So many systems today now have the capability to be diagnosed and serviced remotely, which is impacting the traditional maintenance and service (M&S) business model.
“Remote diagnostics is an important part of running an efficient and profitable service business,” says Carey Boethel, CEO of Securadyne Systems, now part of Allied Universal Technology Services.
The service provider’s ability to remotely diagnose problems helps reduce overall expenses and enhance the customer experience. The integrator can engage very quickly via remote diagnostics with greatly improved situational awareness about the problem and the surrounding environment, which means the integrator’s service technicians are better prepared to address the problem when they arrive on site.
And that’s if they have to travel to the site at all because some issues can be resolved remotely. In the event the issue requires a service technician to be dispatched, initially diagnosing the problem remotely means that fewer trips will be required to resolve the issue because the tech has the tools and replacement parts needed from the onset. This results in a timelier correction of the problem, Boethel says.
Kastle Systems CEO, Haniel Lynn, explains his company has always been a remote security monitoring provider, even before the Internet when everything was hardwired. Leveraging technology tools is all Kastle has ever done, Lynn notes.
“We also do technology because of the type and level of service it creates for our customers, not necessarily because it creates favorable economics for our company, which it does,” he says. Brian Duckworth, sales consultant at Blue Sky Technologies, adds, “We leverage our internal voice/Data/MSP help desk as the first line of defense from a support perspective, clearing more than 80% of the calls remotely, allowing the client a faster time to resolution and we don’t have to roll a truck.”
Technology advancements have hit the security industry at the speed of light, leaving many security professionals a bit mystified as to how to keep up with them all. Tapping the experiences and expertise of others can help. To this end, Lynn shares that the rapid pace of technology just makes Kastle more competitive and adaptable.
“Technology and innovation are what drive the company,” he says. “In many ways, we view ourselves as a technology company rather than solely a security company. Widening that frame of reference keeps us open and aware of advancements in a broader world of ideas, industries and human behavior which continuously provides impetus for creativity we can bring to security and smart building systems.” Duckworth says technology disruption has forced Blue Sky into new emerging markets and required the company continues striving to enhance its service and solution delivery overall.
