Case
Study: Physical
Security Benchmarking
Situation
A leading US health insurance company operating within a
highly regulated industry, in which privacy and compliance are of
paramount importance, wanted to compare itself relative to its peers in
physical security provision and establish a baseline from which to
quantify improvement. Core goals were to identify best
practices, compare organizational and outsourcing models, compare
security technologies utilized and calibrate investment in physical
security against its peers.
Approach
Structured interviews were
conducted with our
client’s security managers, internal customers and other
corporate functions to provide an overall perspective and identify
issues to inform an external benchmark study. The study was designed to
identify similarities and differences between our client’s
physical security solution and its industry peers as well as other
companies renowned to have superior physical security
practices. This provided a framework for choosing between
alternatives for physical security investment and resourcing
strategies. A detailed questionnaire focused on the key
topics identified was completed by each participant. The data generated
identified potential areas for improvement and provided a baseline to
document our client’s relative positioning within its
industry.
Analysis
& Results
Our
client’s security solution was relatively
fragmented compared to many peers and had created additional challenges
in communication. Outsourcing strategies amongst participants differed
considerably and there was no common model. Physical security budgets
also differed a lot but the benchmarking demonstrated our client to be
relatively efficient as a result of its comprehensive use of
technological solutions to reduce staffing. Security awareness and
training programs were more comprehensive and advanced at many other
companies and a key finding was that our client could benefit by being
more proactive in this area. However, from a technology perspective,
our client was a leader within its industry.
Benefits to Client
Following
the study, our client re-organized internally
and converged most of its security functions under common leadership.
Bellwether’s recommendations were accepted and the client
incorporated steps to accomplish them in its near- and long-term
planning. It was well-pleased with the insights created
through benchmarking and set goals to participate and/or
sponsor future studies on a regular basis. Most of our
findings recommendations focused on increasing the proactivity of the
enterprise with respect to safety and security and engaging the
enterprise more widely. Actionable recommendations were designed to
work within resource constraints and the client anticipates better
overall security as a result.
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