This last month I was literally blown away by the conversations I had with industry leaders throughout the business and security ecosystems. And I found a thread of innovation and change that connected all the conversations. For example, I saw business model innovation, pricing and purchasing innovation, risk consulting innovations, and integrators becoming agents of business level digital transformation.
One consultant said to ignore the tired anticipation of the future of convergence. “We are converged”, he admonished. Another talked about the monitoring of monitoring and suggested the evaluation criteria of a services vendor needs to change to include a digital dashboard for all the ‘ilities’ (availability, reliability, maintainability, scalability, etc.) that represent an assurance model that supports the SLAs. And those SLAs are the basis of a new consumption-based procurement model. Why buy things when they are depreciating assets? Buy the appreciating outcomes that represent value in your business.
Security really does need to be a service that can scale and innovate with the business. One conversation was with the security leader of a major hospital who does surveys on the perception of security by the hospital’s stakeholders. Which led to a major innovation on predictive threat assessments that comes close to real time actionable response based on an analytic.
Have a great month surfing through the conversations. We are converged. Now act on that and be that change in your organization.
As always, those who contribute are giving back to the industry. Thank them personally if you can. They are truly servants. And recommend others who should be sharing their voices, experiences, and ideas.
Ideas shape markets and they can change the world.
Surfing the Data Tidal Wave:
Risk Intelligence Moving from Analog to Digital
Back in the day, embedded intelligence teams worked with few resources, limited budget, and little to no technology. They had their art and their science. They had a process, but never called it a workflow. Their data was captured through face-to-face interviews, phone and post it notes.
Now we have human and digital sensors and a tidal wave of data. Technology must be involved at a scale we never imagined…
We asked Tom Kopecky, who bookended both the analog world and the digital in investigative intelligence, to take us through this evolution, break it down for us, and provide us some thoughts on where it goes next and why. What we found is the new technology is bridging the old organizational silos, the technology silos, and the communication silos that have kept us from the promise of proactive and protective intelligence. As well, it is opening the door to non-intelligence personnel through its guided workflows and multi-modal communications.
Tom was a founder of IRC Intelligence & Fortis Protective Services, both boutique security intelligence firms with offices located in Chicago & Austin, where he helped clients coordinate threat assessment investigations and develop their protective intelligence programs. He and his team were constantly searching for more optimized approaches to create more insights in the protective intelligence workflow. He eventually decided to build his own as the co-founder of Ontic Technologies.
Supply Chain Innovation for the Digital Age
For innovators, timing is everything. And when the window opens, only a few recognize it. And for those who do, they intuitively sense when it might close. The ability to seize the opportunity when it presents itself is both art and science.
A new utility has exploded on the scene. Like electricity, it keeps the data moving from substations that drives the economy and our lives. $50B of these utilities are being built each year. They are called data centers. If you are a company that requires this utility to meet your market window, you need it built fast, built cost effectively, and at the highest levels of design/build quality.
You also may not want to own it or operate it. You still will want to manage your business but have a partner that makes the utility function to your specifications.
We found a man who, as a child, watched Michael Dell provide a menu of parts you could pick from to build a computer. Dell’s company would assemble them at high speed, high quality and at a low price. Chris Crosby has done the same think for the business and construction process for data centers that Dell did for computers. He is the recognized visionary and leader in the data center space and has served as founder and CEO of Compass Datacenters since 2011. We caught up with him to have a great conversation about this business process innovation that he has successfully deployed that created a multi-billion-dollar business in 10 years. For our security executive community, you will be pleased to hear how he is leveraging his physical security team to do the same thing for the security processes and technology as he did for the construction of the datacenter.
Security Matters to the Customer, the Stakeholder, and the Business
Are hospital employees concerned for their safety and security? Are they making this part of their evaluation on whether to become an employee or whether they stay? Is the business of the hospital disrupted by an unusual number of potential and actual Workplace Violence (WPV) incidents?
We turned to an executive leader at a hospital that has a cultural DNA of innovation and change, to find out if the risk, resilience, and security program is keeping pace. If you listen to the entire podcast, you will discover the answers to the above questions as well as some key technologies that are helping them, make important data driven decisions.
Mark Reed, CHPA, is currently the Director of Support Services at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South Central Los Angeles overseeing Security, Safety, Emergency Management, PBX, Parking, and numerous other programs.
Mark was recognized by Campus Safety Magazine as the 2019 Director of the Year. Under Mark’s leadership, the MLKCH Public Safety team was recognized as the 2019 Outstanding Security Team at the OSPAs presented by ASIS. He also is a current member of the Hospital Association of Southern California’s Safety and Security Committee. And in 2020, he was named one of the most influential security leaders in the world by Security Magazine.
Business Process Optimization and Digital Transformation start with ‘Who’
According to one CEO survey, the greatest challenges they are facing are a disparate remote workforce, finding the right talent, and building highly optimized operational processes. There are profit leaks everywhere. And one of those hidden cost centers is how identities are managed across the corporate silos of excellence, including security.
What we have identified in earlier conversations is the new role of the CISO in leading digital transformation. We also have identified traditional security integrators attempting to map to this trend. In our research we found a ‘boots on the ground’ Identity Assurance Principal who is an evangelist for his team of subject matter experts who are entering organizations asking the most important questions around the most urgent problems facing the CEO, CISO, and the CSO. The breakthrough thinking promises a huge return in TCO, ROI, and, most importantly, competitive positioning.
Doug Greenwald, with Convergint Technologies’ Advanced Solutions Group, is responsible for helping global companies navigate the technology evolution taking place in the security industry to identify and implement complex solutions ranging from PIAM, PSIM, Workspace Efficiency to Event Management, IOT Security, and optimization.
Why We Need a Great Conversation and Playbook
A senior security consultant working on some of the largest projects in the world, discusses his unique approach to helping his customers bridge the gap from good to great. He helps me reframe the digital transformation discussion into a more accurate term: Digital Acceleration, which captured the anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and doubt that can occur when change is impacting your industry, your certifications, and your career.
He also captures the heart and soul of the professionals in the security industry by telling his highly personal story of ground zero after 9/11.
Matthew Dimmick, CPP, PSP, CPD, is the translator between his clients and his engineers. He is a senior consultant at STV, an award-winning professional firm consistently ranking among the country's top companies in education, justice, highways, bridges, rail, and mass transit sectors. They provide a complete range of planning, engineering, architectural, environmental, and construction management services to transportation, infrastructure, design-build, institutional, commercial, energy, industrial, and military clients.
ESRM: A Cornerstone of Leadership Enablement
Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) is seen as a useful methodology for security consultants and executives. We turned to a security executive and a consultant who practice, train, and utilize ESRM to get the latest thinking and found it be a cornerstone of leadership enablement.
Once seen that way, it then can be infused with other leadership elements to take security and the organization to the next level. And, according to our great conversation, we learn that the greatest path to ‘me’ is through ‘we’. Lean in, listen, and learn from these great examples from the next great generation.
Jonathon Harris is the Vice President of Group337 a group of executives focused on business creation in the CRETech, proptech, and smart home markets in the security, access control, and IoT industry.
Tim Wenzel is the Head of Global Security, Privacy Protection for Facebook. He also was the Founding Partner of Getting Security Done (GSD) a group dedicated to accelerating the advancement of the security industry through thought leadership and directed innovative conversations. And, finally, Tim created a movement amid the pandemic called The Kindness Games urging people to “ferociously” pursue shout outs of kindness in a world of unrest and silos of polarized communities. #TheKindnessGames
The DNA of Innovation
It’s all about experimentation and discovery. We have a great conversation with two companies who have the DNA of Innovation: one a prospective vendor and the other a leading hospital.
Our risks and business are constantly evolving. We need to pursue change and not have change pursuing us. I brought these two companies together to discuss how they think, how they partner, and an exciting pilot that promises to redefine how we think about learning how our people and processes are acting and performing. They are looking to collect data from a ‘turnstile on the ceiling’; a sensor that collects presence. This data will be fed into a machine learning engine that will help management determine what actions to take to optimize people entering a building. In this case it would be applied to the problem of false alarms caused by tailgating. False alarms cost time and breaches the confidence of the technology and the security program.
Their multi-dimensional pilot is testing not only if it will work but does it have value, helping Children’s establish one more spoke in the wheel of digital transformation.
Dylan Hayes is the Cyber-Physical IT Security Manager at Seattle Children's Hospital. He is a seasoned leader, planner, and enterprise change agent with 20+ year progressive career record spanning a wide range of critical business systems and operations including enterprise risk, resilience, and response.
Mike Johnson is the Program Manager of Occupancy Sensing Solutions at Orion Entrance Controls. He is helping lead the charge to further develop the Orion vision and bring this highly anticipated, award winning product to market that will lead the industry in friction-less security, making Access in Motion a true reality.
A New Model for Purchasing: Appreciating Outcomes vs. Purchasing Depreciating Assets
We have a great conversation exploring the mindset and tools to finance innovation and change in the era of digital transformation. 99% of purchases in physical security are in an ownership model. Pure cash using after tax dollars or a lease to own model. Other industries are ahead of the curve.
Ahead of the curve means they are buying outcomes not things.
Owning things is expensive. 50% of the value of the asset is lost on the day of your purchase. You have abdicated agility in an era of massive technology investment in R&D. Your program is not bleeding edge or cutting edge. It is off the edge of the table.
It is time to measure the investment by outcomes and design an “assurance model” future proofing your outcomes and technology innovation with your vendors.
We explore this concept with Paul Metzheiser, Managing Partner, of Tamco. Since 1996 Tamco has been helping Security, AV, and Technology Integrators deliver an easier way for customers to procure equipment and services.
The Security Industry is Back:
Live from ISC West in Vegas where the Focus was Innovation and Collaboration
ISC West is a key event for the Security Industry. It took a pause in 2020, but recently brought the industry back together in July. We caught up with two senior consultants who survey the floor every year to explore the show and what they learned.
They found an eagerness to “get back to work”. There was a passion undergirding the event around relationships; relationships that can drive innovation and change.
Although the size of the crowd was quite a bit lower than in the past, ISC managed to “get the ball rolling again”. And new innovations on the floor focused on outcomes amid societal and environmental change.
One of the key insights was this “We are now monitoring our monitoring.” The point was that information (data) is the new oil and a new assurance expectation through transparent reporting is needed. These ‘dashboards’ are now a condition of a security manager’s evaluation of their vendors.
The consultants were J. Kelly Stewart the Managing Director & CEO of Newcastle Consulting, LLC and a former CSO. Newcastle is a premiere Security Risk Management Consultancy that provides security strategies ensuring your Piece of Mind through a proactive prevention strategy to reduce risk.
Kelly draws upon more than 30 years of public and private sector experience as a Security Advisor, Subject Matter Expert, and former Chief Security Officer focused on assisting executives in directing their organizations on core competencies where they can achieve definable advantages and add value that facilitate and protect organizational objectives.
Steven Oplinger, a Senior Consultant with Star Asset Security, has been in the security industry for over 28 years, primarily as a security systems designer. he has been responsible for projects nationally to include shopping malls, resorts, and government facilities. Mr. Oplinger represents Star Asset Security at numerous security industry events as both a presenter and keynote speaker. He is a regular contributor to security association events and trade publications. He has been one of the primary authors and instructors for the Security Industry Association Security Project Management workshop. He also is an active member of ASIS International, and has served as the Chairman of the Physical Security Council.
“We are Converged” – Reflections on ISC West
The Data Waterfall is forcing a change. The current definition of integration that is pervasive in the physical security industry is changing as well as the organizational convergence spurred by digital transformation. And the next generation is forcing change. New ideas. An expectation of real time. A DNA of technology at the speed of business.
Jeff Slotnick is President of Setracon a company focused on professional services related to Risk Consulting, Enterprise Security Risk Management, Physical Security, Physical Security of Logical Systems, Resiliency, Training, Protective services, investigations, and the conduct of all hazards risk, vulnerability, and threat assessments.
We leveraged his eyes and ears on the floor at ISC West. His insights were valuable in helping us understand the shifts taking place in his discipline and in the industry at large.
Cybersecurity is not a Technology Problem: It's a Management Opportunity
Cybersecurity is not just a technology problem, it's a management opportunity. Our conversation with a CISO last year, as his book was launching was incredibly educational. We learned how to manage cyber risks and ensure our company is cyber resilient now, and remain in the game no matter what the future holds. Combating cybercrime is a necessity of doing business in the 21st century.
Financial and identity thefts occur with annoying frequency, and no executive today can afford to ignore the damage phishing, malware, and malicious code pose to their company's future. But, with this invaluable guide, anyone, no matter what their skill level or bandwidth, can become an effective cyber risk manager. In “Fire Doesn't Innovate: The Executive’s Practical Guide to Thriving in the Face of Evolving Cyber Risks”, cybersecurity expert and vCISO Kip Boyle of Cyber Risk Opportunities, LLC, provides the tools you'll need to:
Recognize, prioritize, and mitigate cyber risk and online threats.
Develop daily company-wide habits of good cyber hygiene.
Protect passwords, credit card information, and other sensitive data.
Adopt a 5-Principle approach that will help safeguard your business from cyberattacks.
Real Time Communications
Mark Reid, Director of Safety and Security at Seattle Pacific University, visited us last year in a spontaneous and transparent conversation around his journey in creating a near-real time incident response system using intelligent IP audio integrated into access control, video, and multi-modal communications. He was told it was too expensive and, likely not possible. But he challenged those prevailing assumptions and now can activate an emergency communication procedure, including a campus-wide lock down, notification of internal emergency response team, police and/or fire emergency (911), all in under a minute.
Why Cities and Buildings Need to Get Smarter to be Safer
Back in 2020, we were able to meet Martin Gasulla at The Great Conversation which was being held in Palm Beach Florida. At the time he was managing the Security Operations Center for Vicente López in a partido in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina 20 kilometers north of downtown Buenos Aires and 80 kilometers north of the city of La Plata, the provincial capital. It is one of the country´s most affluent municipalities. In this podcast following our forum, Martin outlines his journey in helping his city become more safe, secure, sustainable and, most importantly, more efficient and valuable to its citizens. Martin deployed a comprehensive network of cameras, backed by an open and highly interoperable VMS and Communication technology backbone.
The Tipping Point of Insider Threat
We were able to get a hold of Dr. Michael Gelles, a Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting, in 2020 to share with us his insights regarding the insider risks posed by the pandemic such as the consequences of prolonged stress on organizations, their leaders, their supply chain and their people.
Dr. Gelles is a director with Deloitte Consulting LLP Federal practice, consulting in the areas of law enforcement, intelligence, and security. Mike is a thought leader and widely published author on critical national security issues to include, insider threat, security processing, secure workforce, asset loss, exploitation, sabotage, and workplace violence. Previously, Mike served as a naval officer and the chief psychologist for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The Scorecard for the Next Generation of Access Control
In 2020, Lee Odess, CEO and Founder of Group337, discussed his new ebook: The Six Phase Changes Shaping Access Control as well as his keynote at that year’s Security Investor Conference, hosted by Imperial Capital. The 6 Phase Changes Shaping Access Control explores the forces shaping the access control industry as it goes mainstream. Imagine than taking these 6 elements and creating a scorecard for the top 40 access control manufacturers. This is continuing to stimulate great conversations.