To achieve success at scale, work with providers who do more than just show up, says Andrew F. Corsaro, CPP, Vice President of Consulting Services, ZBeta.

The right choice

In the era of ApplePay and Add to Cart, it’s tempting to think easy, quick transactions rule the worldwide marketplace.

Vendor relationships often offer the same veneer of simplicity.

If you’ve ever built a house, you know the importance of choosing reliable subcontractors to specify and install the various systems.

The right plumber will show you the full spectrum of fixture options and recommend an effective plan for laying out pipes inside the walls.

The structural engineer will analyze the loads of all proposed materials and deliver a set of necessary adjustments to the overall design.

These engagements are typically transactional: each player does their part, you pay them and they go away.

But as we all know, transactional engagement is insufficient in many cases.

A supplier agreement we think of as transactional can lead to calamity when two key communications aren’t closely managed: the project-specific insights the supplier provides en route to the solution they deliver and the ongoing analysis that might be needed in their specialized area after their role in the project is supposedly complete.

With physical security, many notions of transactional engagement are becoming more consultative, particularly as threat vectors and technology options grow ever more complex.

Multiply this complexity by the acceleration of projects our industry is seeing around data centers for AI and you start to see how consulting is vital not only for planning each project, but also for sustaining the long-term success of your business based on the changing approach to guarding the assets you need to protect.

So, let’s sharpen our pencil and take a fresh look at the changing needs for consultative physical security design in data centers.

Choose partners who force-multiply your people, projects and goals

Think of physical security as a partnership, not a contractor relationship.

The best partners for this are invested in your needs and use methods that are effective, efficient, programmatic and mindful of your likely future needs.

As such, choose a physical security consulting partner for your data center that is equipped with:

• A savvy, proven team with deep knowledge/experience
• A vested interest in your business – team players in your long-range vision
• The patience and foresight to understand your plans and adapt to your evolving needs
• The willingness, ability and capacity to help you grow
• The know-how and capacity to deliver quickly, accurately and at scale

Simply put, you want to work with consultants who take what you have and know already, and magnify these resources to a higher level in ways that serve your specific plans.

The value you get from a physical security consultant will track to their ability to join your vision alongside the great people you already have and augment that with unique industry insights, all while operating as a smart, organized business unto themselves.

Invest in physical security partnerships that offer dual expertise – deep subject matter knowledge and the adaptability to master your unique style and requirements.

The constant state of change in physical security technology requires organizations to think strategically and collaboratively with physical security vendors so that your business can follow new opportunities without slowing down for too many questions or mistakes.

In particular, AI capacity in data centers is driving project and portfolio growth at an amazing pace.

The best physical security partners for these fast-moving projects will:

Join you at the strategic level: Bring in physical security early so they can learn your business and be part of your long-term roadmap.

Forming a partnership early on yields the best working synergy on present and future projects.

Run like clockwork: Choose partners with a rich combination of know-how, methodology and information sharing techniques that empowers them to integrate with your people when needed and function the rest of the time as an autonomous unit.

Force-multiply your subject matter experts: The best consultants work seamlessly with each client’s in-house resources to ensure high-quality work sharing, whether remotely or on-site.

Own the program: Winning physical security partners are capable of taking ownership of all needs for a client, almost as if they were a functional arm of the client’s existing business, representing your program in the same ways you would do yourself.

Play well with others: For projects that extend to multiple design consultants and VARs, all partners must collaborate to avoid lapses in communication and productivity.

Choose teams that understand the art of coopetition – working together while also competing to shine – and who are well positioned to act as a lighthouse partner, ensuring delivery where others cannot.

Looking ahead with collective wisdom

“Future proof” used to be such a fun, aspirational term.

Not long ago, the stakes were lower for future proofing your data center business and its infrastructure, because the worst hazards to come along were typically a few years off in the distance and the biggest risk you faced was casually refreshing your technology and operations at a pace slightly faster than you were probably going to in the first place.

Not so any longer, needless to say.

In modern physical security, threat vectors and how we best respond to them are in a steady state of flux.

The best consultants will keep abreast of ongoing technological advances, from drones and AI to big data and all its helpful and nefarious uses.

They’ll also draw on years of project history and combined subject matter expertise and experience to deliver thoughtful direction into a future where they stay engaged to ensure your best strategic decisions are kept on track.

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