05/30/2026
Fifteen years ago, ProdataKey wasn’t a company with global reach, award-winning products, or a growing team of hundreds of innovators and industry partners. It was three founders (Jeff & Josh Perri and Evan Tree) with full-time jobs, a lot of grit and determination, and a belief that access control could be done better.
The idea started when Josh Perri, an IT professional at 1-800 Contacts, became fed up with the access control products on the market. So he got to work and started tinkering and creating controllers of his own. What followed was equal parts ingenuity, experimentation, and relentless problem-solving.
That spirit of curiosity and persistence became the foundation of PDK.
By the spring of 2013, Evan Tree came on full-time as CEO, Josh left 1-800 Contacts, and Jeff sold his install business to fully commit to the vision. Fast forward to January of 2017 and the inaugural Cloud Node was launched and helped define what modern, cloud-based access control could look like.
But what’s most remarkable isn’t just the timeline of milestones. It’s the consistency of the mission behind them.
For years, PDK launched only one or two features annually because every decision was driven by dealer feedback. The philosophy was simple: listen first, build second. That commitment to partnership became the springboard for growth and remains one of the company’s defining values today.
Fifteen years later, that mindset still drives everything we do. The journey has never been about chasing trends or even money—it’s been about building intuitive, reliable solutions that help our partners grow.
Our product line has evolved. The team has grown. But the heart behind PDK remains the same: a passion for good products, a willingness to solve hard problems, and a commitment to listening to the people we serve.
Here’s to the first 15 years — and the next chapter ahead.
