An experienced security consultant can justify the expense of his or her expertise.
Over my 12-year consulting career, I have always told clients that our firm’s value proposition is “Cost Justified Security Management Consulting Services.”
Security management consultation provides the end-user specialization in the design and implementation of asset protection strategies that include technical-, mechanical- and procedural-based advice resulting in return-on-investment (ROI) opportunities and solutions. An experienced consultant brings impartial and tangible qualities to each situation. A consultant provides independent, impartial advice to bridge corporate security awareness and/or internal culture issues and validate or justify a decision. We can break this down further by documenting potential cost-justification throughout all four stages of the assets protection life cycle.
1. Risk and vulnerability assessment(s)
Risk and vulnerability assessments provide the opportunity to profit from business goals that might involve compliance with legislation, corporate governance and corporate flexibility. Corporate America has recognized it needs a smarter approach to security, safety and loss prevention as most companies cannot avoid risks. These risks must be managed by effective controls to ensure employee trust, customer sustainability and corporate profitability. When security management is properly managed, the upside is a reduction in losses and a direct contribution to profit from improved productivity, service and employee and management awareness.
2. Security risk management control decisions
A result of the risk and vulnerability assessment is risk management decisions. Depending on the type of assessment (qualitative or quantitative), it will provide you with information on how to establish security management priorities and to handle predetermined risk while considering: i. ROI — on the use and interaction of multiple risk control remedies ii. Where the investment of a risk control may either improve or negate the effectiveness of other new or existing controls iii. Prioritization of the ROI, regarding the time and nature of implementation of each accepted risk control measure.
3. Implementation and introduction of security risk management controls
The consultant provides ROI during the decision and procurement process, providing insight on:
- Security product provider strengths, weaknesses and local track record
- Security product manufacturer strengths, weaknesses and track record
- Proprietary versus non-proprietary risk management solutions
- Emerging technologies and implementation considerations
- Financial aspects of varying design approaches, technologies and ongoing service and operational cost implications
4. Compliance and continual measurement of security risk management control effectiveness
It is essential to monitor the life cycle to ensure that all original objectives are being realized. Each process of the life cycle must be audited to ensure the reduction of loss opportunity is being optimized, as well as to determine new or emerging threats. The assets protection life cycle approach applies risk and vulnerability assessment, risk control and management to security management. The end of the cycle’s impact of the process outweighs the fee. Expert advice can save you days and months, while providing peace of mind that best value has been realized, no mistakes have been made, and proven approaches and methodologies have been used. An experienced security management consultant draws on firsthand experience, while effectively addressing the many facets of securing and optimizing your security processes.
