The Physical Security Industry’s New Cloud Model

Five Essential Keys you need to know

Cloud technology is the Physical Security industry’s future foundation and just about every manufacturer is bringing products and services to the marketplace in order to position themselves for the most lucrative migration in our history. In our industry, there have been astonishing successes as well as challenges as we continue to drive cloud forward. The most often asked question I’ve been asked this year is “How has hattrix, Kantech’s Hosted & Managed Access Control Platform, been able to produce 51% growth average over the last three years?” not to mention achieving 21% growth for FY20 amidst the current Covid environment (Our industry will probably average -10% to 3% for FY20), social distancing, and reduced resources. There are several factors that have played a key role in hattrix’ success such as new cloud metrics, simplified messaging, new sales strategies, technology empowerment, and changing how we approach and develop relationships.

Cloud Metrics

Bringing a relevant product or service to the marketplace yesterday will not drive demand tomorrow if it does not speak to the metrics that is synonymous with cloud technology today. Why? If you’ve been in the Physical Industry for some time, I’m sure you’ve noticed the snail’s pace at which we adopt new technology. Initially, this fact may be perceived in a negative light, if you look deeper, this fact has primed the stage for our cloud migration, if leveraged correctly, will actually help your customers change to a cloud business model; in turn, your customers will be more receptive to bringing your cloud-based products and services to the marketplace. Educating your customer to speak “cloud” prepares them to speak a language that end users are already familiar with because so many other industries have already made the migration to cloud technology. Knowing cloud metrics such as: Business Agility, Efficiency, Ease of Use, Risk mitigation, User Experience, Capital Expenditure Reduction, Predictable Operating Costs, Operational Sustainability, and Business Continuity… just to name a few… are the cloud-metrics your end users utilize to gauge the value of your cloud-based offering. Are your wins lower than you expected? Perhaps you’re not speaking the right language. Opportunities may consider your product or service but if you’re not incorporating “cloud” metrics into your conversations, you’re not speaking today’s relevant language. Be relevant.

Simplified Messaging

Unfortunately, some cloud products and services still utilize marketing, messaging, and information that is confusing, difficult to digest, or outdated. Bringing a new cloud product or service to the marketplace must be accompanied by the simplification of everything. Yes, everything. Too busy to read a long email? Like reading a 50 page manual? Enjoy reading a 10 page brochure? No, of course not. There were ten Cloud Metrics listed above, just ten. Simplify & target your message using metrics that matter to the vertical which your opportunity resides in and spotlight the business outcomes they achieve. This is the essence of the cloud technology language required in order to simply and effectively articulate your messaging. Cloud Technology simplifies. Ensuring your messaging is aligned with cloud simplification is a key component of a strategy designed to succeed. Ease of Use and Ease of Understanding are two very different things; however, they go hand-in-hand when structuring a cloud offering. Your end user didn’t have to download a manual or take a class to operate a downloaded game to their smart phone. This is the mindset of end users today: download & operate. Your opportunities should be able to easily understand your messaging so they’re more receptive to enjoying the Ease of Use you’re manufacturing, marketing, and selling. Make it simple.

New Sales Strategies

Cloud technology is a young person’s world, or so it may appear. Industry veterans seem to struggle the most when it comes to cloud-technology sales for a few reasons. The older you are, the more disconnected things may seem from what’s going on with the younger crowd. It seems the younger generation speaks a different language, they’re glued to their cell phones, and are always in a rush. Incorporating a relevant sales strategy for your customer’s sales team and actively participating in that process is a core requirement. Creating and providing hands-on, in-person sales training that transitions a Security Sales person from selling a product to selling a service, from a Security Sales Person to a Technology Consultant, and using assumptive closes all must be accompanied by a clear top-down direction that cloud technology is the new business model with 100% buy-in, without exception. These things are prerequisites to successful cloud-based sales for your cloud offering. Master this and the world is yours. How? Making this transition empowers the sales team to speak the cloud technology language which today’s business world speaks. Your customers and opportunities are already accustomed to cloud technology proven by the fact that they’re glued to their cell phones, and the simplified messaging your sales team masters caters to the business world of today and tomorrow. Today’s business world is showing you the path… the signs couldn't be clearer. Cloud Technology is ubiquitous, and our industry is just closing the first chapter of what promises to be a huge novel of the largest revenue generator in our industry’s history. Train your sales team to succeed.

Technology Empowerment

What does your cloud-based product or service do? Can it do everything? No, of course not, and it shouldn’t. It’s easy to be great at a few things but it’s difficult to be great at many things. Accordingly, in order to establish a competitive advantage in a marketplace, businesses must become more and more efficient so they can focus the highest percentage of company resources on their core business. One of the ways that can be achieved is through integrations. For example, hattrix can leverage the power of the Connected Partner Program whereby they provide Third-Party technology partners our SDK and the Third-Party Technology partners develop to our API using the provided SDK. What was cloud-based access control, video, tenant entry, and intrusion can now also bring in a multitude of technologies, all operable from one seamless application. Likewise, your cloud-based product or service should be flexible enough to integrate other technologies, scalable, and strong enough to serve as the underlying foundation for other technologies to rest atop of. End user’s efficiency, now that they only have to operate one application for several physical security technologies, drives productivity. Ensure your cloud-based offering is flexible, scalable, and open to partnering with other technologies that increase the end user’s reliance on your essential cloud-based product or service and, in the process, deepen the relationship. Ensure your offering is flexible & scalable.

Relationship Approach and Development

Undoubtedly, how you approach and develop relationships is the most important aspect in achieving “next level” success with your cloud offering. The majority of what I’ve seen in our industry still operates on a very simple model. Identify an opportunity, point out your differentiators and demonstrate the feature sets of your product or service, provide training on your offering, and sit back & wait for sales. That may leave out a few things but overall, that’s the feedback I am getting from those with whom I speak. If you do what you’ve done in the past, your results are going to be the same as they have been in the past. Need to increase sales? This model is simple, just do the same thing again and again until you reach your target. The success achieved with the hattrix platform has been most impacted by deconstructing the Relationship Approach and formulating a 360 degree Sales Enablement Suite of Tools and Resources which empowers and positions our partners and their sales teams to succeed. Management Training, Offering Structuring, Compensation Structuring, Sales Training, Custom branded Marketing Collateral, Custom branded Explainer videos, Custom branded Training Videos, Sales Calculation Tools, Opportunity Assessment Tools, Custom Branded Comparison Matrixes, Technical Advisory Boards, Collaboration Partnering, Quality Enhancement Tools, Standards & Guidelines, Sales Resources, Sales Contests, Reoccurring Relationship Meetings and or Calls, Cloud Environment Partnering… the list goes on. In order to guarantee success, we’ve developed one of the most comprehensive partner development and support programs. The approach is “development to achievement” and the results are astonishing. 3 years, 51% YoY average. Hattrix partners build their business models around the hattrix platform and are some of the industry’s highest producing. All of that being said, I wish I could take credit for everything but in truth, all of what hattrix achieves is a result of the entire hattrix community sharing their insight, taking an active role in how hattrix is structured and it is them who ultimately drive hattrix' success. Want to form this type of cloud community dedicated to achieving? Put your partners in the driver’s seat. When you’re able to demonstrate commitment to excellence by your actions, this is what happens. Hattrix partners help drive our roadmap, development, innovation, integrations… the aggregate sum of the guidance, passion, and knowledge shared by our hattrix partners is one-of-a-kind for not only the physical security industry, but for all industries. hattrix partners are the real power behind hattrix. Perhaps you now know why our phrase… “Be a part of hattrix” is so meaningful. Your cloud offering can achieve the same results… quality over quantity, empowerment, collaboration, passion, and commitment to excellence.

Homer Enriquez is the USA National Sales Manager for the hattrix platform at Kantech, a JCI company. Homer brings 23 years of experience to bear in the physical security and access control industry and more specifically, cloud-based access control and cloud-based technologies. Homer is a keynote speaker and a champion & expert for cloud-based technologies providing consultation and analysis on how cloud technologies can be leveraged to help businesses become more efficient and more profitable.

Homer Enriquez, Kantech hattrix - National Sales Manager USA-

Email: [email protected]