The Corner Office

As the industry moves toward holistic 360-degree security systems to satisfy business needs, security professionals are beginning to appreciate the role of voice in the equation.

I love technology. My college degree is in math. I enjoy solving problems using technology. I love its disruptive nature. It can force us to rethink the way we do things. It changes us; how we think of ourselves, our families, our work and our society. It provides hope to the crippled, opportunities for the poor and disenfranchised, and healing for our environment. Its potential is a two-sided blade. It can harm us or help us. It can be used for good or evil.

We are no longer in a “safe” world. There are many who believe they are simply managing what inevitably is going to happen. We are all strangers in a strange land.

This month I want to share with you a refreshing thought exercise that came from a discussion with several senior risk and security executives around the construction of their next generation security programs if they had a greenfield opportunity to create it from a blank canvas.

They are all giving generously of their knowledge, time and wisdom. And all we have to do is listen, learn and share in return.

Here are some of the “front of mind” issues that senior security executives and the vendor ecosystem (consultants, integrators and technology providers) are wrestling with.

A new intelligence is being nurtured and is rapidly coming of age.

As more IoT devices (sensors) are introduced, new services emerge that integrate them. Clients will see new approaches to optimizing their people, processes and technology architecture.

Complexity is not our friend. It is the enemy of execution. However, where there is complexity there is also opportunity for technology and service providers who understand the complexity, embrace it and reduce its impact on their client’s organization.

The bottom line: Culture is another way of saying “This is how we do things around here.” In most cases, what is written down or hung on the wall does not align with “how we do things around here.” People will perform their roles, work within their processes and utilize technology to get things done; but the values that undergird their behavior and the ability to understand them and leverage them is one of the keys to unlocking the value of security.

As a leader, you get very few opportunities to create a culture of discipline around the goals and vision for your team. Over the last few years, this core leadership trait of “engagement” has become an imperative. How can you invite your employees into your vision and mission and have them make it their own?

The principal drivers of SaaS applications for business also apply to security applications like hosted access control and video.

I send a team of people every year to conferences in our industry such as The Great Conversation in Security, ISC West, ASIS and PSA Tec.

My company hosted The Great Conversation in Security in March and quickly followed up with a trip to Las Vegas for ISC West 2017.

When I speak with security executives privately about their challenges, one that I often hear is the pressure of time, budget and resources.

Within security leadership associations and meetings, key decisions are made about paths forward in the security industry, driving us to become trusted advisors, to learn about CSOs’ pain points and challenges, and to devise a more effective strategic direction for my company.

There are critical questions that the enterprise security executive team should be asked before preparing to purchase any physical security solution.

It was about a year after 9/11 and I was painfully concerned about our industry.

Like many of you, I have been highly focused on end-of-year budgeting and planning leading into January 2017.

If you are a CSO or head of security, you will inevitably face the day when a senior business executive will ask you for a detailed analysis of your strategy including the level of service you provide and how it will scale over time.

Recently my company attended ASIS 2016, where the tag line was: “360 Vision – Security’s Full Spectrum of Solutions.

Recently I had a conversation with a CSO who discussed the disconnect between a technology vendor’s (manufacturer) product roadmap and his organization’s needs. “I go to these conferences and it seems they are creating solutions without any understanding of how we are organized, our organizational measures of performance, or our challenges with risk and resilience,” he said.

Imagine a world of things that serve you. Sensors and machines that collect information about everything: your environment, your presence, your calendar and your diet.

We believe one of the key pillars of any risk, resilience and security program is critical communications.

An often overlooked risk for CSOs is the security technology management process. Security technologies present risks to the enterprise that must be managed.

I believe we are at an inflection point in our industry. The transactions of value within our ecosystem of consultants, integrators, product vendors and security executives must evolve to meet the new business and risk reality.

In my first column I invited you into the office of the CSO and the CEO of a company that had re-positioned itself as a security risk management services (SRMS) provider; a new category that I feel is emerging to address the need for a 360-degree view and understanding of an organization’s risk strategy, plan, processes and metrics.

I am the CEO of a risk, resilience and security company that is redefining the services required to provide a 360-degree view and understanding of an organization’s risk strategy, plan, processes and metrics.