Gone are the days when security systems integration was just about putting together a few devices and connecting them.
Gone are the days when security systems integration was just about putting together a few devices and connecting them. The security industry, today, is at the cusp of transitioning towards the wider world of the internet of things, and systems integrators are forced to stay on their toes to adapt to the changes.
But what do security consultants think of this? How, according to them, can systems integrators improve their business in the current environment? To understand this we talked to a few consultants.
Building relationships with end users
Chad Parris, President of Security Risk Management Consultants said that as a consultant, he feels it is vitally important that the integrator develop a true partnership with the end-user, fostering a long term, trusted advisor relationship. The integrator should act as a facilitator to bridge the gap between providing the proper technical solution, operational effectiveness and efficiency and not oversell the end-user on a solution that cannot be organizationally supported both operationally and financially.
“This relationship, however, is two ways and to create a fully trusted win-win relationship, it is important for the end-user to develop clear and concise scopes of work to the integrators for any projects they are working on,” Parris said. “Developing a clear design package to include drawings and specifications is critical to the success of a project particularly when the project needs to be competitively bid. Assuring that each integrator fully understands the requirements and the owner can obtain a good apples to apples bid allows everyone to be successful, and the owner happy. Ambiguity and vagueness leads to integrators putting their own spin on what they think is needed which often times frustrates the owner. A few tips would be to assure after bids are received, that a complete bill of material is reviewed to assure all integrators are in compliance.”
Additionally, conducting face to face interviews to fully discuss the scope, timelines and final product gives an added level of assurance. Finally, a comprehensive testing process to ensure the system and integrations are fully functioning according to the scope of work is critical.
"As a consultant, we fully outline the testing and commission process and what will be tested so that there is no mistaken what will happen," Parris said. "The owner must be an integral part of the testing process and not necessarily just take the work of the integrator that the system is fully functional per spec."
Educating the customer
Systems integrators work hard to “push” the products of their dealership, knowing that their design and engineering efforts, including the quality of installation and maintenance is constrained by the limitations and capabilities of the product lines and system configuration they recommend to clients. This is no different than taking your car to the Ford Dealership or to a local repair shop: you are either covered by the warranty and quality workmanship, or you take your changes. You either pay now, or pay later, whichever you prefer.
According to John Sullivant, Founder, Owner and President of The Serras Group, if the client is unaware of the security industry operations, ethical practices demand the system integrator to “educate” the client on these matters and collaborate with the client to deliver as close to “desirable” parameters as is possible. Systems integrators or installation companies may lose their business license, if they lose sight of the needs of the client.
“All the systems integration firms I know and have worked with are adamant about protecting their image, brand and reputation,” Sullivant said. “They cannot afford to do otherwise. They do not just want a client for a one-time project and move on to another one. It is in their best interest to want to nurture and cultivate a client to become a lifetime partner. Most clients want that too. I have been in the security business for more than fifty years, both as an in-house consultant working for large firms and being billed out to individual clients, and later running my own company. 99 percent of my company business is through word of mouth and based on my personal image, brand and reputation. That is the way it should be! The header on my list of clients reads ‘Establishing a Reputation One Client at A Time!’ And that is the way it really is!”