The Changing Face of the Commercial Customer
The convergence of electronic security onto enterprise networks is turning IT managers into systems integrators’ primary point of contact for corporate accounts. Find out how this dynamic is playing out and the secrets to ingratiating your company with these customers.
Shifting Budg
ets Favor IT Needs
Along with the movement of responsibility from security to IT, budgets have also seen a similar shift. Because so much is riding on the reliability of the network, no expense is spared in keeping it running. In these tough times, you may often find that the only person with any money to spend is the IT admin.
Unfortunately, this shift can cause some measure of conflict between security and IT, with the integrator caught in between.
Recalls Kusche, “We installed a leading-edge IP system at a museum, and there was quite a competition, fight might be a better word, over who would ultimately own the solution. Being uncomfortably stuck in the middle, we observed the verbal exchanges and tried to stay as neutral as possible. Bottom line is that the CEO finally sided with the IT department, both because of the technical nature of the solution and because the majority of the budget came from the IT side, although it was split among both.”
There is one important fact to remember. Network folks love new gear. Instead of worrying whether or not the budget will be available for your system, impress upon them how the new system may require them to upgrade and justify the purchase of that new switch they’ve been looking at.
Security Industry Needs to Step Up
Network- and IP-centric integrators and manufacturers are making a big splash in the market today. This is causing a great deal of unnecessary confusion and panic among traditional security players.
Some simple changes to the selling philosophy will go a long way. Preach convergence, not product; solutions, not sales. You can’t fight on a strictly technology playing field anymore.
The education is out there. The personnel are out there. It’s time for the old school to join the new school. There is still a lot of analog business out there, for sure. But the IT manager holds the keys to the futur
IT Curriculum Now Includes SecurityBecause they are seeing the proliferation of video onto their networks, more IT managers are getting educated in the particulars of video security systems. “Interest from the IT world is definitely growing,” says Vern Gillispie, a networking training specialist for Pelco. “As an instructor of networking technology I have seen many certifications cover the integration of CCTV and even access control in the certification process.” Some network certification programs have indeed added more and more information on network video systems, and the concepts extend themselves to our products in particular. Gillispie adds, “I have seen some of the basic networking books that deal with [Comptia] Network+ training talking about video and CCTV on the network along with access control. The [Cisco] CCNA exam has the following listed in the exam topics: ‘Describe the impact of applications (Voice Over IP and Video Over IP) on a network.’” Not all IT admins feel the need to get specific training about a product. A large number of them rely on the standards that have been established for network equipment. If the product in question is compliant to official network standards and protocols, then it should be OK on their network. Bob Kusche, vice president of sales for IP video systems provider Ojo Technology of Fremont, Calif., applies this yardstick: If the video data can be contained in a virtual local area network (VLAN), and the equipment monitored via simple network management protocol (SNMP), and if it can report errors and failures via E-mail and the video data can be prioritized with quality of service (QOS), he will be comfortable with it. It is this reliance on standards that has really pushed the acceptance of converged systems. |
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