Business Intelligence

Help Navigating Financial Waters in Uncertain Times

In a less-than-stellar economy such as the one the U.S. and the world have been experiencing for the past few years, it can be increasingly difficult for businesses to navigate with agility and foresight in order to stay on a path of growth. As security companies look to increase their business (let’s face it, that is everyone’s goal, irrespective of the economy), one of the best ways to do that is to stay abreast of the financial and business side of the security industry.

In 2010, the Security Industry Association (SIA) acquired Securing New Ground, a conference held annually in New York City. Securing New Ground (SNG), dedicated solely to the financial side of the security industry, regularly attracts those interested in mergers and acquisitions, angel money, venture capital and funding for different rounds of the business lifecycle — in short, the financial people in our industry. Securing New Ground has been a unique and valuable learning and networking event for the security industry for almost 16 years.

SIA felt it would be valuable if the type of information presented at SNG were made available as a year-round service. To that end, SIA selected Global Security pipeline to provide real-time business intelligence and security sector transaction data. Global Security pipeline, headquartered in London, specializes in providing global, forward-looking actionable intelligence on security deals, integrated with detailed transaction databases on investors. With this partnership we are now able to provide senior executives with a cloud-based, proprietary business intelligence resource 24/7/365.

The SNG Business Intelligence Service is a subscription service that reports in almost real-time on all aspects of the financial side of the industry; it’s the type of business intelligence that allows companies to strategically maneuver in the marketplace. This is crucial, especially in today’s economic environment.

There are three key aspects to this service:

• The daily news brief — The core of the SNG Business Intelligence Service is exclusive business and sector news delivered directly to the subscriber’s inbox. Throughout the day, journalists conduct interviews with industry experts, chief executive officers, investors and visionaries to provide essential news and insight into what forces are affecting the security industry worldwide — from reports on the latest deals to information and analysis on leading market participants.

• Premium desktop services — Alongside this core news service, the Web-browser-based interface provides a suite of information tools in an online platform. These include the ability to create instant reports in Adobe .pdf, MS Word or Excel formats, user-customized e-mail alerts and a sophisticated search engine.

• Databases — Subscribers also receive access to unique databases, including a global directory of companies, investors and advisers in the sector, searchable by more than 30 different criteria. These databases cover venture capital, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions.

The SNG Business Intelligence Service is particularly beneficial to companies looking into acquisitions or searching for a buyer. It helps CFOs, VPs and other “C” level executives understand where deals are being made, by whom and in which sub-sectors. For companies desiring to know valuations on similar-sized businesses or raise money, this is an invaluable tool.

SIA is offering a free, three-month trial and special discounts on the SNG Business Intelligence Service for paid attendees of the upcoming SNG conference, being held November 1-2, 2011 as part of Security Week in New York.

For those SIA members not attending SNG, SIA is offering a free two-week trial. For more information on this unique business intelligence service, contact Alain Taylor at ataylor@siaonline.org or (703) 647-8481, or Marc Benson at mbenson@siaonline.org or (703) 647-8488.

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As the Editor-in-Chief of SDM, Karyn Hodgson is responsible for the overall editorial direction of the magazine, its supplements, e-newsletters and website. She works with the SDM editorial staff to develop content that helps security dealers and systems integrators operate successful businesses. Karyn represents SDM at trade shows and conferences, and directs exclusive research studies such as the SDM Industry Forecast. She also manages SDM’s Dealer of the Year and Systems Integrator of the Year Award programs. Karyn has an MSJ in Journalism (magazine publishing) degree from Northwestern University, and more than 25 years’ experience writing for and about the security industry. Contact Karyn with article ideas.