Innovations, Solutions and a Renewed Sense of Pride

• By Sharad Shekhar
• Dec 01, 2016

It’s an exciting time to be in the security industry, as evidenced by the successful year we have seen in regards to technology innovations, mergers and acquisitions, and a renewed sense of pride in the industry. As we look toward the future, several trends are emerging that will have a significant impact on how products go to market, serve specific market segments and provide end users with overarching value.

Today, there is a renewed focus on the quality being delivered to end users through technology innovations. Those companies that spend significant time developing products will be the most successful. In the past, we’ve seen companies market products using strategies that were only considered “shell” strategies, which include various marketing and product development plans presented on a surface level. Now, however, we see a shift in focus to the development of core strategies, implementing significant changes to the innermost workings of the company.

As an example, instead of devising a way to market a video surveillance product for the oil and gas production customer, a security solutions company might instead spend more time investigating the needs of the end user.

There is a defined shift away from single product-focused sales, and the emergence of a more solutions-focused approach. Focusing on the “speeds and feeds” of products instead of the user requirements can also be a problem. The transition into a more solutions-focused approach means that the specific needs of the end user are met through a tailored approach, enhancing everything from the product line, to the integration of third-party systems, to the training and customer support required to become a strategic partner for these organizations moving forward.

The way end users buy products is also changing, with IT departments becoming more and more involved with the decision-making process in regards to investments. For many years, IT and security teams remained separate from each other, with a limited amount of overlap. But now, however, network security is critical to the success of an organization because so many devices are housed on the network. As a result, it’s crucial to have the IT department involved in the selection of any networkenabled products and solutions.

The dynamics of how companies go to market are changing faster than the development of new technology. In the coming year, a greater shift will take place to higher quality, easily integrated and more IT-friendly technology, and that’s a trend we can all rally around.

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of Security Today.