Home → Knowledge Networks → Security Knowledge and Innovation Network (Security KIN) → Why Engage?

Security is Changing

We are experiencing an unprecedented period of change in the field of security.

The security industry is now called upon to protect the many complex, interconnected and technologically sophisticated networks that we increasingly rely on in a modern market-based democratic society. These networks play a vital role in ensuring the efficient provision of: reliable energy supplies; safe air travel; secure financial institutions; well stocked supermarkets; efficient global supply chains; access to high quality medical care. However, due to their complex, interconnected nature, these networks are vulnerable to a wide range of potential natural, accidental or malicious disruptions which could have very damaging economic, social and human consequences.

At the same time an unprecedented range of new threats must also be addressed, ranging from technologically sophisticated cyber attacks to suicide bombers using improvised explosive devices.

Demand for New Security Solutions

In this environment new types of security solutions are urgently required and sophisticated technology and innovative approaches can provide the key to the development of cost-effective responses to these new security challenges. In order to respond adequately to these challenges, suppliers and users of security equipment, technology and services need to work together to drive forward the development of the innovative new products and services to address new security priorities.

Market Barriers

The potential commercial rewards to companies able to develop cost-effective security solutions that address the new challenges are large, but in the new security environment, there are many obstacles must be overcome is order to succeed in taking a new security solution to market. The main obstacles are:

• Highly fragmented demand (few standards, multiple purchasers and few opportunities for scale efficiencies);
• Highly fragmented supply (lots of competitors, wide range of custom products, little supply side coherency);
• Low margins (hard to capture large market share, high development costs, high marketing costs)

In the second phase, the key strategic priority will be to seek ways to address directly some of the key barriers that deter larger security organisations (particularly the security systems integrators) from incorporating new innovations and technologies in their commercial security systems on offer to the market.

Key Role of Systems Integrators

Large systems integrators are generally perceived by clients to be the only ones with the resources and capabilities needed to deliver major contracts for security systems or solutions, to government or corporate clients. And in order to win these contracts and succeed commercially, they must be able to manage the inherent risks involved in implementing extremely large and complex systems successfully, and deliver on time and on budget.

In the face of these significant commercial imperatives, there is a strong disincentive to undertake costly R&D and seek to integrate new, unproven technologies or innovative approaches into any commercial security systems contract.

However, these same systems integrators are best placed, with direct relationships to major clients, to understand how to exploit new technologies or innovations to add new features or capabilities to their systems and solutions that add value for these major clients. And they know that, in the long term at least, they will need to compete against other companies by offering improved features and capabilities, as well as on cost.

Role of Security KIN

Security KIN aims to help to focus the public sector funding available to support proof of concept collaborations between SMEs and knowledge base organisations on:

• Overcoming the integration issues associated with the introduction of new system elements into complex or legacy systems; and
• Independent testing and benchmarking the performance of new system elements to provide those designing or specifying new system, confidence that any new elements incorporated will function as required.

Benefits to System Integrators

Systems integrators could benefit from this support by:

• Accessing indirectly (through SME partners) additional resources for R&D activities with minimal commitment of their own resources and little associated risk;
• Drawing on knowledge-base capabilities indirectly (through SME partners) with minimal commitment of their own resources and little associated risk;
• Enhancing their commercial product offering through partnerships (rather than in-house R&D);
• Having an early opportunity to take a stake in the IP of promising new technologies or solutions aligned with their commercial product offering that are developed through this type of collaboration.

Benefits to SMEs

SMEs could benefit from this support by:

• Gaining dramatically enhanced market access indirectly (through a Systems Integrator partner) enabling their systems or solutions to be specified as elements of major contract bids; and
• Reducing the resources spent attempting to market their system elements or solutions directly to end-users;
• Gaining access to PoC funding;
• Gaining access to university expertise and facilities.

Benefits to Knowledge-Base Organisations

Knowledge-base organisation could benefit from this support by:

• Finding new routes to market for its IP;
• Undertaking PoC funded research activities; and
• Develop longer-term research collaborations with System Integrators and SMEs;
• Exposure to and solving real industry problems (research relevance);
• Identification of potential for entrepreneurial (university spin-out) companies.