Is Security a grudge purchase?

Do you think that there is still something of a 'grudge purchase' feel about security? What can be done to make companies realise that an investment in technology/personnel etc is not a negative draw on the bottom line?

Like insurance, I don’t think we will ever escape the perception amongst some customers that security is a grudge purchase. In an ideal world, no-one would have to spend money on security. But then no-one would have to lock their car doors at night, or worry about leaving the house with the windows open.

Perhaps the best we can hope for is a more enlightened approach to security, such that they can begin to see it as ‘adding-value’ to their business, rather than just as a ‘cost’. In remote monitoring, for example, we can point to very tangible examples of how an apparent ‘security’ investment can in fact be used in a much wider ‘facilities management’ context, improving efficiencies to the point of actually saving money. This then has a direct consequence (positively) on the bottom line. We can also point directly to the cost of manned guarding, and the savings that can be made (and the enhancements to security) of a remotely monitored solution.

Businesses cannot get away from the fact that to protect their buildings, their assets and their people, they have to spend money. Whether it’s a simple lock on a door, or the most sophisticated CCTV and access control installation. But they can feel good about protecting their staff. They can feel good about the social responsibility in providing a safe environment in which to work. That in turn helps to attract the best people, and the best people make the best companies. To what extent that helps the bottom line, I would love to guess!

A grudge is defined as resentment; I wonder how much more resentment a business might feel when a significant loss or damage to stock is experienced for want of an effective security deterrent? I wonder too how much they consider the implications of vandalised vehicles being off the road, or – in the very worst case scenario – if one of their staff suffers injury or even death. Then the decision not to invest in security because of the apparent savings to the bottom line will seem something of a hollow victory. Whether it’s ‘grudge’, or with a free will, it will always nonetheless be necessary.