Being a market leader, increasing sales and that the brand is recognized are the main objectives of a security company, to achieve them, according to Carlos Espinoza you must start from a base: be clear that the company is providing a service, which is not a company that is simply dedicated to marketing products.
by Victor Alejandro Galvis G.
Before 1990 Peru was isolated from the world in security issues, the industry concentrated exclusively on locally designed burglar alarms or electric fences, the security system par excellence of Peruvians at that time. This trend continued in the nineties having its peak with the appearance of central alarm monitoring stations and the arrival of foreign operators such as ADT and Telefónica in the early 2000s.
In those years very few companies implemented access control or fire detection systems and CCTV, for example, it was reduced, to simply install a camera at the entrance of the company or residence.
From 2003 onwards the first major change took place, the interest in CCTV, access control and fire detection increased in proportions from one to ten obscuring the alarm systems. In recent years with the appearance of IP cameras, but especially with megapixel technology, interest in high definition systems has increased.
However, "the deficiency in the training of the personnel of facilities of many of the important companies in Peru, has made the adoption of these cameras take a slow pace," says Carlos Espinoza, operations manager of Global Security Network S.A. and our Professional of the month in this edition.
Thanks to his 18 years of experience in the security industry, Carlos Espinoza is a direct witness of the Peruvian evolution, "due to low competition and the absence of the internet, in the nineties companies were satisfied with working with distributors that had a limited amount of products and that generated cost overruns due to shipping costs", points out our professional.
After the industry began to focus on more specialized segments such as CCTV and access control with IP connection, what is necessary now is to have personnel with much greater training, says engineer Espinoza, not only with electronic electrical technical training but also be able to install and configure software, in addition to having an advanced knowledge of IP network connections.
"The personnel of the commercial area must be more specialized, a security sale is no longer the emotional sale but rational so the sellers also need to know the English language and the management of networks, as well as the advanced options that the products they offer have, "concludes Carlos.
Innovative from the start
Graduated from the Catholic University of Peru as an electronic engineer, Carlos Espinoza began his career in 1994 at the equipment distributor Smart Kit S.A, there he would have the opportunity to move to the boxer alarm installer. In 1997 he would occupy the management of systems, at that time, he led the projects of tenders with the State and the integration projects, which little by little were acquiring relevance.
After a break in the security industry, the result of a telecommunications project with the company Gilat, Carlos would return to Boxer as manager of technology and services, this second cycle would end in 2006, the year in which he would begin his path as operations manager at Global Security Network.
Beyond a penguin experience resume, the recognition for Carlos Espinoza highlights the innovative attitude he had in each of the companies where he worked; having a special taste for updating was one of the keys to his successful career.
The engineer says that in July 1996, he was with the owner of Boxer, Francisco Zevallos, at the defunct Feria Américas Expo de Seguridad in Miami, when he was struck by one of the first DVRs based on PC (Remote Watch ASL), the equipment was very expensive, for eight cameras almost US $ 6,000, the interesting thing was that it was connected remotely by telephone modem and by Ethernet network (which was not used by almost anyone at that time in the industry).
"After more than three hours of trying to convince Mr. Zevallos to buy this product, he told me that he was going to buy two units, but that if they were not sold he would deduct my salary until they were paid."
Carlos recalls that "in the month of September of that same year the two teams were sold, one to a gold mining company and another to one of the most important clinics in Peru, the projects each reached about US $ 40,000 when the maximum sale for an alarm company did not exceed US $ 2,000".
There was no prize or sales commission for him, but he says that his decisions and product choices were never doubted again.
A normal day
The availability for a person linked to the issue of security is ephemeral, however, Carlos highlights how important it is for him, to share time with his family; due to the few free moments he has left, he has chosen to merge his two priorities, matching trips to fairs and security exhibitions or visits to factories and trainings with family outings, "this allowed me to share and know many cities with my family".
As for working life, manager Espinoza starts the day by reviewing the scheduled technical services, the status of the periodic maintenance services and, above all, checking that the services of the previous day have been completed successfully.
The time of entry to the office is at 9:00 a.m. and the departure shortly before 7:00 p.m.; managers, however, "arrived a little earlier most of the time to be able to coordinate the actions and projects that are being developed." At 11:00 a.m, three times a week, the works in progress are visited.
In the afternoon and after lunch with the family, projects and prospects are monitored. Once a week, the stock of equipment and materials is reviewed due to the high turnover that exists. At the end of the afternoon and before leaving, managers meet with supervisors to exchange work information.
On Saturdays you work until noon, "time that is ideal to give training, review new equipment to ensure that the staff really knows the proper functioning of the equipment."
Peruvian industry
In Peru two decades ago, only safety was thought of after a serious problem occurred, however today it is observed that the culture of prevention grows more and more.
The main problems in the field of security are presented with the increase in crime since it is also technical, unlike many security companies of the medium that do not invest in training so they lag behind in terms of the recommendations they must give to their customers.
This means that there are many security systems that are quite vulnerable and when an emergency occurs, users only realize that they were not well protected. "It is situations like these that discredit the great usefulness of security systems," says Carlos Espinoza.
Another threat in Peru is given by the large number of importers of products of dubious quality, low performance and no guarantee and even discontinued in their country of origin. Our Professional of the Month assures that this way "obviously it becomes difficult to compete with the integrators who choose to acquire these products at the time of participating in the quotes with customers offering a product of recognized quality".
Finally, the security sector requires security managers who are not afraid of innovation and change, it is the proposal that Carlos Espinoza has so that there is no fear in migrating from analog CCTV to MEGAPIXEL IP.
The main reasons for not moving technology are the lack of knowledge in developing structured cabling, network configuration or that they find it difficult for the personnel in their charge to learn to perform this task, hence the importance of training.
"Most companies in Peru have their facilities, have poorly trained staff and, what is worse, make bad installations with terrible materials. The few companies that have their own staff do not train their staff so they are only able to make an electrical assembly but they do not know how to make the proper configuration of the equipment. "
What does our region offer us?
Latin America continues to be an area of opportunities with much to do and just as investors seek legal stability and favorable conditions to invest, it is in this market where large manufacturers obtain substantial profits, countries such as Peru, Colombia or Chile confirm this trend.
We see that economic growth goes hand in hand with the development of electronic security, "this is also a challenge since with the arrival of foreign companies and capital, traditional security companies that do not know how to handle new technologies will lose market in favor of companies prepared to make this leap", indicates the engineer Espinoza.
"The challenge for our company was from the beginning to have our own staff, train them permanently, create a laboratory and design area (we have several proprietary designs for integration of security systems) to perform maintenance and repair of safety equipment."
Finally, "the biggest challenge has been for Global Security Network staff to feel that they are in a family where their opinion is important, to provide them with a policy of assistance when they require it and to promote their continuous training."
Tips for a successful company in the security industry
-Personalized technical proposal at an affordable cost for the client but with the
higher quality.
-Execution of projects meeting deadlines, standards and technology.
- Do not generate over expectation and that the client experiences that he receives more than what he receives
that he expected or hired.
- Actual maintenance in the term of guarantee offered and proposal of
extended maintenance at a fair price and with total quality.
- After-sales advice.
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