Alistair Enser is the Chief Executive Officer at Reliance High-Tech. With offices in Bracknell, Manchester, Pontefract and Glasgow, the company is one of the UK’s largest independent security integrators and a provider of lone worker and body worn camera solutions.
In what ways does NSI Certification differentiate your company from competitors and enhance your credibility within the industry?
We highly value our NSI Gold certification as it confirms our expertise and reassures customers that they are dealing with someone they can trust to keep their people, property and assets safe. For Reliance High-Tech, securing and maintaining accreditations such as ISO 27001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials Plus and, of course, NSI Gold status, is important as it shows we take customers’ needs importantly and are willing to invest in the service as a result. In today’s fast changing world of technology and cloud these skills are ever more important.
What emerging technologies do you see shaping the future of the industry, and how is your company adapting to stay ahead?
Historically video surveillance was very much an ‘after the event’ solution, with the vast majority of systems not actively monitored. The same with access control and intrusion. Now, with AI and the cloud, we can add so much more value to the user, not just for security, but also using the data within the systems to provide insights, predictions, quicker analysis and improved outcomes.
In addition, by harnessing the power of cloud, really complex analytics can take place to bring lots of enhanced benefits such as behavioural analysis and advanced video searches allowing you to search or even proactively (real time) highlight unusual or dangerous behaviours such as health and safety breaches or potential attack events. The ever-increasing ability of access control to connect with third party systems such as IOT sensors, lighting, HR, workplace scheduling, and other SaaS solutions allows space for AI to grow and help provide predictions, linking events, analysing usage, footfall and trends and delivering additional benefits for cost saving and productivity to the end user as well as improved security.
I firmly believe there is a golden opportunity here for the industry, and at Reliance High-Tech we acted on it by investing at an early stage in the skills, talent and accreditations necessary for us to talk confidently with a range of stakeholders – from IT to Finance and Operations – and not just the Security Manager who used to be the sole point of contact. I would say to anyone on this journey that like many ‘frontiers’, it is neither easy, nor cheap, and the payback will accelerate over time. However, to use historical learning, none of us want to be running a Blockbuster video store in the world of streaming.
What do you find most rewarding about working in the security industry?
As a self-confessed tech geek in and out of work, I have always enjoyed helping customers navigate a journey where they gain better efficiencies, unearth operational insights and enhance security through new and innovative uses of technology. From the first analogue cameras on coax cables, to object classification using AI at the edge, that journey has always been fascinating, and the fact that so much more is now possible with technology means the job is more rewarding than ever. No doubt there are some remarkable, exciting and scary technologies on the horizon. For example, if you get a chance listen to Elon Musk talking about his Optimus robots!
Read the full interview in the July 2024 edition of PSI magazine
