Today we launched CMS Next, the next generation of ABDi CMS.
If you’ve run a guardhouse in the last thirty years, you know CMS. It’s been the system behind the gate at gated communities, high-rises and country clubs since 1997. CMS Next is that system, rebuilt.
Here’s what changed, and more importantly, what didn’t.
ABDi CMS launched the community management category nearly 30 years ago. Visitor management systems have come and gone since then, but CMS has stayed a fixture in the guardhouse, learning and adapting alongside the security directors, guards and community managers who use it every shift. CMS Next carries that accumulated operational knowledge onto a modern, AI-powered cloud platform built for the real world, where speed, reliability and security matter as much as ease of use.
Built by the person who built the original
CMS Next was developed in collaboration with Roy Nakdimon, the industry veteran who founded Applications by Design, Inc. (ABDi) in 1997 and built the original CMS. Working with our ABDi team and with customers, Roy revisited what made CMS the standard for gated communities, high-rises and country clubs, then rebuilt it from the ground up.
“ABDi was never just software to me. It was built one conversation at a time with the security directors and guards who use it,” said Roy Nakdimon, founder of ABDi. “So the goal wasn’t a new system. It was the system they already know, rebuilt with nearly thirty years of hindsight and none of the old constraints. What was right, we kept and sharpened. Nothing carried over just because it was already there. Matching what CMS does today was only the starting line. A next-generation system has to do things the current one can’t, and that’s where most of the work went. I’m confident in where ABDi is headed with Envera.”
Familiar by design
We built CMS Next so experienced users feel at home from the first sign in. The layout and key commands security directors rely on every shift stay right where they are, now on a modern cloud platform with a completely refreshed interface, faster response times and access from any device.
A redundant online and offline mode keeps the guardhouse running even when the connection doesn’t, and user-customizable reporting replaces one-size-fits-all reports. CMS Next also introduces new modules for tee-time management, short-term rentals and vendor management. Existing clients can migrate directly to CMS Next in minutes.
What we said we’d do
“When I meet with our security director clients there are a few consistent themes I hear: 1) don’t mess with good stuff we have in CMS, 2) keep the support operations top notch, and 3) give us a next generation product,” said Devon Watson, CEO of Envera Systems. “I’m very pleased that we have been able to deliver on all three of those commitments: continuing the proven legacy of CMS, strengthening our support operations with key hires like Gilbert Ruiz and now introducing CMS Next to the market.”
If you’re on CMS or Community+ today
Nothing changes on our schedule. We will continue to support the existing ABDi CMS and Community+ platforms for the communities that rely on them today and into the future. General release of CMS Next is targeted for Q1 2027, and we’re working directly with current customers to plan upgrades on a timeline that fits each community’s operations and strategy.
Today we serve more than 1,000 communities nationwide and process over 2 million visitors each month. CMS Next is where the platform goes from here.
See what’s next
Take a look at CMS Next, or email us at [email protected] for a personalized walkthrough.