Why Hire a Consultant?
- By Steve Malia
- Feb 01, 2010
On a recent flight to Las Vegas for a convention, I struck up a casual
conversation with the passenger in seat 2A over some bad airplane
salmon, and we discussed our prospective careers. I mentioned I was
a security consultant, and he said he works for a large amusement
park company that needed some help with its video surveillance and
access control systems.
We spoke at length about the pros and cons of his current system
and his options to enhance it. By the time we landed, I had
a meeting set up for the following week, and in a short time, seat
2A became job number 09.478B.
While most of us don’t build our business models based on an
airline’s random seat generator, I was happy to have a new client.
But one thing still bothered me; when we got off the plane and
exchanged pleasantries, he said, “I would have never thought of
needing a security consultant. I always assumed my security staff,
or engineering personnel, handled all that.”
A security consultant provides end users with a system that
matches their wants, needs and budget. While many users may
know what results they want to achieve with their video surveillance
systems, it’s a security consultant’s job to ensure that users
get what they need. An experienced security consultant can sit
with a user and provide options based on expertise and experience
to achieve the user’s security goals.
One of the most beneficial parts of having a security consultant
is the performance-based specifications a consultant provides.
A user may bid a project out to several companies, but each
of those companies may not offer the same equipment or level of
expertise. The user may go with the lowest bid, only to find that
they were sold low-end products that do not achieve their goals.
By preparing a performance specification, and bidding the job
on the user’s behalf, the consultant can confirm that bidders are
being compared objectively, the solutions are appropriate for the
application and the systems are comparable. The bidding process
also keeps prices competitive, and the majority of the time a
security consultant’s fee will be covered by the savings obtained
through the competitive bid process.
One of the core benefits of working with an established security
consultant is their technology expertise. New technologies,
integration and interoperability capabilities are coming to market
faster than ever. Hardware manufacturers and software developers
are racing to be the first on the block with the newest, fastest
and sleekest solutions.
Resellers, often tied to the specific brands and solutions
they’re most familiar with, are struggling to stay on top of new
developments, let alone understand all the nuances involved
with the installation, integration and implementation of new
systems technologies.
And as networking continues to gain traction for video surveillance,
the demand grows for higher levels of integration with
related systems like access control and even previously unrelated
systems like point-of-sale. Without a clear understanding of
what’s actually available to solve your specific application needs,
there’s a good chance you may not get the best solution at your
budget level.
One of the responsibilities of a security consultant is to provide
expertise on the latest performance and functionality attributes
new technologies and products have to offer. With the
day-to-day responsibilities of managing a security operation,
most users simply don’t have the time to thoroughly research the
myriad solutions available, as they are constantly changing. Nowhere
is this more evident than with software-driven control and
management solutions, which provide the platform for interoperability.
Without a firm grasp of today’s most current capabilities,
it’s impossible to establish parameters for a new system build or
existing system revision.
Another critical function a consultant will provide is project
coordination. There are countless stories about integrators
showing up to install systems only to run into obstacles that
could have easily been prevented with better planning. A consultant
ensures that the correct field devices are chosen for the
correct area, the correct wire is available and the correct installation
methods are applied. A consultant also ensures that power,
HVAC and room requirements are designed accordingly for
the specified system components with contingencies for system
expansion. We’ve been called numerous times to assess a new
installation that promised to accommodate growth but cannot
accommodate the addition of a single camera just months after
going live without incurring tremendous costs. This is usually a
result of poor planning and coordination.
Overall, a security consultant can help ensure end users get the
most system for their money, using the latest technologies with
the lowest total cost of ownership. But as with any professional
service provider, some consultants are better than others.
The first step on your project “to do” list should be to call your
peers and inquire about the security consultants they’ve worked
with. Seek out security professionals responsible for installations
similar in size and scope to yours. Security managers with good
systems in place love to talk about them, so don’t be shy about
picking up the phone. There’s nothing better than selecting a good
resource based on third-party recommendations. At the end of the
day, you’ll most likely wind up with better overall security.
This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Steve Malia is the director of design and production at M.Malia
and Associates.