Page 48 - Security Today, March 2020

“Business is 24/7 and outsourcing infrastructure that keeps it running is becoming essential in generating value to the business.”
a business or organization must defend in today’s world, con- trolling access to your building or facility is a serious concern. Conquest offers scalable solutions to meet ever-changing envi- ronments of business from entry level to enterprise systems. The solutions provide flexibility and performance that customers ex- pect from a technology security company.
VoIP phone services. Telecom costs are being digitally trans- formed and optimized. Conquest offers VoIP, which saves cus- tomers money while improving collaboration, boosting produc- tivity, increasing mobility and enhancing the customer experience. Tools such as presence, instant messaging, web conferencing, fax and voicemail to email can become part of a customer’s commu- nications portfolio.
Using Communication To
Increase Performance
To support these pillars, Lance has created a core process of en- gagement with and through his people. He first recognized, from his experience, that the network was the backbone of a compa- ny’s infrastructure. If the network was robust, scalable and deliv- ered information at the time of need, it would deliver a distinctive advantage to his customer’s business.
An essential part of that backbone is the ability to communi- cate. Communication is critical to every business process. In this increasingly mobile world, work phones and cell phones must be seamless, so transformation of the digital network and the phone exchange system (PBX) is also essential.
When applied to a use case, Lance cited the property manag- ers he works with on a daily basis. Their security systems often communicate with call centers that then route to a guard. He is helping with the time -to-value of this exchange by tying the new SIP phones from Zenitel into the PBX. For condominiums and assisted living facilities, he is applying a low-cost door entry inter- com system tied to a PBX.
“We don’t like to mess around with ‘critical path solutions,’” Lance said. “Life safety and convenience go together.”
Lance also believes in proactive monitoring at the end point for up-time and performance, adding: “We can tell when a device is registered or off-line. Often we are calling or servicing the client before they know they have an outage.”
End point devices rarely fail because of the equipment. It usu- ally is related to cable failure, vandalism, electrical surges or user error. There are many IT and security installers that claim to pro- vide managed services. But few have the DNA.
“We monitor, manage and then measure the performance of our clients,” Lance said. “Everything we install, we monitor. And then we support the clients and our field technicians through our help desk team of experienced IT Engineers that can communi- cate online or over the phone.”
To be trusted, Conquest had to own the building. To own the building, Conquest evaluates the existing operational environ- ment, asking the “why” questions that will lead their team to un-
derstanding how the building and the network acts as a tool to create organizational value. For property management, the keys to long term success are attracting and retaining the right tenants and making the building more valuable as a result.
“We may not win their business at first because of a competi- tor’s short-term outlook over cheap devices or services,” Lance said. “But once a customer experiences the low-cost vendor solu- tions and service, they ask us back in to fix it. We become their outsourced CIO, a trusted partner on their team.”
Building Relationships With
Customers and Vendor Partners
A key part of that team-centric culture results in Conquest be- coming a part of the budget planning process. They have the per- formance metrics and how they impact the business. They have the data.
“If you have the right data, you can collaborate on the strate- gic initiatives that are critical to the business,” he said. “We make them aware of the opportunity and the risk of each decision they make including the way they maintain their systems. Misman- aged networks and devices that are not maintained or measured result in throwing away your investment over time.”
At the end of the day, relationships are formed through con- sistent meetings, generating interactive reports that show how the building is performing and demonstrating how these services have helped their business.
“We can slice and dice the data to give them a cost, priority, or a status perspective on up-time, cyber intrusions, warranty ex- pirations or the most recent back-ups,” Lance said. “Your invest- ments must be monitored so that budgets can be planned. No one needs a surprise when your reputation and value is at stake.”
Conquest also believes in relationships with their key vendor partners. With communication as a critical component of his company’s value proposition, he evaluates vendors on local re- sponse times of their business contacts as well as their technical support. Finally, the vendor must supply a product that factors in the total cost of purchasing, installing, monitoring and maintain- ing it over time, known as total cost of ownership (TCO).
“Zenitel is a good example,” Lance said. “The number one bottleneck in a managed service program is the inability for your vendors to respond at the time of need with knowledge and ex- perience. Right behind that is the inability to hear, be heard, and be understood when using an audio system. Zenitel is considered best of breed in both areas, ultimately making them the best value to our clients and our business. Finally, the ability to connect eas- ily into a unified communication system through a standard and open SIP protocol allows us to continue to create holistic solu- tions for our clients.”
Conquest’s journey in constructing a valuable and unique business model is relevant to any service provider as well as to the end users who are attempting to leverage the model for their own optimization efforts. At the end of the day,
business is 24/7 and outsourcing infrastructure that keeps it running is becoming essential in generating value to the business.
Dan Rothrock is the president of the Americas for Zenitel.
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