Page 76 - Security Today, May 2017

TECHNOLOGY OFFERINGS
By Rob Hile
WHAT EVERY SECURITY INTEGRATOR SHOULD KNOW
How systems integration firms can evolve to benefit their organizations
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here are few who would argue that security technology offerings have changed and matured at an incredible pace over the last 10 to 15 years. Conversely, there are many who feel that most of the security integrators in this space are stuck in the 1980s and walk around with
their knuckles dragging the ground. I certainly won’t argue with ei- ther point of view and to be honest, I do have a few old scars on my knuckles; but I am also convinced that the integration companies that are successful are evolving and changing by leveraging new and in- novative technology offerings available on the market today. What’s even more interesting is that the most progressive systems integra- tion firms that exist today are driving technology changes within the market to meet the expectations of today’s demanding end users and shareholders within their own organizations.
Many of these organizations figured out a long time ago that if they don’t evolve internally and change with market demands, they will be left behind and most likely, out of business. Now, let’s discuss how today’s market-leading systems integration firms evolve and how evolution benefits their organizations.
LEVERAGE COMPLEMENTARY TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP GROW AND MATURE YOUR BUSINESS
I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day who runs a very successful systems integration firm headquartered in Atlanta. During our conversation, he told me a great story about one of his project managers being asked by a customer years back if they could help him out by installing some “it” cameras. The employee scratched his head and called his supervisor and asked, “Hey boss, the customer out here just asked me if we could install some ‘it’ cameras since we
are already installing the network cable. He said it would be easy to add this piece to our contract. Any idea what an ‘it’ camera is?”
Now this happened more than 10 years ago, and back then, this firm knew everything there was to know about installing communi- cation networks but had no idea about security cameras. However, they were smart enough to identify an opportunity to expand their business and went out and hired some “security” experts and ulti- mately changed the way they go to market. The company is now in- credibly successful today because they made these changes internally and externally with minimal disruption to their organization and customer base.
The same opportunity still exists as traditional security firms are now hiring registered communications distribution designers (RCDD) and network design specialists so they can offer their cus- tomers end-to-end design-and-build surveillance systems including the network infrastructure, communication equipment, installation, and commissioning of the entire system—not just the “IT” cameras. The same can be said about other complementary systems such as mass notification, shooter detection, visitor management, virtual storage and even PSIM applications. If done correctly, these additions to your bid package will eliminate unnecessary mark-ups, increase the dollar value of your projects, and expand your service base and most importantly, gain you wider and deeper access into your exist- ing customer’s business. Adding some of these technology offerings will also make you more attractive to new enterprise customers who are looking for business partners, not contractors.
THE CLOUD IS YOUR FRIEND
The secret’s out and if you’re not currently taking steps within your organization to take advantage of cloud-based security technol- ogy, you can stop reading now and go install some analog cameras. Cloud-based technologies offer the end user and systems integration firms a multitude of advantages over traditional client server appli- cations. From my perspective, the ability of starting small and scal- ing out is probably one of the most overlooked, as it offers the end user a budget-friendly way of migrating to the new platform, while the systems integration firm gains a steady stream of ongoing proj- ect work. Also, don’t overlook the new advanced video verification and monitoring services out on the market today. Overall, hosted and managed applications add additional value in regard to operational budget considerations for the end user and a recurring monthly rev- enue (RMR) stream for the systems integrator; it’s a win-win for both when implemented correctly.
Cloud-based technologies offer additional advantages over tradi- tional systems on the service side as well. Managed access control systems are gaining rapid support from end users with distributed assets and for the systems integrator, servicing and managing these systems can be done remotely, right from the office. Yes, there are legitimate cyber security concerns associated with cloud-based ap- plications, but if you put the proper policies and procedures in place
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