Collaborative efforts

I guess someone must have been reading my mind this week at PSA TEC, because a session I attended this week in Denver touched on the topic of our next Security Insights webcast (which is May 29, BTW. Details to follow).

That topic – the collaboration among integrators, manufacturers, and end users – was addressed during the State of the Industry panel, a session which I always pay close attention to each year at PSA’s annual gathering of integrators.

After all, this annual session features thought leaders who provide a comprehensive look at the current marketplace and identifies key challenges, opportunities, and trends that impact systems integrators, manufacturers, and other security professionals.

Panel moderator Matt Barnette, CEO of PSA Security Network, addressed the issue of collaboration to Stephenie Haldane, vice president of end user sales at HID, just like this – “What's your advice, when we've got a room full of integrators here, how do they best collaborate with manufacturers like HID?”

Stephenie’s response stressed the importance of working together to establish a mutual understanding of the needs of both the integrator and the manufacturer.

“It's an understanding, first, that our mission is typically also the mission of the integrators,” she said. “Working with companies that have verticalization and trusted advisors that really understand each other’s intricacies, that can speak their language, that can talk to use cases – it’s partnering with them in a collaborative effort. We want to be able to go to market, talk to each of these verticals and say, ‘Hey, tell me your pain points,’ and then pass that baton off. I think it’s really important not to see the manufacturer as a threat. We are here to help, we are here to collaborate, and we are here to partner. Most importantly, it's just to be a resource.”

Haldane addressed the integrators in the room directly by adding, “If you're wanting to partner with someone who really understands the language in each of these verticals, you should work with a manufacturing representative and go to market together, right?”

She calls this the force multiplication strategy because, as she explained it, “We’re not selling, we're helping them understand these are security breaches. These are things that you want to think about. This is your road map. What are the problems that you want to solve? Once we get to that place, it’s a win-win. I think that that's something we have to evolve to, and we're getting there.”

Speaking about HID and working with integrators, Haldane added, “We have a lot of people who are here to help that mission, and it’s really just being able to speak the language and talk to them.”

Bringing the end user into the equation, Barnette asked Haldane about the evolution of end user demand over the past five years.

“They know what they want to see deployed, but they may not know the road map to get there, which is why they’re leaning heavily on us, the manufacturers,” she responded. “If you don’t have vertical-specific information on a data center, for example, you want to partner with someone who has a very vertical-specific critical infrastructure team.”

As you can see, it is all about collaboration between the integrators, manufacturers and end users to ensure the successful installation of a security system. And if the end user is happy, everyone is happy.