JNCS Beyond Security’s typical service-level
agreement (SLA)
Not surprisingly, acquisition costs (typically year-one costs) account for
the bulk of the total – 67% in our example. Also notable, the costs
for the project were divided equally between product-related costs and
‘other’ costs such as labour that are not related to the specific price of
the products purchased.
JNCS Beyond Security offers a variety of service-level agreements,
depending on the specified product. For example, a preferred integrated
security solution from JNCS Beyond Security will have a higher capex
outlay in the beginning, but will often prove to have a lower total cost
of ownership (TCO) in the long run, and a higher return on investment
(ROI). This is because the products carry a three-year on-site swop-
out warranty, are specifically designed and manufactured for the
outdoor environment, and offer superior quality images with analytical
parameters and reporting.
Equally important, we noted, is that ongoing operating costs – often
overlooked by purchasers who focus just on upfront costs – account
for 31% of the long-term costs. Decommissioning costs, while a small
fraction of the total, can still be significant when considered across a
multimillion total investment.
The preferred integrated security solution will also include:
• weekly on-site scheduled preventive maintenance
• 24-hour remote assistance via our call centre
• system and software integrity check
• free software and firmware updates
• monthly training
With this study, we are not claiming that this TCO model is applicable
to all projects. The TCO will of course vary considerably depending
on project size, industry application and system requirements such
as number of cameras and other unforeseen attributes. But a better
understanding of how to evaluate the TCO can help you make better
decisions by accounting for the full range of hidden and direct costs
from delivery to disposal.
The difference between price and cost
Whenever we are in the market for something new, one of the first things
we want to know is the price. We check the tag on the shirt in the
department store, the sticker on the new car at the dealership, browse
online to find the best price on the latest gadget we crave. But does
price tell the whole story, especially with more sophisticated products?
Are we really getting the best deal by buying for the lowest price? The handover process to HOAs
In the integrated security world in general, study after study demonstrates
that the answer is – definitely not. We at JNCS Beyond Security make this transition an easy one because
we work closely with the developers towards a common goal for the HOA.
Lowest purchase price does not mean best value long term, or best
overall ROI. While we may not think in these terms when buying a
shirt or a gadget, when considering a significant business investment,
calculating the TCO becomes much more important than just evaluating
vendors and solutions on the initial purchase price. All contracts, handover documents and training schedules are neatly
presented to the HOA for review.
The HOA turnover, also known as the developer turnover process, consists
of many phases. The turnover process is a momentous occasion, if not
the most important in a community’s history. It is during this process
that home owners, through the homeowners association (HOA), are given
control of their community.
Rental offers for developers
At JNCS Beyond Security we pride ourselves on our 12-, 24- and
36-month rental and finance options, which are available for developers
through our unique developer partner programme.
Indeed, studies have shown that, for various enterprise-level investments,
purchasers underestimate the ongoing costs of operations by anywhere
from 30% to more than 100%, failing to take into account important
aspects such as product quality, operational features that save time and
money over the long term, indirect and intangible costs, and the cost of
repairs, maintenance and downtime. The old adage ‘you get what you
pay for’ is particularly true when you look only at price.
This programme enables you, as the developer, to rent the integrated
security solution for a predetermined time, and then transfer it over to
the HOA for continued support and upgrades.
We work closely with our development partners to offer unique, tailor-
made packages and to ensure the minimum capex outlay.
Security TCO: A sample case study
We recently completed a study to evaluate the TCO in a typical enterprise-
level security system implementation. Our TCO study was based on a
hypothetical city surveillance project that requires a robust, high-quality
surveillance system with 1,500 cameras. It includes a professional video
management and storage solution. Of course, we know every project is
different, and different industries have specific needs and evaluation
criteria – all of which contribute to determining overall costs. But certain
factors are consistent across most enterprise situations, and we drew
from our experience with hundreds of large installations worldwide to
help guide the research.
JNCS BEYOND SECURITY AREAS OF
EXPERTISE
• Integrated IP security solutions and project management.
• Thermal perimeter CCTV systems.
• Complete risk assessments and effective community safety
plans.
• VMS (video management systems).
• Biometric access control.
• Licence plate recognition entry and exit (linked to
suspicious vehicle database for early warning detection).
• Integrated visitor management systems.
• IP intercom systems.
Some costs are obvious – hardware, software, installation and integration
– but our study showed that there are 40 cost factors in total that impact
the TCO in the long run.
www.jncs-beyondsec.co.za
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