THREE PRIORITIES SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ENTERPRISE SECURITY OPERATIONS
Jill Davie, TEAM Software by WorkWave, CALSAGA Network Partner
If you lead an enterprise-level security guarding company, the conversations at trade shows this fall likely confirmed what you’re already experiencing. After engaging with industry peers and innovators, a clear consensus emerged: the security landscape is being redefined by three essential themes: data, efficiency and the strategic integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
For businesses operating at scale, these aren’t simply abstract trends. They are urgent imperatives that dictate your profitability, ability to grow and client retention. Here’s what’s top of mind for security executives navigating this digital transformation.
Data and Analytics: Turning the Data Stream into Strategic Insight
Every security firm is sitting on a goldmine of data: daily activity reports, overtime exceptions, incident reports, client history and real-time field activity. The core operational challenge is shifting from merely storing this information to actively harnessing it to inform strategy.
Industry leaders are no longer satisfied with simple historical reports. They are moving toward proactive, predictive risk management, which requires centralizing disparate data into one unified platform. This enables decision-makers to ask and answer complex business questions: Which sites have the highest incident rate relative to labor hours allocated? Which scheduling patterns correlate with the highest overtime costs?
When you enable the fusion of real-time field data with back-office financials, you unlock predictive capabilities that directly impact profitability. The goal is to democratize this information, empowering regional managers to use intuitive, AI-assisted tools for ad-hoc exploration and instantly generating custom visualizations that drive strategic decision-making.
The Efficiency Imperative: Automating the Back Office and Empowering the Field
In today’s environment, eliminating administrative waste is the fastest path to significant ROI. Every manual process, from payroll entry to paper-based compliance checks, represents a drain on both financial and human capital.
Implementing a core, industry-specific Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform that unifies financial, human resources and operational data can dramatically cut down administrative time. For example, we have seen security companies successfully cut their payroll processing time by up to 90% by shifting from siloed legacy tools to a unified system. That time is then redirected toward business growth and high-value customer service.
Simultaneously, efficiency must extend to the front line. Modern firms provide mobile self-service devices that give distributed officers instant access to their schedules, paychecks and HR information right from their devices, virtually eliminating time-consuming requests to back office staff.
The Hybrid Future: AI as the Guard’s Force Multiplier
While early discussions around AI were often abstract, today’s industry focus is on practical technology that enhances rather than replaces human security personnel: a hybrid security model.
A hybrid model strategically combines physical security officers with technologies like AI-powered video surveillance, advanced robotics and intelligent field reporting tools. This creates a layered defense system where technology acts as a force multiplier, allowing officers to transition from static patrolling to managing by exception and dedicating their attention to genuine threats flagged by technology.
In daily operations, this means equipping officers with real-time field management applications to capture detailed activity logs, instant incident reports and duress alerts. This mobile data is instantly fed into the core platform, providing supervisors with continuous visibility and the ability to proactively address potential issues.
Taking the Next Step
The future of security is not a single product but an integrated, intelligent and efficient operational model. By embracing the right holistic software solution, you can unify your back office and field operations to unlock the profitability and scalability necessary to compete in the enterprise security market.
Learn how TEAM Software by WorkWave provides the technology stack designed to support your strategic goals at teamsoftware.com.
Jill Davie started her career at TEAM Software as a summer marketing intern in 1996. At the time, TEAM was a start-up with 12 employees
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Iowa State University, Jill joined TEAM full time in 1998 as a Sales Associate. Over the next 20 years, she assumed various leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Communications, Customer Success and Professional Services as the company grew significantly. Jill also served on TEAM’s Board of Directors from 2014 through 2021 when it was acquired by WorkWave. During her board tenure, TEAM transformed from founder-owned, to employee-owned to private equity owned. They also acquired five companies across the globe, expanding their domestic and international market leadership.
Currently, Jill serves as the SVP & GM, Cleaning & Security responsible for Customer Success Management, Professional Services and Customer Engagement. She is passionate about operational excellence, engaging directly with customers and attracting and retaining top talent with a people-centric culture.