When it comes to video surveillance, customers face a dizzying array of options and performance claims. From traditional hardware suppliers (cameras and DVR’s) and security integrators to resellers and consultant and of course managed and hosted video providers – each has a value prop and a performance claim. The challenge for a customer as it considers alternatives is how to test these claims, make sure the service works for them, and quantify results so that a rationale business decision can be made.
Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of these claims solution providers were willing to work with the customer to determine what to measure, how to quantify improvement, and educate on how to use the solution effectively? What if this solution provider also took the extra step to actually work with your finance team to quantify and align on the return on investment? Sound like just what the doctor ordered? At Envysion we do just that.
Envysion’s managed video value proposition is to deliver rapid and significant profitability improvement (10-15%) for multi-unit operators. We do this by making video easy to use, putting it in the hands of more people across departments, and focusing operators on actionable business insight. The other half of the value equation is what we don’t do – we don’t strain your IT organization and network so there isn’t the support and overhead cost that can come with technology solutions. The install and set up is plug and play, upgrades happen by just logging in, management or administration resource requirements are non-existent.
For a customer looking at our solution the return on investment equation is pretty straight forward. It is the net change in profit driven by our application less any incremental IT support required (zero in this case) divided by the investment. While the calculation is pretty straightforward we’ve seen tremendous value from rolling out a prescribed pilot process and ROI methodology that both trains customers how to use our solution and then analyzes profit improvement and calculates ROI.
Most innovative solutions face a similar scenario –demos, decks and traditional selling are good, but customers want quantified proof of savings and proof that it works for them. So Envysion decided the best thing was to develop and author an eight week pilot process that literally walks a customer through how to implement our managed video solution and how to use it in day-to-day operations to drive profit improvement. While many companies provide training in the mechanics of a solution (functional how to), our pilot focuses on operational usage. Specifically how an operator would use the service on a day-to-day basis to improve operations and profitability. Along the way we identify any specific customization that would benefit a customer for a full roll-out.
The last bit is the quantification of ROI. While every vendor talks about ROI measurement we’ve learned that few actually calculate it. While the math is not rocket science it helps to have experience collecting and analyzing data and of course in packaging results so they make sense and are digestible. At Envysion we leverage the fact that we’ve got some management consulting experience on our roster and we burn the midnight oil to crank these out.
Its probably not a surprise that customers have responded very favorably to our prescribed pilot and quantified ROI approach. In fact, we have heard nothing but positive feedback from customers. More than a few have said that they have been waiting for years for suppliers to put in the extra effort to do this. Of course what our customers are most excited about are the results that our Envysion managed video service delivers. Typically it’s between 150 – 250 basis points of profit improvement and 300-500% ROI. With those results, we are more than happy to do the work to make this black and white and show the incredible value we deliver.