TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

SEE System Optimizes Security

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 11-16-09 | Comments

Andrews International's analysis service evaluates the effectiveness of organizations' security systems, determining the right mix of technological and human resources in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

If you�ve ever logged on to a computer (which, given that you�re on this site, we�ll assume you do this from time to time), you�ve surely seen an assembly line of IT players who are coming up with what they assure is the latest, greatest version of a software security package.

But Los Angeles-based Andrews International is introducing innovation in a different universe of security: the old-fashioned, bricks-and-mortar kind, with motion detectors and cameras and locking systems and kindly security guards who sit behind monitors and occasionally ask cubicle dwellers to display their ID badges.

For companies deploying such operations, the concept of balancing human capital versus equipment/system purchase has always presented a puzzle. Hire too many employees, and the whole thing becomes too costly. Buy too much "stuff"�the cameras and monitors and biometric devices and other gizmos�and the needed human oversight is lost.

Which is why Andrews has come up with its SEE (Security Effectiveness and Efficiency) system. It�s an analysis service for its enterprise customers that evaluates the effectiveness of security operations in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency and effectiveness. It seeks to help an organization determine the perfect balance of technological and human resources needed to maximize security dollars spent�from access controls to alarm systems to communications tools.

Here�s how it works: The SEE methodology takes data that matches security resources with a series of risk profiles. A school, for example, may be more "at risk" for some kind of intrusion than a remote office building. It then calculates the optimal integration of uniformed guards with electronic security assets and how they should be deployed, coming up with a projected return on investment through industry-specific financial models. The SEE analysis covers an enterprise�s complete security operations�locally, regionally and even globally if needed. Areas assessed include location/site vulnerability, internal and external threats, existing command center operations, electronic technology, security equipment, architectural elements, training, and personnel. SEE also provides financial models and cost scenarios to project return on investment. SEE is being used now by a number of IT and manufacturing customers.

The results can greatly benefit an organization when it comes to operational budget savings: Andrews reports that one global manufacturer customer has reduced uniformed guard costs by 20 percent throughout its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing sites, while enhancing the strength of its security operations.

�The SEE methodology gains its success by tying staffing, technology and other costs together with the effectiveness of each security measure being evaluated,� says Ty Richmond, Andrews' COO. �This enables our clients to arrive at an optimum model that improves the level of security while controlling cost and better projecting outcomes.�