These days EVERYONE seems to call themselves a consultant to the extent that the man in the street doesn’t even question it when the consultant advises him to buy their products or services without offering alternative products and installer options. 

By definition a security consultant is an independent and experienced professional whose only financial gain is in his fee and not in making a profit/commission by recommending specific products and/or service providers/installers.

The two major benefits derived are independent objective analysis and calculated advice which will allow you, the client, to achieve the highest level of security at the lowest/most effective cost.

When you employ the services of a security consultant it is essential to establish his or her independence before appointing them.

Without a doubt the most important question is; “what will the source of your total remuneration be on my project?”

If there is no fee then you are dealing with a sales representative whose income is derived from commission and who must obviously sell you the products he represents rather than someone who bases his/her recommendations on results of a formal and comprehensive risk analysis.

In general, the fee charged by an experienced security consultant will pay for itself because well-defined and appropriate security measures save clients large sums of money both at the outset of a project but also in the long run.

The ability to see the bigger picture – and this is determined by a comprehensive risk analysis – enables your consultant to advise on a broad range of products and solutions over areas of expertise that your in-house security manager may not possess. 

In addition to this, the ongoing research he/she conducts enables broad spectrum knowledge of rapidly increasing security technologies.   Experience with suppliers and installers both locally and further afield means your consultant is aware of positive and negative aspects and in a position to provide invaluable advice during vital decision making which limits or prevents expensive   mistakes. 

Increasingly sophisticated technology and the increasing need for integration between systems can lead to problems, another area where your consultant will have expertise and insider information that places him in a position to offer invaluable advice.

Conducting a comprehensive risk analysis, testing systems, designing the system, drawing up the RFP, scrutinising proposals in order to identify weaknesses and ensuring that functional requirements have been achieved – including night testing – are highly involved and time consuming projects that take hundreds of man hours;  hours that neither you, the client, or your security manager can afford to lose.

By employing a qualified and experienced security consultant you will obtain the best security for your project.  Security that is effective, economical and that can be adapted when necessary to accommodate ongoing changes in security risks with the minimum of expense and upheaval despite rapid technological advances.

In the light of the above it should be clear that utilising the services of a professional, independent security adviser is indeed a wise choice.