SIA New Member Profile: simPRO

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member simPRO is a global software as a service business providing operations management solutions to trade and specialty contracting industries. The company is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, with offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

SIA spoke with Ben Hedenberg, vice president of enterprise sales at simPRO, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Ben Hedenberg: One of the simPRO founders, Stephen Bradshaw, was actually an electrical contractor at the time. He was struggling to keep up with the huge paper trail he’d accumulated and was looking for an easier solution. He then met Vaughan McKillop, who was an engineering student, and they worked together to formulate a plan of action.

In the early stages of simPRO, the software functionality focused on job management, but soon they both realized they’d tapped into something that could make a huge impact within the trades industry and help other businesses in the process. Using Stephen’s business as a guinea pig, they moved onto developing ideas around scheduling among others. Skip forward 20 years, and simPRO – which now supports quoting, accounting and inventory management, among other features – is still standing strong as a leader in the field service management industry.

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings/company unique?

BH: We help integrators around the world with their back-end business operations. We’ve noticed that a lot of businesses are using multiple software solutions that don’t communicate together to run their business. When they do that, they aren’t being efficient – thus not working to their full potential. simPRO helps alleviate that by providing one centralized system for their entire business. From the initial quote to the final invoice and the important stuff in between – project management, scheduling, reporting, inventory management and recurring tasks – simPRO helps businesses streamline operations.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

BH: We’ve recently launched a new style support system for simPRO customers, which means people can access the help when they need it. Customers can reach out by phone or live chat or by submitting a case, and our 24/6 support team will assist with their query. This level of in-person support is something that the industry and software companies in general lack. Being part of a culture that embraces those opportunities is really great and lets us really serve our customers while giving us a competitive advantage.

What are the biggest challenges facing your company and/or others in the security industry?

BH: One of the biggest challenges for security companies is finding the time to switch up their current operating systems. A lot of businesses are hesitant to either move off of paper systems or disjointed software systems because they may not have the resources required for the setup or they may just be so used to doing what they’ve done for so many years that thinking of changing is hard. It’s a true commitment to fully change how you’re currently operating; however, with a comprehensive software solution like simPRO, there is hands-on support from our team where you can reach out to us directly. In the long run, it’s essential if you want to take on bigger and better jobs.

What do you enjoy most about being at your company – and in the security industry?

BH: One of the best things about being with simPRO is our adaptability to change and grow within the field. simPRO is a rapidly growing company, and we’re not usually ones to shy away from an opportunity, so we will be rolling out some exciting innovations later this year! There is also a lot of potential growth within the North American market because field service management software really impacts the bottom line. It provides insights into employee productivity, customer satisfaction and operational costs, which makes a huge difference to our customers. It’s really inspiring to be a part of a company that helps business owners put  their finger on the pulse of their own operations. It’s an exciting time to be in this industry!

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

BH: SIA offers us the opportunity to connect with serious business owners that are committed to improving the ever evolving world of security. We look forward to continually connecting with SIA members and industry professionals.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.