Editorial--United as an Industry: Together We Can Triumph

Oct. 19, 2012
Together, as a united industry, we can be successful

Do you know what the real strength of our industry is? It’s the camaraderie and the partnerships we create—the collaborative efforts we are not afraid to forge in an effort to further the industry.

Maybe that’s why we stay in the industry for the most part; most of us have moved around a bit but seem to stay within this comfortable nutshell. Not that it’s really comfortable—what with changing technology and new competition, we always seem to be a bit on edge, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.

But being a united front seems to be where we excel compared to other industries. We view our industry and the security marketplace as a bit of family—a place where we spend our time during business and off hours, at shows or conferences where we get to know more about the person we are dealing with. We get to know their families; their business struggles, and even some of the personal triumphs and tragedies.

United we stand

Maybe it’s time that we played up this level of cooperation and united front. Perhaps it’s time to get more involved with one or more of our leading organizations, such as the Electronic Security Association, the Central Station Alarm Association and of course your local chapters. What about PSA Security Network and BICSI and the National Systems Contractors Association? And of course the Security Industry Association, ASIS and many more organizations that make the industry work and work so well.

I read recently that these next few years will be the time for more collaboration between organizations and businesses, more so than ever in the past. What can we learn from each other? How can we work together to become even more successful? What goals and accomplishments can we work on together to be even stronger in the long haul? These are the questions we need to take a hard look at.

Pundits in the industry, yes, there are some, seem to pick and claw at every little process, announcement, etc. Seems like they are looking for fault, but why would you put down the very industry you are trying to grow and support? Just doesn’t make any sense, or as a superior once told me: “We are all in this soup together!”

How true. So we should make that soup as savory as possible. While this is only our October issue, we are already thinking about 2013 and even beyond. At Cygnus Security Media, we are working on new audience engagement plans processes and report—all of which really bring our community together and help us develop synergies that will ultimately help grow the industry.

Guess I’m waxing poetic on all this because the year is waning and I’m proud to still be here, where innovation is king and the integrator sits above all others in their quest to make the most of technology and sometimes self-engineer turnkey solutions.

Collaboration is key for SD&I magazine as we move into 2013. We are looking for thought leaders to assist with content, webinars and other programs. And you’ll see some changes in our content moving forward and driven by you our readers. For example, we’ll continue to talk about the changing landscape of recurring monthly revenue and for 2013 we have added an IT/networking column that is designed to help you accomplish real world tasks—like configuring wireless routers, encryption and other IP-related criteria.

This month, we’ve got lots of cool editorial you’ll want to read, such as the fire protection at the New York Mets ballpark in Flushing, N.Y., the protection of the historic Vanderbilt property on Long Island Sound, our central station third party listing much more as we focus on you the integrator. Find out more about all these great reads on pages 4 and 6 in our table of contents—and keep on collaborating!