for millions of residents, property managers, and visitors across the United States, one of the most persistent sources of daily frustration remains surprisingly mundane: parking.

From paper permits and leasing-office visits to manual enforcement and outdated spreadsheets, parking management has long lagged behind other aspects of property operations. While buildings have become smarter and security systems more sophisticated, parking workflows in many communities still rely on processes that would have been familiar two decades ago.

For Pawan Saran, Co-Founder and Chief Software Architect of ParkStash, that disconnect represented an opportunity. Saran has spent much of his career building software systems designed to simplify complex operations. Today, his work focuses on modernizing parking management infrastructure for residential communities, universities, and private operators throughout the United States. Rather than viewing parking as a minor administrative task, he sees it as a critical component of resident experience, operational efficiency, and property security.

“Parking is one of those things people only notice when it stops working,” Saran says. “If a resident cannot find a space, a visitor is confused about registration, or enforcement teams lack accurate information, it creates friction that affects the entire property experience.”

His perspective is increasingly relevant as the property technology sector continues to expand. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global property management software market was valued at approximately US$5.51 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow significantly over the coming years as property operators pursue greater automation and digital transformation. At the same time, residents increasingly expect the same digital convenience from property services that they receive from banking, retail, and transportation platforms.

Before helping build ParkStash, Saran worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Motive, where he developed mobile technology used by more than 100,000 professional drivers and fleet operators in demanding operating conditions. His earlier experience also included engineering roles at major technology companies including Flipkart and Samsung Research. Those experiences shaped his philosophy around software design.

“It is easy to build something that works in a controlled environment,” he says. “The real challenge is building systems that continue to work when users are busy, connectivity is inconsistent, and operational decisions need to happen in real time.” That mindset became central to ParkStash’s evolution.

Founded in 2018 in San Jose, California, ParkStash initially explored the idea of helping drivers access underutilized parking spaces. However, as the company worked more closely with property managers, a larger opportunity emerged. The problem was not simply helping people find parking. The underlying issue was that parking operations themselves remained heavily dependent on manual processes.

Saran became instrumental in designing the technical foundation that would enable ParkStash to transition from a parking marketplace concept into a comprehensive parking management and enforcement platform. His work includes backend architecture, mobile applications, enforcement workflows, digital permits, integrations, and one of the company’s most distinctive innovations: smartphone-based license plate recognition technology. Traditional license plate recognition systems often require dedicated hardware investments. ParkStash’s mobile approach allows enforcement teams to use standard smartphones to scan license plates, verify permits, and identify unauthorized vehicles.

“The goal has never been to add complexity,” Saran explains. “The goal is to remove it. Property teams should not need multiple disconnected systems just to manage parking effectively.”

The scale of the challenge is larger than many people realize. According to INRIX's Global Traffic Scorecard, drivers in major urban areas continue to spend significant amounts of time searching for parking, contributing to congestion, emissions, and lost productivity. Meanwhile, parking management remains a substantial operational responsibility for multifamily housing operators, universities, and commercial properties.

For many organizations, parking administration extends far beyond assigning spaces. It can involve resident permits, visitor access, overnight parking policies, enforcement workflows, citation records, towing management, access control systems, and security integrations. Each property often has its own unique requirements.

“One of the things we discovered very quickly is that every property has its own version of what they consider simple,” Saran says. “One property might need visitor permits linked to phone numbers. Another may have complex overnight rules. Another may need future residents to receive parking access before their move-in date.”

This complexity helps explain why digital transformation efforts across real estate have accelerated. According to a Deloitte survey of commercial real estate executives, technology investment and operational efficiency remain among the sector’s highest strategic priorities as firms seek to improve tenant experiences while managing costs.

Saran’s approach has been to build flexible systems that absorb complexity behind the scenes while presenting a straightforward experience to end users. Under his leadership, ParkStash developed a configurable rule engine capable of supporting diverse parking policies without requiring property teams to adapt their operations to rigid software constraints.

That flexibility has helped the platform support a wide variety of use cases across residential communities, universities, and private operators. As artificial intelligence, automation, and connected devices continue reshaping the built environment, Saran believes parking management is entering a new phase.

The future, he argues, lies in connected systems that integrate parking permits, resident data, gate access, security infrastructure, and enforcement workflows into a unified operational platform. ParkStash’s roadmap reflects that vision. The company is expanding integrations with property management software, access control providers, and license plate recognition systems to automate many processes that currently require manual intervention.

Saran also sees artificial intelligence playing a growing role, particularly in improving operational visibility and decision-making. “AI is most valuable when it removes repetitive work and helps people make faster decisions,” he says. “Property managers should spend their time improving resident experiences, not updating spreadsheets or reconciling parking records.”

That philosophy aligns with broader industry trends. McKinsey estimates that AI technologies could contribute trillions of dollars annually to the global economy through productivity improvements and operational efficiencies across industries. While discussions often focus on high-profile applications, much of that value may ultimately come from solving smaller operational challenges that affect organizations every day.

For Saran, parking management is one of those opportunities. His work demonstrates how innovation often happens far from the spotlight. Rather than chasing headlines, he has focused on modernizing an overlooked but essential piece of infrastructure that touches millions of people every year.

“Good technology should disappear into the background,” he says. “Residents should not have to think about parking systems. Property managers should not have to think about parking systems. If everything works smoothly, people can focus on what actually matters.”

In an era defined by digital transformation, that ability to make complexity invisible may prove to be one of the most valuable forms of innovation of all.