Convergint’s Vice President of Global Accounts Mike Kuhn is an expert when it comes to system integration and customer relations, with over 30 years of experience in the electronic security, fire alarm & Life safety, and building management systems industry. Since Convergint Technology founding in 2001, Kuhn has been integral part of the team on its journey to become the worlds #1 systems integrator. Below is an article written by Kuhn, featured in Security Magazine, highlighting why more isn’t better when it comes to global integration and communication is the key to successful business moves.

Best Practices for Global Integration, By Mike Kuhn

With estimates hovering around the $1 trillion mark for security products and services spending in the next five years, according to Cybersecurity Ventures’ Cybersecurity Market Report, it’s no wonder security executives are on the lookout for best practices for global integration. The best approach is for security systems integrators to invest in and embed with their global customers to provide consistency and serve as their single point of contact for all their systems integration needs.  How?  It all starts with communication.  It’s critical for integrators to work closely with end users to understand their needs and desired business outcomes. Ongoing two-way communication is critical to a successful partnership.  It’s also preferred to go to customers and meet with them, both literally and virtually.

This commitment goes beyond web-based customer resources, project trackers, and reporting mechanisms;  it’s to bring enterprise expertise to the customer. Acting as the single systems integrator, versus CSOs trying to manage multiple integrator relationships across the globe, assists the end user in saving time and money to manage a global security solution.  The more security leaders become concerned about risk and security breaches, the more that contractors and points of contact need to be managed.  With so much data out there about an enterprise’s security infrastructure, integrators must be vigilant to ensure their customers’ infrastructure is protected and stays in the right hands. Having a single point of contact eliminates multiple vulnerabilities for end users’ enterprises.

CSOs value the ability to manage, track and understand their complete security systems inventory around the globe.

4 AREAS INTEGRATORS SHOULD BE STRONG IN:

  • Allow clients to look at each installation and work order in real time to get a solid understanding of where their integrator is working daily.

  • Offer tracking for a customer’s spend on a site-by-site basis, allowing them to accurately budget, plan, and forecast.

  • Provide the right specialist with the right depth of knowledge and materials to go onsite, and evaluate and fix more than one issue during one service call, the first time.

  • Look for opportunities to offer cost-saving alternatives to ongoing service issues.

If you ask companies that don’t utilize a single systems integrator about their current annual security spend, they would need to reach out to each of their integrators to get estimates, evaluate how they’re working, and then cull through the data to come up with a number.  CSOs know the value of having that information at the ready.

It’s not that less is more when it comes to what end users want from their global security integration partners, it’s all about more communication with a single point of contact.