A new white paper ‘Reduce costs and risk with an effective security strategy’ offers insights into the importance of security strategy for business continuity as well as the impact on organisations of getting it wrong.
Published by Emprise, a support services contractor, the paper shows how a new approach to security strategy delivered significant results and cost savings for a university; and how organisations are risking damage to their brand and reputation by not having an effective strategy in place.
The paper demonstrates how organisations can add value as well as save up to 30 per cent of their security budget by taking an integrated approach. It also provides top tips for helping companies improve their security strategy.
Perceptions of corporate behaviour now matter more than perceptions of products and services. A report of 300 major companies around the world showed that reputation is now the biggest risk concern, mostly due to the rise of social media, which makes it harder for companies to control how they are perceived in the marketplace.
Although security is a multi-billion pound industry – the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) says its member companies have a combined turnover of £4.33bn and according to the SIA (Security Industry Authority) there were 382,377 active SIA licences in January 2014 – the trend in the last few years has been for decisions about security to be mostly financial.
Security can be seen as a cost rather than an investment. However, an effective strategy, which considers how to best protect an organisation’s assets – people, physical, technical and infrastructure; and mitigate any risks, can save an organisation time and reduce overheads.
A physical presence can help put people’s minds at rest and help them feel safer, whilst a security risk assessment will identify threats and vulnerabilities and their effect on business continuity and performance. Technology is a partner for manned services acting as a deterrent as well as providing evidence.
If people do not feel safe at work then productivity can fall and staff turnover increase; and if visitors have a negative experience then this can influence how an organisation is seen. Many companies fail to recognise the impact of negative perceptions both off and on-line. With social media identified as a real risk for a business, damage to reputation can be instantaneous.
Working with an outsourced service supplier to deliver the strategy can provide benefits. Outsourcing can add value and create efficiencies including cost reduction, flexible staffing, recruitment and training, quality assurance and save time.
The case study shows how the university involved was able to see both added value and an improvement to its business operations as a result of outsourcing its security, along with greater interaction with its students and student union.
The challenge for organisations is how to provide a cost-effective security solution whilst managing its brand and reputation. The benefits of outsourcing security services to deliver an effective strategy provide a strong argument for improving an organisation’s security systems as well as contributing to the bottom line.
To download the full white paper – visit www.emprise.co.uk/security.
