Adding Value for Facility Managers
As integrated systems and interoperable platforms have advanced so too has the ability to interconnect security systems with other building and facility controls, such as HVAC and temperature monitoring. Leading providers of these systems and services discuss how other firms can either improve or add similar offerings
©iStockphoto.com/DenGuy
[IMAGE]12095[/IMAGE]Especially with more sophisticated systems that tie together multiple subsystems, end users typically lack the expertise to optimize the solution because they have either been trained as security practitioners or in HVAC. Even if they have been exposed to both disciplines, usually they are unable to realize all the efficiencies the solution offers.
“So they look back to organizations such as ours and others to ask, ‘How do we optimize the technology so that we’re getting the benefits to do all this?’” Lawrence explains.
And that is where the recurring revenue narrative can be delivered. Create service agreements so the customers can optimize their system. Explain to them the best ways to use the product and solution you provided. Retrain their employees on a quarterly or semiannual basis on the latest software.
“That is really where the story is today,” Lawrence says, “not around integration.”
Energy Savings as Market Niche
In the past year, Hile suggests, one of the biggest developments in the realm of facility and environmental controls is the introduction of a unified platform that includes video and access control. Built on an open framework, the technology provides interoperability for IP devices and third-party subsystems on a single, common platform.
“It is in one little box so to speak, and interestingly enough it’s not even in a box — it’s hosted. It is cloud-based. You can load it on the server of the customer and it has all full functionality of a very robust video management system as well as a very robust access control system,” Hile says.
Manufacturers, he explains, are going to make it easier for dealers and integrators to take this one simple concept and go back to their customers and say, “Look, we are going to make sure that your video and access are actually going to work and interoperate. So when somebody cards into a door, you have a video picture of them.”
In addition to offering a customer total situational awareness, the devices also allow them to bring in subsystems such as lighting control panels and elevator control. In most cases, the devices will include input/output (I/O) dry contacts.
“Whatever you want to put on it, you can control it. And it is very simple. That is the first level,” he says. “If I were a small dealer or integrator that would be one of the first things I would grasp — take that unified platform and go to my customers and explain how I can make their lives simple with at least these two subsystems.”
Lighting controls and similar energy efficiencies are especially compelling messages for dealers and integrators to share with budget-strapped end users. In fact, many organizations are actively s
eeking such money-saving and sustainably measures, especially in new construction.
“We are seeing more and more customers that want to gain energy efficiency at any point they can,” says Roger Starnes, manager, Enterprise Security Solutions, Southeast Region, JCI. “Controlling lights is a very big thing.”
Here again is an illustration of how an installing contractor can take advantage of a simple, relay-driven subsystem to extend its portfolio beyond its competition. The offering can be as straightforward as card access activation > door opens > light turns on. Or using video management to detect motion, thereby controlling lights to turn on or off based on occupancy.
“It is a way to use security, simply, to drive energy savings. That might be one of the lower hanging fruits for dealers and integrator,” Starnes says.
Knowing Your Competition
So assuming there is a growing facility and environmental control market for traditional installing security contractors to seize upon, what other competitors might too be lurking? Building automation integrators and electrical contractors are likely contenders; general contractors too. And, significantly, manufacturers.
Because today’s manufacturers are closer to the customer than ever before, they are constantly learning about specific end-user needs and expectations. Hence, vendors are becoming evermore proficient at understanding what keeps an end user up at night, and so are better aligned to solve their problems. Enter facility and environmental controls.
“Most of the small and midsize integrators are sitting there saying, ‘We don’t want to touch it.’ The manufacturers are saying, ‘Hey, there is a market here. The end users are asking for it and so we are going to go develop it,’” Hile explains.
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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