According to integrated fire and security systems business, Evolution, security is at risk of continuing to be seen as a ‘grudge purchase’ unless conversations are elevated from the ‘cost’ of individual components to the overall ‘value’ a system delivers.
Brendan McGarrity, Director of Evolution Risk & Design, says the challenge that security has faced tends to be a cultural one, and one centred around accountability: “When an incident occurs and the security ‘fails’, it’s seen as the security team’s shortcomings,” he explains.
“Businesses then spend considerable sums attempting to put things right, when they would have been far better off ensuring the appropriate targeted investment had been made upfront, addressing the cause of the issue rather than the outcome.”
Part of the challenge, Brendan explains, is to some extent caused by security businesses specifying equipment and systems that the customer doesn’t really need: “Over-specifying equipment can be as big a problem as under-specifying, especially when it comes to perception of cost, value for money and trust.
“Where the security industry needs to succeed, is in elevating the conversation beyond one that revolves around the cost, and whether one camera is cheaper than another, and focuses instead on the value that a system delivers over its lifetime. It should also focus on some of the less tangible costs to a business, like the price to be paid for the reputational brand damage that can follow a security breach.”
Brendan says that recent conversations with clients in high security environments seem to be more positive: “They not only recognise that security profiles are changing, but that security can be a business enabler if managed and delivered appropriately. They recognise also the importance of keeping their buildings, their assets and their people safe, especially in a COVID world where system driven security supports the ‘safety’ and the wellbeing of employees, which has taken on additional meaning.”
