Craig Newell, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Traka Americas tells SJA Editor Victoria Hanscomb why key and asset management is vital.

Starting with Traka

Having been with Traka for 25 years, Craig Newell is no stranger to questions about where he started with the business.

“My security industry journey started way back in 1999, when the concept of electronic key and asset management was in its infancy,” he said.

“I worked my way up through the organization, starting on the technical and research and development side before moving to the business and sales aspect of the business 15 years ago.”

It was at this point that Newell also moved from his native UK to Orlando, joining the Americas fraction of Traka.

He explained that in 2012, Traka was acquired by ASSA ABLOY and becoming a part of this group allowed it to become a much more global organization.

“I’d say that the last 15 years have very much been focused on integrating key and asset management into physical access control systems,” he said.

“Much of my time is dedicated to educating the market on the importance of integrated key and asset management, rather than adopting a siloed approach.”

An innovative company  

Newell joined Traka when he was only 16, initially planning to leave and study law, but he found a pull toward the company and after studying embedded systems and engineering, he was able to get involved in the product design department.

“One of the things that has really kept me here over the years though is the staggering growth of the organization,” Newell noted.

“It doesn’t feel like I’ve worked for the same organization that whole time, it feels more like five or six different companies because of how much it’s grown.”

He also remarked that Traka keeps innovation at its core, another of the benefits he has found while working at the company.

However, the most important aspect that he enjoys about his role is the people.

“It’s cliché, but we have an absolutely phenomenal team,” he said.

“Through our innovation, we have been able to grow and rise to every challenge.

“We’re constantly finding new opportunities for our products and solutions. We’re finding new ways to penetrate markets.”

Newell also mentioned that the specific part of his job that he enjoys the most is being able to help develop individuals and teams so that they can go on to have a direct impact on the organizations themselves.

Key and asset management

Looking back at the history of Traka, Newell noted that the company started by providing its first electronic key and asset management systems for British Airlines to control access to fleet vehicle keys.

According to Newell, the company had an issue with unauthorized access and a lack of accountability for individuals when they were taking care of equipment.

“The challenge was to make sure that there was a record of the employees who were responsible for certain assets,” Newell explained.

“Those same challenges still exist today, but they have grown.”

He noted that Traka now works across many more markets, such as higher education, K-12, major enterprise, data centers and more.

While mechanical keys and electronic access control have helped to reduce some of the issues faced by organizations, he said that what Traka has seen is physical keys need to be controlled so that their use can be audited.

“Our systems integrate with about 80% of our deployments here within the US,” Newell said.

“So, you can grant and revoke access to keys in our electronic key cabinets or assets within our intelligent locker systems right from within your familiar access control interface.”

He continued that the way Traka has educated the market about the need for electronic key and asset management has been very intentional – with the company supplying the required solution.

“We’re not just selling a product, we’re proposing an integrated solution that solves these very real-world problems,” he added.

“This not only provides enhanced security, but also increases operational efficiencies and adds a measurable ROI.”

Connecting with customers

“To be able to effectively educate the market about key and asset management, we need to communicate with them first,” Newell said.

“I asked one of my sales team the other day why an organization chose to partner with us instead of one of our competitors – he replied that simply showing up was the first step.”

Newell commented that while it seems obvious, being present for a partner is key.

He also explained that Traka uses the word “partner” because the company doesn’t consider itself as a vendor – or the organizations it works with as “customers”.

“It truly is a partnership. Many of our partners have been with us for decades,” he said.

“So, every interaction, even from a first introduction at a trade show, is important to us – and showing up is the first step.”

Newell also explained that Traka does not just sell turnkey solutions, but also installs them so that they can work as closely with the end user as possible.

“Over the years, we’ve really evolved our products through that voice of customer as well,” he said.

“We might start with an electronic key cabinet when working with someone new and it might be quite a basic facility key management application.

“However, we’re always speaking with that end user when learning about their problems, their operation and their pain points.

“It means we might understand that what they need is a locker solution to control access to radios, for example.

“It allows us to suggest solutions to problems they didn’t even realize they had.”

The wider industry

Newell also highlighted that while school and campus security is a part of the current conversation in the security industry, it needs to be even more of a focus.

“This year, we picked K-12 as a strategic sector to market to and learn about,” he said.

“As an industry, we can be doing more to ensure our schools are better secured, and that there are policies and best practices in place.”

Newell noted that Traka is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to securing schools; but the use of key and asset management can help first responders when an emergency incident is happening.

“As an industry, we have a responsibility to make sure that our schools are secured and it’s good to see that that schools are starting to get increased investment to do that.”

Evolution and growth

Looking ahead to the future, Newell sees his role – and his team – growing.

“This year, we’re up 30% by numbers as we’re adding new salespeople,” he said.

“These new additions are focused on even more sectors such as government, hospitality and gaming, residential or other more specialist markets.

“We’ve recruited business development managers and we’re continuing to bring in new personnel to meet the requirements of these sectors.”

However, Newell noted that just as important is ensuring that the current team feels supported and is fully trained to be able to fill any existing gaps that the company may find.

Thinking about the wider company and what Traka’s plans are, Newell said that at the moment, it has a fantastic product and a productive team with great service.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

“One place where we see growth is in more specific sectors,” Newell said.

“We need to look at where we have current deployments and increase in these areas – we need to capitalize on that existing opportunity and success.”

Newell said that the company’s overall goal is to become the de factor choice for key and asset management.

“It’s not so much about reinventing the wheel or doing anything radically new for the next couple of years, but about continuing to establish ourselves as the industry standard.”

This article was originally published in the July edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.