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PHOTO: ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Navigating through the bureaucratic, regulatory and funding-challenged federal government marketplace can be daunting to say the least. However, agencies' needs for security solutions are great and integrators willing to play this game can score big. liver your value proposition and provide assistance is not just a door-opener, but keeps it from closing on you. Lessons can be learned from an IT industry event hosted by a federal civilian agency and attended by several hundred contractors earlier this year. It is wise for physical security professionals to better understand IT's direction as it will ultimately impact the security market. A couple of overarching themes are worth noting: 1. Te agency CIO wanted to make it clear to all in the room that they were unequivocally moving toward "cloud-based solutions" to improve operating performance and to reduce costs. 2. Tey voiced a desire for industry partners to make "marketing calls" to help educate them on advancements in technology and to not only show up during the end of the month to make a sale. 3. Te fnal point was the most impactful as it resonates with almost every customer today: the need to reduce "total cost of ownership," or TCO. All three of these messages are transferrable to the security integrator. In the end, an agency's security division exists to support its overall mission. Excessively dominating personnel resources, budget dollars and, most importantly, time is generally not seen to be in support of that mission. In the end, these divisions are looking for trusted partners to help support their needs with the best value to their agency. INTERNAL & EXTERNAL POLICY INFLUENCERS Since the issuance of HSPD-12 in 2004, many security integrators have been working feverishly to develop products and solutions sets to help meet this government requirement. Tere has been a steady maturing of the information and defnitions to support this directive. Starting with the rapid release of Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), consistent progress has brought us to version two, currently in fnal draft and ready for release. Te NIST 800 Series of Special Publications, established to support FIPS 201, will also undergo revision once FIPS 201-2 is published. As either a manufacturer or security integrator, trying to explain each of these mandates to those not as well-versed with the numerous documents can be challenging. Te level of difculty increases when the person you are speaking with requires a technical understanding of how this relates to your products and that of others. Te level of difculty goes of the charts when you try to provide an executive brief in minutes SEPTEMBER 2013 / SECURITYSALES.COM / 85