Security Sales & Integration July 2023 - 17

The manufacturers are reacting. A lot of
those we deal with are opening facilities in
Spain, in Mexico, some of them in the U.S.
They're moving, but how long will this take? It's
a long process.
Bradley: We're changing our business models
to remain profitable. We're putting all our
time and effort into recurring revenue models,
software. I've put my money into expanding
our data tech abilities. I've got engineers, very
expensive people, server engineers and software
engineers, and all of this sitting in my
offices now that I didn't have five years ago. I
want to move our business model away from
project-based to subscription-based to software-based
to recurring revenue-based models.
I'm not talking about monitoring burglar
alarm systems. We're talking about contracts at
$250,000 a year.
I'm talking about equipment as a service. If
you get equipment, I own the equipment, you
don't own the equipment unless you ask for
it. I upgrade it, I support it and I'm charging
you monthly, and I make good margins on that
over time. I've got models already for that. I
believe we're going to have to change our business
models, and the manufacturers are going
to have to scramble to keep up with us. That's
where I'd like us to be.
I don't want to be following manufacturers
anymore and going where they think the market
is going. I'm going to go where I think the
market is going, and I'm going to look for partners
that can go where I want to go.
Let's talk more about that, in terms of
service and technology opportunities
and recurring revenue models.
Grover: What Mike said is a very good point,
shifting away from just being project-driven
with a one-time sale. It's no longer a simple
alarm system or simple access control system.
There's more to it because you've got software,
you've got updates, you've got patches, you've
got something that needs to be supported.
RMR is something that seriously needs to be
looked at, not only by the integrators but the
client also. Everything is now going faster than
it used to and it's going to be very difficult for a
client to keep up unless there's a dedicated team
ready to support it.
Mach: I believe we all understand this is what
the future is, this is what we need to do and
transition to it. Our industry has been slow
to adapt to this new model of doing business.
There are so many benefits. We don't roll trucks
when we have remote access. We have teams
that work on a client's side. There are so many
efficiencies built into a service model rather
than a project model. The financing part, however,
is challenging. How do we finance this as a
small business? For us, leasing is not something
we were familiar with, but we are looking into
that. We're looking at different models of making
this work. I believe if we solve it, it'll put us
on a more solid footing going forward.
Ford: We need to evangelize this with the customers,
and we have to truly believe in it. It has
I'm never
going to try to be
the lowest price. If
I can't win a
contract with
what I need to
have to be
profitable and
well executed,
then that's not
the right customer
for me.
- Kathleen Ford,
CEO, scDataCom
The supply chain and moving
to a managed services
model have been among
the most challenging recent
developments, say these
industry-leading integration
company executives.
securitysales.com
JULY 2023 Security Sales & Integration
17
http://www.securitysales.com
Security Sales & Integration July 2023

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