PSA Security’s Bill Bozeman accepts the George R. Lippert Memorial Award, telling PSA-TEC attendees what a hugely important industry they serve. PHOTO BY SDM STAFF

Hurricane Sandy prevented PSA Security’s President and CEO, Bill Bozeman, from receiving the 2012 George R. Lippert Memorial Award last fall when the SIA Security Week Gala event was cancelled due to the hurricane’s devastation in that region. However, the silver lining of the storm is that the security integrators who are in Denver for PSA-TEC this week got to see Bozeman receive the Lippert Award in person last night during the welcome reception held at the Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colo.

Mike Kobelin, PSA Security chairman; Sandy Jones, Sandra Jones & Company; and Sharon Shaw, Integrator Support, all spoke about what it meant to work with, learn from, and watch Bozeman contribute his positive influence to PSA Security over these many years. Ever the humble leader, Bozeman said that PSA Security “existed before Bill and would exist after Bill.” He emphasized, however, how far he has seen the security industry progress, from such small beginnings to the hugely important industry it is today. “You are in the right place at the right time, so take advantage,” Bozeman told PSA-TEC attendees gathered for the welcome reception after day one of trainings at 2013 PSA-TEC.

Lisa Miller, PSA Security’s director of marketing, told SDM earlier in the day, “If you’re an industry professional, there’s no better value for education” than PSA-TEC. The training event features four tracks: physical security, IT, business optimization, and managed services. Every day this week there are four class periods – in all, dozens and dozens of sessions, from companies including Bosch Security Systems, AMAG, exacqVision, Cisco, BICSI, Arecont Vision, and more.

“We’re really trying to give these companies a well-rounded education,” Miller stated, referring to sessions such as “Effective Communication Skills for Technicians and Installers,” in addition to technology and business offerings.  

There are also fun things to do every night including a jam session with PSA Security folk, a an improv comedy night (new this year — sponsored by WeSuite and the Women’s Security Council), a bowling tournament, and more. The reasonable registration fee of $500 includes the education (some classes do require an additional fee), meals, and the evening events.

Miller said a key message about PSA-TEC is that it is open to the entire industry. While there are two levels of membership in PSA Security, companies do not need to be either type of member in order to take advantage of the training opportunities at PSA-TEC. The organization also offers resources for integrators that they can take advantage of without being a member; these include project financing and sales management. “These services enable the integrator to do a better job than they might have been able to do on their own,” she said.

PSA-TEC closed out the welcome reception on a powerful note: a keynote address given by Robert W. Bastida, regional safety & security manager at Google. Bastida was ranked No. 1 of the Top 25 Most Influential People in the Security Industry in 2008 and has more than 20 years of security experience gained from top firms such as Google and Oracle. In his presentation, “What Integrators Need to Know; an End-User’s Perspective,” Bastida outlined four key expectations of end users: speed, collaboration, solutions, and quality of personnel.

“What do end users want from their integrators?” Bastida asked the PSA-TEC audience. “What we want are solutions — solutions to our integration problems.

“Let me ask you this question: When was the last time, you as a partner, or integrator of choice, went to an end user with a solution for a problem – something he did not ask for? Most of the time, it’s me, as the end user, going to you and saying, ‘Hey I got this problem, what’s out there? How can I fix it?’ I think it should be the other way around.”

SDMis a media sponsor of PSA-TEC 2013. Other sponsors are Altronix, AMAG Technology, Bosch Security Systems, March Networks, OpenEye, Pelco by Schneider Electric (gold level); exacq Technologies, HID (silver level); Arecont Vision, ASSA ABLOY, CSC, Ingersoll Rand, Lenel, Milestone, NVT, and VideoIQ (bronze level).