SD&I Fast50 No. 3: A Home in the Cloud

The secret to success at Star Asset Security, Orlando, Fla., has been to have a business plan and to stick to it; and much of that plan is focused on cloud-based services. There is little doubt that the strategy is working, as the company has seen a steady rise in SD&I’s Fast50 — from No. 24 in 2014, to No. 8 in 2015, to No. 3 this year.

“Our business model is pretty simple. We believe in having long-term vendor partners, customers and employees,” says Roger Hirschy, Start Asset Security’s executive vice president. “We focus on clients and industries that recognize the value of managed services, acquiring expertise and transferring risk, so they can focus energy on their core business.”

One of the company’s key strategies is to come as close to one-stop-shopping as possible for customers, and cloud computing has been a huge boost to their customer service plan. “Since many of our physical security solutions and endpoints are now IP/cloud-based (as they have been in IT for many years), we are unique in being able to implement and remotely monitor and manage all of their IP infrastructure,” says Bobbie Hirschy, the company’s president.

But the human element remains paramount: “We hold each other accountable and partner with our customers with a best-in-class service department,” Bobbie Hirschy says.  

Cloud Services in Several Verticals

Star Asset’s focus is on providing two basic platforms. The first is a typical systems integration offering for enterprise clients on a regional and national level. This has a strong focus on those customers that value a single point of contact and managed services. The second platform is a cloud-based managed services option for small- to mid-sized commercial clients.

The company is a major player in the education vertical with clients from K-12 to colleges and universities. In addition, they serve a number of clients in such vertical segments as healthcare, retail and government. “We look for clients that want a long-term partner that will take care of their security and IT, because chances are, it will be on the same or similar network soon if not already,” Bobbie Hirschy says.

“Our mainstay is retail,” she adds, pointing out that the market is a great fit for the cloud offering. “We see solutions in that vertical moving more into the cloud in the future.”

Unlike many integrators, Star Asset does not face the challenge of the bourgeoning number of DIY solutions available in the market. “We only have commercial and government clients, so we do not run into the DIY buyers that often,” Bobbie Hirschy says.

However, it does need to deal with such challenges as meeting the requirements of heavy industrial clients. “They require complex systems that have to be installed and serviced in highly operational environments,” Bobbie Hirschy notes.

Of course, the company faces a similar challenge of any security integrator — reducing customer attrition. One way Star Asset has addressed these concerns is to expand its product offerings into their clients’ sweet spots. “We originally had alarm-monitored customers, but we have added video monitoring and IT monitoring to that platform,” Bobbie Hirschy says.

Star Asset purchased its own video monitoring station a few years ago.  Then, the company moved into IT managed services that invested in remote monitoring and maintenance tools. “We now are able to offer a complete managed services platform to our clients,” explains Scott Anderton, Star Asset’s director of sales and IT.

This includes a totally centralized service department, an IT service desk, and video monitoring — enabling the company to provide physical security as a service (SaaS), including video analytics, managed access control, video monitoring and IT as a Service (ITaaS). This includes IT service desk and remote monitoring and maintenance of IT infrastructure. “Of course, we still have a base of alarm monitoring as well,” Anderton says. “Our slogan is to ‘Connect IT, Secure IT, and Manage IT’,” he adds.

Bobbie Hirschy also has her sights set on the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT): “IoT is coming into view as companies are looking to not only keep their facilities secure but also collect valuable data this will create new opportunities for managed services across these and other verticals,” she says.

The Rise of a Star

As president, Bobbie Hirschy oversees the management, operations and growth of the company and its various locations throughout the United States. She has an extensive career in the security industry having previously been an owner of Choice 1 Security, a national security and electronic lock installation company that was eventually sold to Stanley. Choice 1 completed projects such as the Trump Taj Mahal, various Ritz Carlton Properties, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Properties as well as select Military bases across the United States.

Prior to Choice 1 Security, Bobbie Hirschy was president of Security Solutions Group, a small business that provided door security products for schools and government housing projects. Additionally, she brings to the business a vast array of experience in accounting and financial management.

In June, 2010, she purchased Star Asset Security, which at the time, was a seven-year-old small integration company based in Greer, S.C. The company had a GSA contract and had some exiting local client relationships that the new owner believed was positioned well to build on to grow. 

After purchasing Star Asset, Hirschy put together a business plan based on growing a regional integration company across the Southeast. The next step would be to go where the customers took the company on a national basis. As a part of that plan, the concept of key vendor partners was ; a select management team was assembled; and a five-year growth plan was put in place.

The company’s business growth plan was based on a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. Every aspect of the business plan has a definite focus on RMR (recurring monthly revenue). Since then, Hirschy has overseen the acquisition of three additional integration companies, and a video central station, as well as an IT managed services company. 

Moving Forward

Star Asset has grown organically and hit the overall business plan with a platform of 30 percent of total business based on RMR platforms, and the strategy works. “We are building a field and remote managed services capability that can be adapted as we gain more vertical market intelligence,” Bobbie Hirschy says. “As a company, we want to move up the value chain with a client by providing services that are integrated with their business process (not just install a necessary ancillary solution to their core business).”

Currently, Star Asset has a half-dozen offices located across the southeast. The company is expansion-minded and is looking to open additional offices over the next several years. “As the technology continues to be more integrated, I believe we will be more of a managed services provider and in some cases a business process outsourcer (BPO),” Bobbie Hirschy says.

The Star in the company’s name was originally an acronym for “Secure Thinking and Results.” 

“As we have grown and progressed more into the managed services, video and IT services, we believe that the Securethinking URL fits us even more,” Hirschy says.

Curt Harler is a technology writer and regular contributor to SD&I magazine. Reach him at [email protected].

Data Point

Company name: Star Asset Security

Website: www.securethinking.com

HQ location: Orlando, FL

Principals: Bobbie Hirschy, president; Roger Hirschy, executive vice president; Sean Cuda, CFO; Scott Anderton, director of sales and IT

Year founded: 1993

Number of employees: 105

Residential/Commercial split: 100% commercial

Top technology brands sold\deployed: Software House, Milestone, Avigilon, Tyco, Hirsch, Exacq, ASSA ABLOY, Honeywell, Brivo, and Eagle Eye Networks