The nature of security partnerships is changing. From consultancies to integrators to referral partners, there’s a significant shift away from the “spray and pray” of the past.
Let me explain.
While not everyone has been thrilled with the direct sales approach, it has provided a benefit of connecting manufacturers with the customer and prioritizing what they actually need versus what is easy to sell. For emerging technologies, it has often been difficult to be prioritized by channel partners, but we have seen three major factors that are impacting this dynamic: rapid technology advancement, influences from outside the industry, and lack of interoperability.
Look at the cloud, for example. The industry has talked about the cloud and cloud adoption across security for over a decade. What we’ve seen as a result is that those companies (both integrator and manufacturer) that embraced or were open to exploring cloud adoption (or creating cloud-native applications) now have significant market share, while others are playing catch up as organizations realize the benefits of cloud adoption. In this example, a changing mindset was necessary – and there were lots of organizations who didn’t fully understand the complexities of the discussions around the cloud or have the foresight to explore.
Here are the factors that integrators, customers (and everyone in between) need to consider that are influencing the market:
Advancing Technology
The security industry over the last several years has seen an influx of external technological resources incoming from software developers, large-scale companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, and of course, cloud and artificial intelligence-driven advancements. It turns out that the security industry is not immune to the trends being seen elsewhere (even if we’re a little slower to adopt such things).
One of the biggest topics around the changing security landscape is the idea that security still has a long way to go in true technology advancement that adopts the principles of top development best practices in software-as-a-service (SaaS) models and cloud-based platforms.
In security, there’s considerable influence from large tech firms trying to use the space to gain market share and in new technology providers looking to disrupt the status quo. In the middle, there’s an expectation from the customer that an integrator needs to be able to play with all parties – and the expectation is getting stronger.
As it stands, we’re already seeing security technology applications available on the Amazon marketplace, so organizations can buy through these platforms. If this happens, they look for an integrator partner to install the solution for them. As a result, the way buyers buy is changing – and we as an industry need to figure out whether to embrace it or not (spoiler alert: those who embrace it will win faster – see the cloud example above).
External Influences
While big tech companies are externally influencing the pace of innovation in the security industry, there’s also another factor that is playing a role: consolidation around companies in the form of mergers and/or acquisitions. So much of the work being done through integrators is continually adding and scaling security across companies as they grow both organically and through M&A activity.
Interoperability and Openness
Where the integrator partnerships have a chance to shine is in meeting the challenge of interoperability. They are the lynchpin between making things interoperable, identifying the right technology for the customer based on their needs, and recommending a technology stack that provides them with a system that works toward their goals.
Being a partner – a true partner – in this scenario means being able to identify the other factors that are meaningful in a security program and having the capability to deliver on that promise of creating a system for the customer that provides more value to their business.
While the industry arguably has a long way to go toward creating an atmosphere where interoperability is the norm and not the exception, there are solutions being introduced that take the next steps in providing a layer of interoperability. Software platforms that integrate varying access control systems and other legacy systems.
A New Approach for Integration Partners
One unifying theme of this is: a focus on the customer. Integrator business practices – and those of their manufacturer partners – must be customer-obsessed. You’re tasked with delivering on what you’ve promised and if you’re not completely centered on the customer, then you aren’t truly learning what makes sense for them. The ability to enhance two-way communication – and in some cases, three- and four-way communication with manufacturers and consultants – requires an approach to an ecosystem that is less about a single person talking to customers and more about a collaborative, team-based approach.
The bottom-line is don’t make it harder for the customers to get what they need.
Integrators that can identify the best possible solution for their customers will fare better in the changing landscape as new technology must be connected with legacy systems. It’s not about abandoning the old and only embracing the new; what it really means is connecting the two together to provide value and solve problems. That’s why a focus in the industry around interoperability is critical.
In today’s world, it’s not enough for them to coexist; technologies must be about a 1 + 1 = 3 kind of output, where the value of the integration together means exponentially more ability to solve a customer’s biggest problems.
