Check Your Security was started in 2005 by (pictured left to right) Clinton Button, Carl Pace and Kevin King. Carl writes:
In 2004/5 we saw that the security industry in general was going to go through a big paradigm shift and that many installers were not well equipped for the change from analogue to fully digital solutions. At times they not only confused the end user but themselves as what was a digital path and what wasn’t. We could see that we could make a difference and thought that we could do this by being fair in all our dealings and offering high levels of service at affordable pricing. Our goal was always to establish a long-term relationship with our customers with consistent and high customer retention rates, which today stands at over 95 per cent.
Because of the necessity of ongoing large investments in personnel training with at times no immediate pay back, and a fear that the trained engineer would leave them, installers were reluctant to invest or take a risk. In some cases, they did not have the vision to see where the industry was heading and in others, just buried their heads in the sand awaiting retirement or a friendly takeover offer to come in.
Our company name, Check Your Security, was purposely chosen as it kept it wide and flexible. We saw that there would be a convergence of technology in CCTV, access control, IP intercom, environmental and other systems and as a result, levels of integration would be developed to change how security and building management was handled. This is all about to go into overdrive with cloud-based systems allowing easy AI backend functions to utilise the existing security systems to do a lot more, plus it takes the worry of having to worry about servers and their security and upgrades.
Our business started in Norfolk, where at the time low overheads and low levels of competition existed with London-based IP-literate companies not bothering to address this market as they saw it as a backwater and had easier pickings closer to home. Being early adopters with a focus on IP we won in 2007 NVIP (Network Video Integration Partner) of the year due to our forward thinking and design wins achieved.
One of our early direction and successes was to look for an organisation that we could focus on and who saw what we were bringing to the table. We were looking for a great reference site that we could point future potential customers to. We were fortunate that such an end user – a local University – elected to take a chance with us, something which I don’t believe they have ever regretted. Based on this initial success in the educational sector we are involved with six other universities, we also made inroads in the health sector in which we look after 84 hospitals around the UK, some of which are some of the most prestigious in their field worldwide.
Besides Education and Health, we have successfully infiltrated into other sectors such as sporting stadiums and arenas together with national infrastructure sites. If you visit our website www.checkyoursecurity.com you will find many stories and case studies to give you a better insight into the company.
Our focus has always been to try and be the best at what we do with the level of service we offer our customer of paramount importance. With our maxim of “if we don’t add any value, you shouldn’t pay us anything”, the end user clearly understands and views this as a refreshing change to the relationship they have with some of their existing partners. Besides installation and commissioning systems Check Your Security consult and project manages on all levels of security a particular interesting service is our ‘Enterprise Audit Report’ which has helps customers to upgrade difficult or complex systems documenting their large systems in the process and giving them a blueprint for success.
Having a good idea of where we are going and how we should get there gave us tremendous focus on our goals and key objectives with everyone within the company understanding the direction we were heading. We knew what roads to take, as they say: “if you don’t know where you are going it doesn’t really matter what road you take”; this can become very costly when you must make up for lost time from not setting off on the right road to start with.
As a company we are open to risk in new technology and in taking a punt based on our judgement. We have had several design wins where either new hardware or software was first introduced into the UK and world market through Check Your Security. Innovation and always looking outside the box and taking the risk, rather than letting our customers take the risk, is in our DNA and has proven successful. Today we have enjoyed an 18-year relationship with some of our customers and are highly thought of – long may it continue!
Check Your Security has been in business for 18 years and is continuing to evolve and grow to build on the success and foundations. Clinton Button has recently been promoted to Managing Director, Kevin King has achieved his Master’s in Cyber Security Operations, an area that is rapidly growing in importance within the industry, and I have taken on the role of Chairman and Marketing with a keen interest in new technology and innovations in our industry and beyond. So, 2023 looks set to be an exciting year for us all.
