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As more and more organizations look to trim their budgets, Former IBM CSO Timothy Giles says that IP manufacturers and integrators need to show security managers how they can reduce risk by implementing IP technology.

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Timothy Giles, president of Risk/Security Management & Consulting, says that IP vendors have to begin working more closely with their clients during these lean economic times to show them the ROI of making the switch from analog to network cameras.

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Last month, a group of IP solutions manufacturers and integrators met in Atlanta at the IP UserGroup USA’s IP-in-Action Live meeting to discuss the state of the industry.

Delivering the keynote address at the meeting was former IBM CSO Timothy D. Giles, CPP, PSP, who currently runs his own private security consulting firm. As with most industries, the IP business has been hit hard by the recession and as many attendees at the meeting pointed out, it’s getting increasingly difficult to convince end users to make the investment in new technology.

According to Giles, who also authored the book “How to Develop and Implement a Security Master Plan,” vendors need to start working closely with security directors and their staffs to show them the return-on-investments (ROI) that new IP and other security solutions can provide them with. In many cases, Giles said that this consists of showing management how technology can help mitigate risk.

In this At the Frontline, Giles explains the role of IP technology in modern security programs and how vendors can convince upper management to invest in these new solutions.

In addition to budgeting and security assessments, what are some of the ways in which IP technology manufacturers and integrators can help security directors?

One of the things they can do is to offer them some free education programs. These days budgets are so tight, a lot of guys cannot afford to pay top dollar to attend some of the educational classes that are around. Put on a webinar or something like that, make it free for them to join in and I think that would be a good idea. Another thing they need to do is rate (the CSO’s) education level is, whether its beginner, intermediate or advance. A lot of guys who are very knowledgeable don’t want to waste their time with big educational courses. So they need to do a good job of letting their potential clients know what their getting.

In terms of the technology itself, what types of benefits does IP technology provide end users with?