Carpe diem, and I mean it

It’s been a busy couple of days for me as I write this editorial, having done double duty attending the Security Growth Conference, an event we put on with USBX Advisory Services and Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, while at the same time working on editorial content for this April issue. But I must say, these past few days have been well worth it. How often is it that one has the opportunity to see the chief executive officer of a company lay his cards on the table? In the course of a day and a half, I heard turnaround strategies, such as American Building Control’s plans to trim non-essential operations and build long-neglected businesses like its MDI access control division, and growth plans, such as Central Security Groups’ strategy to add several new locations in the coming years. I listened to technology companies, such as Arrowsight, Brivo Systems, InVision Technologies and Neven Vision, talk about partnerships and expansion opportunities. It was a rare chance to see companies and key members of management up-close and outside the often-hectic environment of this industry’s trade shows. And then after the day’s presentations ended, there was still plenty of time to catch up with the management of companies whose presentations I did not have the opportunity to listen to. I liked what I heard during this short but information-packed conference. Some of the systems integrators talked about their progressive approach to the security market and how they’ve embraced network technology. And then some companies who have already achieved success expressed their desire to push on, grow and become an even stronger player in this business. Don’t get me wrong - not all of the details I heard were rosy. But what I did hear loud and clear was that businesses in this industry don’t want to be mediocre. They want to do the best job possible. And these companies embrace opportunity. The security industry is more progressive today than ever before. Private equity and venture capital firms see that some companies are ripe for an investment. Together, there’s the chance to grow and capitalize on this business. Opportunity is looking us straight in the face. Now it’s up to us to seize it.