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.
About the Author
Sharad Shekhar is the CEO at Pelco by Schneider Electric.