When’s the last time you reviewed the services that your security integrator is offering? If it’s been more than a year, or perhaps even a few months, I’m certain that you’ll find that there are more choices and greater flexibility in the deployment of those choices. I believe in accomplishing as much access control work as possible “in-house” with our existing staff and also expanding our services – thus expanding our staff. I used to be quite resistant to contracting out services. However, just as our own organizations are making adjustments and adapting to volatile markets, many integrators also see these changes as opportunities for growth. These are opportunities for growth for end users as well, as accomplishing everything “in-house” may not be an efficient utilization of resources.
I’ve referred to security integrators as partners in the past, and that relationship is becoming more important each day. First, driven by exciting advancements in security technology and physical security devices right down to, for example, a wireless electrified door lockset. Now, with increasing demands on your staff and physical security resources, it’s time again to enlist the assistance of your security integrator. Contracting services from your integrator need not be a threat to your current staffing. Offloading one or two control center functions, such as alarm monitoring, has been common practice for decades. This has allowed the focus in many control centers to expand their surveillance capabilities, for example.