Info4Security (I4S): Why do you choose to attend IFSEC International, and what are the main goals/achievements you hope to realise from doing so?
David Gummer (DG): IFSEC International is the leading global annual security event and the only one which brings together the complete international security supply chain. It’s an ideal opportunity to engage, influence and do business with serious decision-makers.
For Redcare, IFSEC International is a platform to showcase our capabilities, new developments and our solutions to existing problems and demonstrate how these are backed by experience and excellent customer service.
The event also affords us a forum to launch new products, services and offers, and to share our successes. We really enjoy the opportunity IFSEC gives us to speak with a huge number of the customers we’ve amassed over our 26-year history.
I4S: When does your preparation for the show begin, what does that preparation entail and what’s the company’s commitment to the event in terms of manpower/logistics?
DG: Preparation for the following year begins immediately after the show with a post-event analysis and, armed with the results, we then plan our strategy for the coming year.
It’s a major commitment for us in terms of manpower, with representatives from all parts of the business – sales, service, product line and marketing – all in attendance. This demonstrates our commitment to our customers, our partners and the market.
I4S: What’s the key focus for the company at this year’s show?
DG: Making it easier for installers to carry out their daily business, helping them grow and be more profitable.
I4S: Can you briefly outline the new solutions and products that will be displayed and discussed by the company?
DG: We have some exciting solutions making it easier for installers to do business, making it simple and secure to carry out fault-finding, maintenance and servicing. This has increasingly become imperative for installers such that they can demonstrate to their customers a highly enhanced and rapid service.
We will also have some show offers, but I can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet!
Of course we will be showcasing the value-add of our core portfolio:
- Secure: our value-for-money, versatile security product that can be used initially as a GPRS/PSTN device then easily upgraded to IP
- Classic: our Grade 4 system that offers the most secure form of alarm signalling available
- GSM: this offers the highest level of protection available through combining the benefits of Classic with a GSM secondary path
- Complete: our integrated fire, intruder and event-triggered video recording remote surveillance
I4S: Are you targeting end users, installers/integrators or perhaps consultants this year, and what’s influencing your decision here?
DG: To be honest, Brian, at Redcare we feel that we have something to offer the whole value chain.
I4S: What are your immediate priorities in the post-IFSEC period?
DG: To respond to the many enquiries and requests we always receive. To reach those people who didn’t make it to IFSEC International to ensure that they are aware of our new solutions and offers, and to ensure our strategy and planning effectively addresses our customers’ feedback.
I4S: What’s the focus for the company likely to be in the six months from June to December?
DG: Remote access and diagnostics, as previously mentioned. Additional benefits for installers include a reduction in labour and fuel costs and a snapshot of the condition of the alarm estate without trawling through bulky monitoring reports.
End customers benefit from greater convenience when routine maintenance can be conducted without a site visit to their premises and much improved customer service: a four-hour response time for an engineer to conduct initial fault diagnosis is becoming a thing of the past.
Audio and video verification over IP and GPRS is also key, allowing integration between existing separate discipline security systems and opening the way for value added services from alarm signalling hardware.
This is important for false alarm management and cost consolidation in times of austerity, giving end customers useful access to their own security systems for their own security purposes and for other activities around MIS, etc. It adds significant value to systems which were previously considered an imposed, necessary overhead.
Another important focus is increased self-serve access to customer, installer information and alarm systems via secure online portals where enhanced functionality will deliver not only benefits in terms of remote access for servicing and fault diagnostics purposes, and a true two-way interface with on-site equipment. This will deliver far greater value add for customers from security system signalling than is currently available.
Continued market-leading innovation is important, where we strive to make our products even faster and easier to install than they are now. Watch this space: we have some exciting developments to announce at IFSEC International.
I4S: Can you offer your views on the subject of convergence in the security space, wherein information security and physical security are being brought closer together?
DG: Redcare Complete is already on the market and able to offer converged fire, intruder, video and VIOP services. We see the market moving further and further in that direction.
Other developments ensure that signalling moves beyond security to full integration with companies’ day-to-day operational systems helping to drive the automation of intelligent business decisions and delivering significant added value over traditional security products.
In the consumer space the same trend towards wider integration supports the delivery of greater home automation, enhancing convenience and making consumers’ lives easier.
In both cases, we believe installers will play a critical role in realising these benefits for end users.
I4S: Are knowledge levels among your key customer audiences showing a continual elevation in focus and breadth?
DG: Our industry has seen radical change in recent years – customers are demanding more and competition is increasing. It’s imperative that we invest for the future. We must be continuously innovating and bringing new, compelling services to our customers.
I4S: What’s the company doing to promote the Corporate Social Responsibility/’green’ agenda?
DG: BT’s achievements are widely recognised in this space. In 2011, BT was ranked the top telecommunications company in the FTSE4Good ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) ratings – a stock market index that ranks 2,400 companies based on globally-recognised standards for corporate responsibility.
We also led the fixed telecommunications sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for eight years (2001-2008) and were Gold Class recipients in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to name just two awards.
Redcare at IFSEC International 2012
Hall 4 Stand C120