Here’s the sequence of people you might meet when you hire a typical security technology integrator.
- A salesperson.
- An engineer who is introduced to make technical plans. He leaves.
- An installation team does their thing. Neither the salesperson nor the engineer are there.
- Time passes.
- You ask for a new door reader, and a service tech arrives. It’s the first time he’s been on site.
- Time passes.
- A camera breaks, and a different service tech shows up.
This may be an overdramatization, but it’s consistent with how most integrators staff projects. Functionally siloed people are easier for an integrator to manage, and the staff utilization rate is high.
But you can see the breakdowns. If the people are unfamiliar with the system, everything takes longer and things get missed.
It’s a little like getting your hair cut by a different barber every time.
Years ago, Secuni decided this model was better:
The same group of people should sell, design, install, and service a project.
Everyone on that team knows what you’re trying to accomplish, AND the mechanics of the system.
It means a more practical, functionally successful relationship.