Three Questions To Consider When Building Your Best-Of-Breed Solution
by Tanner LaRocque, Account Representative - Central U.S.
When you first consider modernizing your organization’s security system, it is vital to put your futurist hat on and imagine what needs your new solution could fill. If you are working with a security professional to help design the system, there are three questions you should ask throughout the process.
1. “Are you offering me anything proprietary?”
Often, proprietary products are an easy solution. One manufacturer can fulfill your entire security system needs. Server, cameras, access control, video management software, analytics, and more can be previously integrated and ready right out of the box. Initially, this seems like the ideal solution. However, proprietary systems typically lock you into their ecosystem and block out other innovative products by making integration difficult or impossible, which can be a problem when the needs of your organization change or a more effective product is released. You should have the ability to make modifications. Imagine spending your budget on a new system, only to find a year later that you need to replace it entirely because your chosen brand won’t allow you to use the latest technology that would solve new challenges.
Alternatively, finding manufacturers who are the best at what they do and bringing them together into one solution will provide a more impactful outcome. In this non-proprietary approach, you gain increased system performance and protect yourself from future inadequacy. Your best manufacturing partners will embrace innovation and help you integrate what you have today with what you need tomorrow.
Additionally, your security professional can help you evaluate the best of each category and easily integrate these into a single comprehensive package. By making sure your system is built on an open platform, your security solution will be able to evolve and keep up with the industry innovations.
2. “How can we help improve other departments?”
Incorporating departments outside of physical security is growing in popularity because it proves the value of investing in proper security equipment as well as increases the overall budget potential. From an operational standpoint, security systems today will allow the use of their functionalities for impact outside of the security department. Organizations around the world are using tools like analytics to increase the accuracy of marketing efforts and the efficiency of their Operations teams. The challenging aspect of modern security systems is there is not a single cookie-cutter solution that works for every situation. Each industry, organization, and specific application requires a unique approach to security system design.
As you work with your security professional, bring in other departments from your organization and seek to understand what daily hurdles they face. With a whiteboard, some sticky notes, and an outside-the-box mentality, you will be surprised at how much value you can design into a security system. Even if you cannot afford to deploy these solutions immediately, understanding the challenges that your colleagues face will assist you in gearing your security system solutions for the future towards the ultimate goal of improving each department’s functionality.
3. “What service options do you offer?”
Most technology integrators and installers offer managed services for the solutions they provide, so you will need to know who will be maintaining the system and what processes they would plan to use. Managed services can be incredibly helpful by providing peace of mind that your system is working correctly constantly. Plus, having a support team ready to fix any issues that arise promptly will help limit your liability. Security teams do not use managed services because they are not capable of performing the maintenance. This added service allows the security team to redistribute resources towards high-priority tasks.
Every managed service provider will offer a variety of support options, so it will be imperative to understand what kind of duties would benefit your team the most. Again, break out the whiteboard and brainstorm how removing specific tasks would open the opportunity to focus on more critical aspects of your business. Ask yourself:
- Are there team deliverables that always seem to be pushed back due to simple tasks?
- How will you make sure the system is running accurately 24/7?
- Do you have someone to monitor and respond at all hours?
- What burdens could be removed to improve performance?
Every organization is asking its personnel to do more with less. By removing routine maintenance, system monitoring, and technical support, security teams can focus their time and resources on specific tasks that require their specialization. Your managed service provider wants to help improve your business, so create a relationship with your representative and make sure you are getting the most value possible.
Building a Solution For You
While these three questions are just a starting point in your solution discovery, they will help set you up for future success and show you which partners are truly working for you. Ensuring that your system is open to growth and change will allow you to continue customizing your solution as the needs of your organization change. Bringing in other departments will not only increase your budget but show that your department is using its valuable resources to improve every aspect of the organization. Developing a custom managed service will maximize your system
value and provide your team with peace of mind.
How Razberi Can Help You
At Razberi Technologies, we believe in an open platform that does not limit your potential. Our industry-leading partners have shown us the impressive capabilities of advancing technologies and highlighted the incredibly unique ways organizations are using their security systems. Our development team has built intelligent products that monitor our customer’s hardware, connected devices, and network right out of the box. Built-in cybersecurity automation and simple technology integration allow us to serve as a strong foundation for your evolving security needs while eliminating future inadequacy.
The support teams at Razberi understand that every customer is unique and requires a creative approach to system design. We are happy to whiteboard with you and your security professional throughout the design process to help maximize your potential.
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