SIA New Member Profile: ProTecht Solutions Partners

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member ProTecht Solutions Partners, LLC, is a boutique firm that provides security consulting and project management solutions through partnerships. The company is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with numerous partner consultants that allow it to offer services both in person and remotely across the United States.

SIA spoke with Jon Polly, founder of ProTecht Solutions Partners, about the company’s history and offerings, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Jon Polly: ProTecht Solutions Partners started as a place to put industry licenses and certifications. I have been in the security industry since I started in 2001 as a police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina, and have spent over 15 years working for security integrators. In March 2019, when faced with a decision that would affect my integrity, I left the integrator I was working for to take ProTecht from just a license holder to a full-time security technology consulting firm focused on bringing value to smart cities and Fortune 500 clients, as well as to help other consultants and integrators drive additional business to their clients.   

ProTecht is a security technology consulting firm. We value our relationships with the security industry manufacturers, consultants and integrators. As a security technology consulting firm, we work closely with manufacturers to know not only their current technology offers, but also their road maps of technology development; allowing ProTecht to develop roadmaps and technology ecosystems that are future-ready for clients.

We believe in #thinkoutsidethepanel. We believe that a security solution is not just security technology but involves people, processes or methodologies and technology. The coolest technology in the world used in the wrong way or for the wrong use case still makes it wrong technology for the solution. We want to make sure our clients have the right technology to go with their processes and use cases. 

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

JP: What’s in a name? Ours hopefully says it all.

• ProTecht – Professional technology to protect what’s valuable to our clients. 
• Solutions – We build solutions using best-in-class technology, both inside and outside of the security industry.
• Partners – We partner with our clients, with other consultants and with the integrator community, ensuring that each client has what they need to be successful. 

ProTecht is a small, one-person consulting firm. That makes us nimble to support multiple client types.  ProTecht has the ability to support and bring value to end users, consultants, integrators and manufacturers through a variety of solutions. A few of our offerings include market research and technology road map building, internal and external content marketing and technology deep dives. 

What’s something we might not know about your company – or something new you’re doing in security?

JP: ProTecht supports boutique consultants and integrators in the industry, helping them bring value to Fortune 500, Fortune 100 and professional sports. I am active in the ASIS International Security Applied Sciences Community, bringing awareness to facial biometrics and biometric technologies in general, and am a certified project manager with experience as a “SWAT team member,” being called in to redirect a project to completion when the project went completely sideways. 

What is your company’s vision, and what are your goals for the security industry?

JP: The vision for ProTecht is to make safe a reality, not just a feeling. Most people want to feel safe. ProTecht wants to make that a reality. 

What do you think are the biggest opportunities in the security industry right now?

JP: An increase in the following:

• Windows of software overlays – Not just the single pane of glass, but multiple interconnected software components used to orchestrate all of the commercially available off-the-shelf installations that can no longer be managed. 
• Biometrics
• Artificial intelligence/machine learning
• Ultrawide band
• Drones – yet to be determined

What are your predictions for the security industry in the short and long term?

JP: The cloud is difficult for our industry. The cloud is being requested by increasing numbers of clients, with less than a third of the industry really grasping the request. 

Traditional IT companies have been installing Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for years. Cameras and access control are now IoT sensors. Where previously alarm licenses have protected the security industry, these are going away. 

Cybersecurity is a reality that the security industry is just now trying to grasp. 

Short term, the security industry will continue to have successes but struggle with the cloud and other IT requirements as security directors continue to report more to chief information officers. Adoption of the SIA Security Industry Cybersecurity Certification (SICC) is going to require more adoption by both end users and the security industry. 

Long term, industry companies that get it will thrive. For companies focused just on alarm panels and even traditional video management systems (VMS) or access control will find they will struggle more.  IoT technologies will provide solutions that traditional security technology has provided. Traditional IT integrators that already sell VMS and access control will start installing and winning against traditional security integrators. Security megaconglomerates will continue to acquire companies and sell in the channel and against the channel, creating both hardships and new opportunities. IoT technologies and communications will open new doors to bring solutions to end users. 

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

JP: SIA is an important organization in the security industry. SIA is involved in facial biometrics and cybersecurity certifications that are important for anyone in the security industry. The hope with involvement is to extend the footprint of ProTecht to be seen and engaged with by others. 

How does your organization engage with SIA? What are your plans for involvement in the next year?

JP: I attend SIAThere! events and am currentl studying for the SICC exam.

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.