Since its transformative acquisition of Stanley Security and Healthcare, the newly rebranded Securitas Technology has been working to reposition itself as a tech-based security and safety partner for global clients.
By all indications from the company’s most recent earnings discussion, Securitas is well along on its path. Securitas logged a record 8.1% operating margin in North America in Q4, with the main driver being the technology business with strong contributions from Stanley Security and the legacy technology business. In joining forces with Stanley, Securitas is building a “very strong local and global” technology capability, and focusing on presence, connected technology and leveraging data “to deliver integrated solutions to clients,” says Magnus Ahlqvist, president and CEO of Securitas AB.
“Since we closed the Stanley acquisition, we’ve had a lot of interaction with local, as well as with global clients. Ensuring a resilient operation is becoming increasingly challenging for many of our clients, and as anticipated, the combination with standard security is very well received,” Ahlqvist says. “It’s still obviously early, but we’ve already won back some business and expanded some contracts thanks to the strength of our combined capabilities.”
Filling Global Needs
At ISC West 2023, three key executives from Securitas Technology sat down with SecurityInfoWatch.com to discuss how the company is re-positioning itself after the marriage of Stanley and the legacy Securitas Electronic Security businesses.
Global President Tony Byerly says Securitas is calling the whole process more of a creation than simply an integration, “as we’re bringing the best of both together and really truly kind of redefining our business first.”
Securitas Technology launched its Global Clients Program this year to fulfill the needs of current and prospective companies that have a global footprint, offering the advantage of a sharply focused company “that has true scale and presence,” Byerly says.
The program’s aim is to help companies ensure compliance with global security standards and local regulatory codes to help reduce liability and risk; maintain consistency and standardization across their global security deployments; save valuable time and resources with a single point of contact for security needs; and eliminating the cumbersome task of managing multiple security vendors.
“There’s a need in our industry for a very standardized programmatic approach that can meet client needs in a global capacity and not just a geography or regional capacity,” Byerly told SecurityInfoWatch.com. “We have electronic security capabilities in 40 countries around the world. And then we have a specific focus on 18 strategic markets where we really have market density. In 12 of those 18, we’re in a top three market position.”
"Over the last few years we’ve listened to what the client’s needs were and we’ve launched around not what we thought was best, but around what the demand is in the industry."
“If we listen to the biggest need from a global client, it's consistency. And delivering the same method, the same standard whether a project is in New York or Singapore, or Mexico,” says Nelson Barreto, Senior Vice President, Global Clients at Securitas. “A global client doesn’t want to deal with 15 different integrators. They want to deal with one company that understands their needs, is developing a technology roadmap and has the account management in place that can drive that standard down to a local level.”
Another differentiator, Byerly notes, is providing the skill set to serve clients with different needs, such as a retailer or a data center, which have differing levels of complexity, and having a centralized commissioning team that can work effectively with local installation teams.
“Over the last few years we’ve listened to what the client’s needs were and we’ve launched around not what we thought was best, but around what the demand is in the industry,” Byerly says. “This helps not only the executives but the field technicians as well because it's bringing a standardized approach, from the engineering design to the drawings and having a playbook for each client that says, ‘Hey, this is truly how you execute for this client and this is what their expectations are.’
“So that programmatic approach helps your field organization deliver more consistency.”
Staring Down Threats
Global companies are facing threats from both a physical and cyber perspective, which Byerly says Securitas is addressing through its presence offering six protective services, and through data security. Byerly notes that in North America the company is going the extra mile to be SOC2 certified on its practices for protecting data and networks and having appropriate policies in place.
“As we build out our capabilities and our competencies in each of those protective services, that’s how we become a better partner with our clients -- to be their trusted advisor as they're looking to address the threats they’re facing,” Byerly says.
“We must be able to sell it right, install it right and service it right, and really focus on driving operational excellence,” adds Felix Gonzales, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. “Because without a security platform in place, we’re creating risk. It’s our job to help drive risk management, and we can only do that if we come alongside a client and be their advisor.”
“They're not looking for us to be a cyber company,” adds Nelson. “But they want us to be cyber knowledgeable, cyber partners and cyber compliant, so they don't have additional risk.”
Validation and Deployment
Byerly noted Securitas recently created an internal “Global Innovation Council” representing its businesses worldwide that focuses on what services, connected devices or data can be leveraged, “to become a better partner to our clients,” Byerly says.
“Do we partner with someone that develops some of that? Do we develop it ourselves? How do we integrate it with our digital client platforms?”
Securitas is also collaborating with existing partners through its “Global Technology Review Committee” to drive certification globally across technology teams.
“When you have a client that is looking at different technology they can come to us. And we can determine, ‘Does it do what it says it’s going to do? Does it have this specific integration?’ “And we’re able to validate that in our lab and deploy it, not just at a national level but at a global level,” Byerly says.
“We’re looking at all the different risk components that come from different areas of the globe and centralizing that into one Review Committee. That has brought a tremendous amount of value to our clients. Those efforts truly are positioning us to be a different kind of partner and a differentiated technology company in our space.”
John Dobberstein is managing editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and oversees all content creation for the website. Dobberstein continues a 34-year decorated journalism career that has included stops at a variety of newspapers and B2B magazines.
