Convergence Channel: To IP or Not to IP; That Is the Question

Offering high definition video surveillance requires weighing customer needs and expectations against the inherent strengths and weaknesses of either an IP- or HDcctv-based solution. The business implications of these decisions are just as critical as the technology choice.

[IMAGE]12098[/IMAGE]Lease or own — If your prospect leases their facility, what is the length of the lease and do they have plans of staying beyond the term of the lease? If they own the building, a longer term investment in network infrastructure may be the better investment over time; certainly from a maintenance and expansion perspective.

Length of building — Basically, do they have a big or small footprint? The bigger the building, the more I start looking at network infrastructure (IP) if the customer plans on staying and growing at this facility. Compare the future addition of cameras 800 feet away on coax, or 150 feet away with Cat-5 to the nearest network switch. You get the picture.

Lighting — How good is it in the areas you want surveillance? Adding lighting is not inexpensive, and is more of a factor (generally) with IP video than with HDcctv products. With IP video, poor existing lighting impacts bandwidth usage due to noise, quality and storage requirements. The right IR solution can help; however, what is the impact on implementation and operational costs?

Ongoing costs — To be a trusted advisor you must consider what the ownership costs are for the customer and what is it going to cost your company to maintain this solution. Will the customer participate in the ongoing service of the system? With IP solutions that is a real possibility and not necessarily a bad thing. If you choose HDcctv because of existing coax wiring you better have end-of-life DVRs because they will need to be replaced. Just make sure you include this important factor in your value proposition.

Wallet the customer — What is the budget range for the project and what is the expected payback period? This final qualifier is in many ways the most important. This is where you should start your consultative selling approach. Don’t try and solve a $500 problem with a $10,000 solution.

Putting Customer Needs First

As I said, the SELL LOW acronym is also an antonym in that you should always strive to sell high — high value, high quality, high availability and high integrity. Taking time to look at your prospect’s/customer’s business through their eyes changes the way they see you vs. the competition. You must also look at your business and make sure you keep your capabilities current with your customer’s needs and product technology.

Recommending only video security solutions based on your current comfort level or technical capabilities is not delivering the best
long-term business solution. It is selling products. If you are in a “product sale” mindset, you better have some really low overhead and be able to live with “low price wins” profitability issues.

Next month, we’ll continue this discussion by delving into myths and realities of this ongoing battle of marketing superiority between IP video and HDcctv.

Paul Boucherle, Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Certified Sherpa Coach (CSC), is principal of Canfield, Ohio-based Matterhorn Consulting. Boucherle has more than 30 years of diverse security and safety industry experience.

 

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Paul C. Boucherle, Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Certified Sherpa Coach (CSC), is Security Sales & Integration’s “Business Fitness” columnist. A principal of Matterhorn Consulting, he has more than 30 years of diverse security and safety industry experience including UL central station operations, risk-vulnerability assessments, strategic security program design and management of industry convergence challenges. Boucherle has successfully guided top-tier companies in achieving enhanced ROI resulting from improved sales and operational management techniques. He is a charismatic speaker and educator on a wide range of critical topics relating to the security industry of today and an accomplished corporate strategist and marketer whose vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable enterprise growth in the security industry sector.

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