Addressing an audience of almost 100 security professionals at a recent ASIS event in the USA, California-based security consultant Bill Glover declared that there were only 6-8 reliable security systems integrators operating across the USA. His message was supported by another consultant, Greg Thornbury, who presented images of botched security installations.One of the problems highlighted by Glover was the inability to benchmark security consultants against specific competences or qualifications. Just as in the UK, there is no specific qualification for a security integrator in the USA. When trying to ascertain whether a security system integrator is suitably “qualified” for the task, the only advice the speaker could offer was to look at what the integrator has done before.
Security systems are becoming ever more complex and there is a need for a single qualification encompassing security management, electronics engineering and IT. But this will only be created if the end users, regulatory bodies and professional associations work together to formalise the requirement. Until then, caveat emptor!
