Security industry trends towards managed services and expects to continue

Many of our customers (especially commercial property owners and tenants) have expressed a desire to outsource their security operations. This offering is referred to in our industry as managed services. Managed services as it relates to the security industry is the enlisting of a security provider to remotely control access into a building or a tenant's space as well as the remote recording of video surveillance cameras offsite. It's no surprise that requests for services such as these have been increasing given the state of the economy in the recent past. As corporations and building owners continue to look for ways to reduce overhead, managed services could be an ideal solution. Managed Services for Building Owners and Operators Like any business operator, when an owner/manager looks at reducing operating costs he/she will review all of the expenses associated with the operation of their source of revenue. In a commercial office building there are some costs that are necessities and other costs which can be considered luxuries. Necessary costs include (but certainly are not limited to) real estate taxes, elevator maintenance contracts, electricity, etc. It's important to note that necessary costs vary on building-by-building basis. What an "A" building views as a necessity a "B" or "C" building may consider the same expense an expendable luxury. The access control portion of managed services is not geared towards "A" buildings. Managed access control offers buildings owners/operators the ability to reduce the cost associated with guard services. "A" buildings cannot take advantage of such an offering as their tenant base expects (and justifiably so for the rents associated with occupying such a building) that security personnel be present at the building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Managed access control is designed to service "B" and "C" buildings. Eliminating or reducing guard services in these properties allows for a significant cost savings to many of our customers with little or no impact on the tenant base. The math associated with the savings is quite simple. A low cost installation and nominal monthly fee compared to the hourly cost (usually in the $15 to $20+ range) associated with a security guard is typically justified within the first week or two of installation. For those landlords or managers who own/operate numerous properties Idesco's managed services platform allows for numerous properties to be monitored from a single location. This being the case, a single security officer can monitor multiple properties systems in real time. Our customers use this as a distinguishing factor that allows for their properties to stand out from the competition in their efforts to attract new tenants. They can offer 24 hour, 7 day a week live monitoring at multiple properties without incurring exorbitant security personnel costs. Managed Services for Tenants Tenants of an office building or complex are engaged in the business of selling goods or services. For the minimal cost associated with enlisting a managed services company to operate their security platform, these tenants 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 which should provide them with peace-of-mind. Another advantage of this platform is the low upfront costs associated with the systems installation. The security company providing the service is able to install the system for a deeply discounted price. This is similar to the home alarm industry business model. Given the advantages, it's easy to see why managed services has become a popular alternative to traditional security systems amongst our customers. We at Idesco expect this trend to continue for quite some time. Idesco is a New York City-based security integrator who has served the real estate community since 1943. To learn more about managed services and how it may save you money, visit them at BuildingsNY. Bring the coupon in NYREJ to receive a discount on services from Idesco. Scott Etess is general manager for IDESCO Corp., New York, N.Y.