5.19.25 – SSI – D. Craig MacCormack
Manufacturers are continually developing emerging technologies and integrators use them to solve customers’ problems in innovative ways.
The security industry — and its fellow technology-based endeavors, including audiovisual and information technology — are always evolving. That means there’s no end to emerging technologies in those sectors. Something is always changing and moving forward.
It’s the job of security systems integrators to stay on top of and even ahead of those emerging technologies and understand how they can help their customers, even if the customers don’t even know they exist.
Let’s find out how emerging technologies are helping security integrators not only show their expertise, but also to make more money while always ensuring they’re helping to solve their customers’ security problems.
Rafael Padilla, who works for consulting company Inter-Rep Business in Bogota, Colombia, is the former head of Bosch Security Systems for Latin America and country manager for Colombia and Ecuador for Anixter.
Inter-Rep Business has designed and implemented projects using IoT, drone technologies and advanced data center applications since 2015.
Its largest project is the data center behind the command-and-control center of city of Bogota, which encompasses about 15 petabytes of video data. The company also works in Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.
“The thing that is giving us that big push is incorporating drones into security solutions,” says Padilla, noting the company is also doing long-range operations.
“The challenge has been to actually incorporate that new information feed into existent SOC (security operations center) or command and control centers,” he says.
Inter-Rep has been moving away from working with oil and gas customers and has been focusing more on working with customers in the education sector, as well as looking to work with critical infrastructure, including ports and transportation facilities.
John Nemerofsky, chief operating officer at Kent, Ohio-based Sage Integration, works with Fortune 500 and some of the top 200 private companies around the world. All of the company’s project managers are certified through the Certified Security Project Management Association.
Among its customers are electric companies, large corporate campuses across the U.S. and around the world, global technology companies and telecommunication companies that have more than 20,000 sites around the U.S.
Sage deploys embedded staffers across the U.S. as well as in India and Dublin, among other international locations.
Jonathan Kozak, the chief technology officer at Elite Interactive Solutions, says his company has been at the forefront of “crime and catastrophe prevention” for almost 20 years, with a success rate of about 96%.
Elite uses audio communications to and from a site to dissuade trespassers or would-be criminals from committing an illegal act.
“We’ve been able to elevate the job of a security guard from only observe and report to observe, report and engage verbally, preventatively, and this has been highly effective,” says Kozak.
Ross Samek, the vice president at Waterloo, Iowa-based Hawkeye Alarm and Signal, notes the company works primarily with K-12 schools, financial institutions, and manufacturing and warehouse customers, installing intrusion systems, access control systems, video surveillance systems, network cabling, fiber optics and communications.
“Manufacturers are selling more connected solutions, making it easier for the operators to access and manage them,” he says. “As technology develops and a lot of these systems integrate and streamline, having fewer logins and easier connectivity really will make a lot of this stuff more manageable in the future and easier to use and sell.”
Brent Dusenberry, president at San Diego, Calif.-based Standard Electronics, a division of Sciens, is nearing its 50th anniversary. The company installs fire alarms, security cameras, fiber, copper, clock systems and “everything low voltage.”
The company’s customers are primarily in the K-12 market, local and federal government and a small amount of commercial work around San Diego, Orange County and Arizona.
“Educating people is a big part of our job, making sure that they understand how we’re going to solve that problem,” says Dusenberry. “We don’t try to just stick a product in where it doesn’t necessarily belong, and we also don’t just try to tell the customer, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out for you.’”
“We like to bring them with us on the path of solving that problem and really get them to understand the technology. Eventually, they’re going to own it, so we want them to really be a part of the process to make sure they know what’s going in the building,” he says.
Zachary Gappa, the vice president of operations for Gappa Security Solutions, concentrates about 90% of its business across Wisconsin, with additional work in Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa, installing card access systems, video surveillance cameras, master keys, door hardware and some alarm work since 2006.
Most of its business is in education and government, touching on the military and some corporate work. About half of its work is in education, ranging from school districts to college campuses.
“We do really rely on long-term partners,” says Gappa. “We’re very, very slow to bring a new supplier on or abandon an existing one because of that long-term stability. In our industry, there are changes and developments and new technologies, but I think, because of the concern for consistency and stability for the end user and the importance of security, these things take time to roll out.”
Craig Johnson, CEO of Anaheim, Calif.-based Complete Building Technology Services, a full-service security and low-voltage integrator that specializes in the media and entertainment spaces, with some work in the healthcare and corporate markets, working mostly across the greater Los Angeles area.
“The one funny thing about emerging technologies is I don’t find a lot of people who really want to talk about what they are, integrator to integrator,” he says. “I feel like, if all of us got together in a really strong forum about this, it would be very progressive to the industry as a whole.”
Defining Emerging Technologies
As expected, our integrators have different ideas about exactly what is meant by “emerging technologies.”
Padilla looks at emerging technologies as “something that you know that the customer doesn’t. And when the customer goes out and looks for references and things like that, they won’t find it easy.”
Meanwhile, Nemerofsky sees them as technologies that “are helping our clients solve problems that they couldn’t solve with technology a year ago through data-driven security solutions” and Kozak defines them in two ways: new ways that a known technology can be deployed and commoditized and new products that are debuted at industry trade shows, for example.
Samek agrees that emerging technologies can go in two directions: new solutions such as artificial intelligence on one hand, and the proliferation of cloud-based offerings in existing security products on the other.
In other words, “bleeding-edge technology” and “practical, real-world technology that’s been tested and approved, and that’s ready for real-world applications.”
Dusenberry’s definition keeps it simple, saying emerging technologies are “the future” and “what’s coming next,” while Gappa points to cloud as what he considers an emerging technology in the security industry.
Johnson looks at emerging technologies as security solutions that are coming out that are, “kind of cutting-edge, kind of futuristic, so to speak.”
Selling Customers on Emerging Technologies
Padilla espoused his company’s membership in the Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce the Latin American Security Association (ALAS) as helping them get the word out to customers about emerging security technologies that could be used in installations across the region.
“We find that being linked to these associations actually is a very effective way to open doors,” says Padilla.
Many of Inter-Rep’s customers are a bit hesitant to be on the forefront of technology because of the sticker shock that comes with paying for emerging technologies.
“That’s a really, really big struggle, and sometimes it’s not easy to overcome and trying to make the customer aware of what things might cost and what might happen in the long run if he doesn’t do that,” says Padilla.
According to Nemerofsky, customers “usually bring us a problem,” and emerging technologies help them to solve it. He also notes that some customers serve as in-the-field testers for emerging technologies before officially putting them on their own networks.
Much of Elite Interactive’s business comes from referrals, says Kozak, and that helps them when it comes to deploying emerging technologies.
“They put us to the test by just giving us one site at first and then see how that works,” he says.
Hawkeye’s use of emerging technologies in its installations is largely manufacturer-driven, says Samek, who relies on the company’s vendors when it comes to choosing products to include on its customers’ sites.
“There’s lots of unique use cases for some advanced stuff that may not be fully developed and tested yet, but until it hits the mass market, it really doesn’t become practical for us,” he says. Sometimes, a customer advocating for a product can spur Hawkeye’s vendors into action, says Samek.
Dusenberry’s membership on several manufacturer committees often gives him a sneak peek of technologies that are being tested and developed before they’re officially rolled out, he says.
“We are known for breaking things,” he says. “When our alpha and beta testing gets called on, we put it through the ringer and try and break it as best we can to make sure that the better product gets released so we are definitely in a unique position to see things a little bit ahead of schedule.”
The company also occasionally helps with product development and charting what’s next.
“Having the heads-up of what’s coming allows us to really lay some groundwork and get people excited about it and gives the time for the budget to formulate,” says Dusenberry.
Gappa treads lightly when it comes to emerging technologies, noting, “You can’t get egg on your face with security products with customers. That’s a quick way to really irritate some people.” He leans heavily toward new products released by trusted partners, then calls on customers in the area to take the tech for a test drive if they’re interested.
Johnson has had great success in having customers embrace emerging technologies over the years.
“A lot of our customers will come up with crazy ideas that they want to make work and then our team just finds a way to do it,” he says.
Staying at the Forefront
Padilla attends several security industry events, including ISC West and the recent event hosted by the Automated Unmanned Systems Association International, as well as conferences, where “you really have an opportunity to learn things,” he says.
Because Inter-Rep does project design, the company needs to be thinking ahead at least a year in advance when planning for its security installations.
Sage Integration’s engineering team reviews about five new and upcoming products every week, says Nemerofsky. In many cases, manufacturers are going directly to end users with their new product releases, so they’ve seen them by the time they talk to Sage’s team, he says.
That’s in line with the Security Industry Association’s annual mega-trends report noting the evolution of the channel as one of the things to watch.
Nemerofsky advocates for attending security industry trade shows and conferences and for subscribing to and reading trade publications as ways to stay ahead of the competition.
Vetting is crucial for Elite Interactive before deploying any new technology in its security integrations, says Kozak.
“We want to own and master the technologies that we’re deploying to our customer sites,” he says, noting this is driven largely because Elite skews toward long-term relationships with its customers.
“We see ourselves as an expert and a leader in the technology where the rubber meets the road,” says Kozak. “When we see a need either for a customer or for our systems overall, we will go out, look and identify solutions that are available to fill that gap.”
For Samek, industry publications such as SSI are his go-to source for learning about emerging technologies and their applications. The company also does “a fair share” of bench testing on new products before using them in customer installations.
“We put it through its paces and try it out,” says Samek, who adds that you have to understand the capabilities, limitations, etc. After all, if you go to a customer site and you’ve never done something like the task at hand before, it rarely turns out well.
“If you can demonstrate a feature of a program or platform that simplifies a process that may have taken them longer before, that pretty much sells itself right there. You’ve just got to find the use case for it,” he says.
Dusenberry feels comfortable looking into the future of the security industry with a time horizon of roughly 12 to 18 months, he says.
“Anything past 18 months, things can change dramatically,” he says. “Just because it’s on a roadmap doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. It doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be shifts in the market or ownership of different manufacturers.”
Gappa learns a great deal about emerging technologies from the company’s suppliers, and he reads industry publications regularly to make sure he’s not missing anything. On top of that, sometimes the company’s own employees will hear about a new product that could make a good addition to its portfolio.
Johnson and his team meet regularly with customers and vendors to understand what’s new and coming soon. They also learn by attending trade shows and reading industry publications, he says.
“A lot of it to me is also debunking what people see,” says Johnson. “There are a lot of technologies that claim really positive things. And then, I bring them into my warehouse — or I bring them into my lab, and we run them — and they’re not quite as robust as what the claims are.”
Capturing Recurring Monthly Revenue
Because most of the emerging technologies in the security industry are part of an as-a-service model, they lend themselves more to increased recurring monthly revenue, says Padilla.
“You still have to work that out, but that is a far more convincing argument,” he says.
Sage Integration launched its service platform Einstein five years ago, offering a suite of services to go along with its integration work for its “ideal client profile,” says Nemerofsky, and “we’ve had incredible growth in recurring monthly services.” The services include extended video storage and mobile credentialing.
Adding a service element “definitely makes contracts much stickier for the customer,” says Kozak, giving them more value and making them less likely to look for another vendor to meet their security-based needs.
New product offerings lend themselves to recurring monthly revenue and service contracts, says Samek, but it’s important to have the conversation up front with the customer rather than springing a laundry list of fees on them at the last minute.
“A lot more customers are open to the idea of a monthly subscription or service fee and that definitely opens up that RMR market quite a bit more,” he says.
Dusenberry finds it tough to tack any RMR onto government contracts, where every dollar is scrutinized with a fine-toothed comb.
“They don’t want to put it into the long-term maintenance budget,” he says, noting the clients prefer to see all expenses in the construction budget. “They would rather buy it for life.”
Gappa reports “mixed results” when it comes to recurring monthly revenue, saying they are typically more successful in inking those sort of deals for smaller customers, such as smaller access reader systems, but struggle when it comes to getting school districts to utilize large recurring revenue contracts across all of their campuses.
Johnson says his company’s customers would rather pay a larger one-time fee than pay a smaller amount every month. His customers are hesitant to have their security solutions on the network and possibly hacked, he says.
“It’s definitely something where we’re seeing the market is still a little bit shy on giving Internet access to those devices,” says Johnson.
Utilizing AI
Padilla notes it’s imperative for security integrators “to actually create a reasonable expectation about artificial intelligence” and to explain how it’s different than video analytics.
“It’s one of the challenges that we face regularly,” he says. “We’re trying to learn the true values of artificial intelligence. We’re still on a learning path in order to really, really be innovative in terms of applications of AI.”
Nemerofsky says it’s important to cut through the clutter before talking to clients about deploying AI in their security solutions.
“There are so many solutions out there that are calling themselves AI that we really dig in before we take it to our client and say, ‘this is AI,’” he says. “Some of the technology partners may be overemphasizing that their analytic is AI, and it’s really just an analytic.”
Before deploying AI with their customers, Elite Interactive seeks to get answers from the customer about what problems they are trying to solve, says Kozak.
“It doesn’t have to be this AI or that AI brand or that logo,” he says. “It really is all about bringing the solution to the customer and bringing a true solution to them.” Elite uses a six-tier testing process before giving a thumbs-up to an AI solution.
Standard Electronics is prioritizing machine learning over AI, says Dusenberry.
“When they look at the price tag or the budget options, that’s where things can get a little less fun,” he says. “But I think everybody likes to hear about the next thing, and new things, and how to solve that problem and [make] their lives easier.”
“We do a lot of education and a lot of feedback and question-asking. Right now, I’d say that the bulk of customers see AI and they want AI. What that means to them is that they want some form of automated response,” says Dusenberry.
Making Cloud Security Less Nebulous
Padilla is making inroads in selling the value of using cloud-based security systems — particularly a hybrid model, whereby integrators oversee the servers, but clients have almost-immediate access to the information they need whenever they need it.
“One of the things that we find our customers actually understand and go for is, ‘look, guys, we do have the cloud concept, but that cloud is right here under our command, under our complete operational supervision,’” he says.
Inter-Rep stores hot data for up to 30 days on premises, giving them complete control and allowing them to access the information their customers need within a few minutes.
“The cloud is becoming very interesting for many of our customers, but it’s not always easy for them to define,” he says. “We’ve found that it’s a really nice business proposition.”
Dusenberry says most of his company’s customers “fear” the transition to the cloud, preferring the on-premises option for data and video storage.
“We’re still playing that kind of long game of ‘how do we do on-prem with the ability to maybe do a hybrid model?’ That’s where the transition is happening,” he says. Some manufacturers are better than others at keeping legacy products alive for longer, says Dusenberry.
Overcoming Emerging Technologies Horror Stories
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, not all emerging technology stories are success stories. Sage Integration found itself in the position of having to pivot to using a different drone company after the one it had contracted for installations at Texas refineries went out of business, says Nemerofsky.
Elite Interactive Solutions doesn’t have any serious horror stories related to emerging technologies, but did find one of its vendors go belly up when a venture capital firm bought them and stopped selling the product. That’s why having a suite of partners is so important, says Kozak.
“We’ve deliberately not gone with just one vendor for our detection systems,” he says. “Because of that, we’ve had flexibility.”
A handful of Hawkeye’s customers have a legacy system installed in their facilities after one of its customers retired its wireless system after about five or six years, says Samek.
“That is certainly a risk you take with any new design or implementation,” he says. “Maybe the market doesn’t react to it well, or maybe the manufacturer can’t support it, so they mothball it. And now, you’re stuck with something that was pretty expensive and doesn’t work.”
Dusenberry and his colleagues pride themselves on being a company that never says no to customers, no matter how unusual their requests are. That can lead to problems when the security solutions Standard wanted to deploy didn’t survive from the initial conversation with the client until it was time to install the system.
“We’re pretty good at plan B, C, D and E, if necessary,” he says. “We like to come up with the idea and how we get there may not always be the same but, at the end of the day, we’ve got the idea, and we know how to solve that problem for the customer.”
Gappa doesn’t try to hide or obscure the situation when there are unexpected problems or obstacles, he says.
The company has run into some issues when it tried on some occasions to reset an existing intercom system and replace it with its own deployment, but he emphasized the importance of being up front with customers and providing alternative solutions.
The most important thing to do when deploying emerging technologies is to “set the customer’s expectations,” says Johnson.
Although the company would never intentionally install a product or solution it expects won’t work, the initial rollout from the manufacturer sometimes isn’t the fully formed version of what the final product will be. So, there are some glitches that need to be addressed.