Mike O’Neill, pictured, is Managing Director of Optimal Risk Management Ltd and Chairman of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Specialist Services Section. Here he comments on the role of the security consultant in helping UK businesses to increase resilience.
Many businesses have existing security systems and processes that have been in situ for a long time or have grown haphazardly over the years. When these need to be replaced or upgraded, everyone will want to make sound decisions using the ‘best of breed’ technology and processes. At this point an experienced security consultant can help a business to make the right decisions, implement and integrate new systems and processes in an efficient, cost effective manner. They will be aware of the industry trends and best practice solutions from across a range of sectors.
External consultants will help businesses to identify the potential threats to their organisation, the likelihood of them occurring and the impact if they do. They will identify systems, processes, training and response mechanisms that will help a business to become more resilient. If part of the brief is designing a new system, they will ensure that the operational requirement (OR) for each camera, reader and sensor is fully understood.
Beyond traditional physical security, the modern consultant also needs a good understanding of the cyber-threat and how important it is to ensure that planning for crisis management, business continuity, disaster recovery and emergency management is fully aligned to ensure business resilience. Some clients will want the consultants to undertake complete projects; others may want them to work with an existing in-house security team to add specific project capacity.
Security consultants will ensure that cost effective solutions are implemented that ensure a good balance between technology and manpower to provide longer-term real cost savings, as well as the ability to upgrade elements of any system to take advantage of new equipment developments.
Before appointing a security consultant, the client should ensure that prospective consultants have the requisite experience to complete the tasking. There are some sectors where specific knowledge and experience is required as well as a good understanding of the compliance standards. Security consultants should be independent and free to offer totally unbiased advice and recommendations which match the product to the need and not the need to the product. With the pace of change in today’s security systems it may well be the case that the required level of expertise is provided by several consultants working as a team.
When procuring the services of a security consultant, clients should look for consultants who have individual or corporate memberships to relevant bodies which are an indicator of quality. Individual memberships include the Register of Chartered Security Professionals or the Register of Security Experts and Specialists, corporate memberships include the British Security Industry Association Specialist Services Section or the Association of Security Consultants (ASC). Finally it is vital that the consultants appointed have good communication skills because they will have to quickly understand a business’ corporate culture, draw information from people at all levels within the organisation and present their ideas concisely, plausibly and persuasively.
To source a security consultant near you visit: www.bsia.co.uk/company-finder.aspx.
