Etess of Idesco has a unique perspective on the role that the security industry will play in real estate

Idesco Corp. has been in business for over 66 years. During this time they have remained at the forefront of the security industry by embracing the latest and greatest industry trends (such as IP based video surveillance) and proceeding with caution. For our security focus edition, the New York Real Estate Journal couldn't help but wonder what is on the horizon for Idesco. To answer this question we sat down with Scott Etess, general manager of Idesco. Etess came into the industry approximately five years ago. Prior to entering the security field Etess was with Newmark Knight Frank as well as the Trump Organization. His experience in the commercial and retail real estate markets affords him a unique perspective on the future role that the security industry and Idesco specifically will play in real estate. NYREJ: Scott, thanks for taking the time to sit with us. The New York Real Estate Journal has always viewed Idesco as a good indicator of future trends in the security field. That said, can you tell us what you think is the next "big" thing? SE: Certainly. I'm glad to know that you see Idesco as a good indicator of the future. We work very hard to identify new technologies and gauge how they will be perceived by the market and more specifically, the New York market as that is where the majority of work is. Additionally, in an effort to stay ahead of the trends we have made a conscious effort to enlist the services of IT savvy personnel. To answer your question, I think that the next major industry trend is managed services which, in my opinion, will be rather large in the New York market, particularly in the commercial real estate sector. NYREJ: I've heard the term managed services before, but what exactly is it? SE: Managed services, as it relates to the security industry, is the ability of a security company such as Idesco to function as the security division of a customer without the need to be onsite with them. For example, a company offering managed services has the ability to remotely program access control systems as well as remotely store and access video. NYREJ: Why do you think managed services is a good fit in New York? SE: I think New York is an ideal market for managed services. As corporations and building owners continue to look for means to reduce overhead, managed services could be an ideal solution. I think it needs to be looked at for each party (landlords and tenants) separately though. Let's start with building owners and managers. Having worked for a guard services provider I know how costly guard service can be. While I genuinely believe that guard services are necessary in certain circumstances, I am also of the belief that guard services are not needed in every application. Take for example an office building whose tenant base consists primarily of standard office uses. The companies occupying the building have staff who work standard office hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with of course some persons working later but the majority fall into the standard hours category. Fire code requires that a fire safety director be on premises during the hours when the building's occupancy exceeds a certain number of persons. During non-standard business hours however, there are no code requirements that must be abided by. This being the case, paying a security officer in excess of $15 or $20 per hour is not exactly money well spent. I am sure that there are security officers out there who will disagree with me. It is necessary to understand that technology has evolved to a point where securing a building during this time can be achieved with an access control and video system that is capable of being remotely operated. Even those landlords/property managers who own/manage multiple properties would benefit from centralizing their operation to a single location manned with a reduced staff. On the tenant side it is my belief that tenants of an office building or complex are engaged in the business of selling goods or services specific to them. For the minimal cost associated with enlisting a managed services company to operate their security platform on their behalf, they are enabling their staff to concentrate on their core business thereby increasing their productivity. Additionally this ensures that a trained security professional, as opposed to an office manager or the like, is operating their system. NYREJ: Is it safe to assume that Idesco is engaged in the providing of these services. SE: Thanks for asking that question. I was very excited when I was asked to be the Executive of the Month for NYREJ because I thought it an ideal forum to announce Idesco's entry into this line of services. Idesco will begin offering managed access control and video solutions as of November 1st. In this capacity we will be offering control of systems as small as a single door and/or camera to as large as our customer's request. We believe that we have an ideal platform and having been in business for over 66 years we feel that we have the credibility necessary to enable our customers to rest assured that their safety and security is in good hands. We also wanted to offer your reader base a discount on these services and let them know that if they make mention of this article we will provide them with three months of base services at no cost. For more information on Idesco and their managed services platform, please contact Etess or an Idesco sales representative at [email protected].