Ten Ways Technology Will Change the Guard Industry

Brad Feldman, ROG Security, Inc.

With everyone talking technology from bitcoin to net neutrality it got us wondering at ROG what the top 10 ways technology will change the guard industry.  Here are our predictions as we go into 2018:

  1. Guard Training

Training has never been a major point of excitement as new employees review handbooks, watch videos, sit in classes, and review procedures.  But technology is changing all that by removing these barriers with new tools that will stimulate learning on the job.  The future of training includes experiential training, on-demand knowledge, micro-learning, and social learning.

  1. Compliance

Compliance has traditionally been geared to a fixed point that requires processes which can be followed and measured.  Technology may give us a path to address compliance as an active, living part of each organization.  Much of the burden in compliance is due to strict parameters that must be followed but new technologies may provide innovative ways to create compliance not by rule but by desired outcome.

  1. Efficiency and Effectiveness

Technology will continue to make guards more efficient and effective in their roles.  New technologies will continue to emerge that enhance the guard’s ability to protect and serve their customers.  We expect to see new technology that leverages data and artificial intelligence to create new opportunities for guarding.

  1. Risk Mitigation

Risk is an inevitable part of the guarding business.  While guards may face loss or injury, technology-based risk management can help mitigate risk by analyzing trends and actively overseeing risky situations.  Technology can provide oversight to mitigate risk and injury to guards or the people they protect.

  1. Client Satisfaction

Technology connects us in new ways and can provide feedback loops not available previously.  These feedback loops help clients understand the value of guarding services and touch guard services in new ways.

  1. Enhanced Safety and Security

The world is unfortunately an all too dangerous place and becoming more dangerous as we face domestic and international terrorism as well as an increased level of active shooter situations.  But technology seeks to make things better by sniffing out some of these things before they can become a problem.

  1. Enhanced Asset Protection

2018 will be a huge leap in asset protection.  We just saw the first Amazon store go up without any cashiers.  Watch the technologies that Amazon deploys to create self-serve stores and consider how these, and similar technologies could be used to protect your retail, warehouse, or office environment.

  1. Data Backup for Litigation

Cloud storage and machine vision are creating new opportunities for backed up data in litigation services.  One underlying trend in combining technologies is the ability to catalogue data more effectively.  Finding information in data storage through machine vision enables new types of intelligence gathering.

  1. Data Backup for Training

The same trend in #8 enables new opportunities for training as video footage can be analyzed to help train against real world situations (see #1)

  1. Daily activity reports and incidence and alerts

Technology can be used to summarize the days happenings and provide guidance to how guarding may evolve in order to provide more value at each location.

Technology is becoming more than tracking and management.  We are experiencing a new wave of technology advances that better understand data and can help us make greater sense of our environment in real time. The question is how will technology change the way that you work in 2018.  We would love to hear your thoughts.

Brad Feldman is the CEO of ROG Security, Inc. a cloud-based threat detection service for the guard industry.  To share your thoughts or learn more about ROG visit goROG.co or email brad at brad@goROG.co to see an interactive demo on how your guard agency can tap into the intersection of where man meets technology.