27959 Smyth Drive • Valencia, CA. 91355
Tel: 661.775.8400 • Fax: 661.775.879
www.andrewsinternational.com
May 2008
Growth Continues into 2nd Quarter
Andrews International Has Continued Growth Strategy Success In Northern California
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (May 15, 2008) –Andrews International, one of the ten largest private security providers in the United States, continues its organic growth success in Northern California where it was recently awarded a uniformed security contract for Juniper Networks, the leader in high-performance networking. Andrews International will service the multi-year, multi-million dollar contract from the Silicon Valley area, providing coverage to the Juniper Networks headquarters in Sunnyvale. The new contract now expands the Andrews International relationship with Juniper Networks beyond consulting, investigations and executive protection, services which have been delivered globally for nearly five years.
"We valued Andrews International’s assessment and evaluation approach to determining our specific security requirements instead of simply duplicating existing practices," said Carlos Galvez, Safety and Security Operations Manager, "We expect this relationship to provide more efficient, cost-effective results."
"Juniper Networks is a leader in their industry and community," said Randy Andrews, CEO and Chairman of Andrews International, "We expect our hard work and performance for Juniper to contribute to our growth in Northern California."
Andrews International has been focusing on organic growth in 2008, following several regional acquisitions last year. Recent organic success includes several multi-year contracts with national premier entertainment corporations, shopping centers, banking and financial services, and technology clients. These and other contracts, totaling over $20 million in revenue and nearly 15,000 hours per week in uniformed protection services have made Andrews International one of the fastest growing private security firms in the nation.
"The organic growth based on performance and trusted relationships has been tremendous," said Ty Richmond, Co-president and Chief Operating Officer, Andrews International, "We expect this growth to continue and are considering several acquisitions in the next six months that will expand our services into new vertical sectors and regional markets."
"In addition, Andrews International is continuing to invest in personnel with proven industry expertise and perspective; a strategy that enhances the company’s vision on an enterprise level. Recent hires have come from top levels of corporate security and public law enforcement. This diverse experience in senior management positions has become a tangible differentiator from a competitive standpoint."
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks, Inc. is the leader in high-performance networking. Juniper offers a high-performance network infrastructure that creates a responsive and trusted environment for accelerating the deployment of services and applications over a single network. This fuels high-performance businesses. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net.
Andrews International Strengthens Executive Management Team
Ray O’Hara, CPP, to Lead Worldwide Consulting and Investigations Practice
Los Angeles, CA (May 6, 2008) –Andrews International, a full service provider of security and risk mitigation services, has hired Ray O'Hara, CPP, as Senior Vice President, Consulting and Investigations (C&I). O’Hara has more than 30 years of experience in the consulting and investigations services field, corporate security and law enforcement. In his new position, O'Hara will oversee the strategic leadership and oversight of Andrews International’s C&I practice. Most recently, he led the consulting and investigations business for one of the largest international security firms.
"Ray adds yet another former senior corporate security executive to the Andrews International Executive Team," said Randy Andrews, CEO, Andrews International, "His experience with Weyerhaeuser, combined with Anton Bommersbach’s at Wrigley, Bill Besse’s with Belo Corp, David Levenberg's at General Growth Properties and Ty Richmond's at Agilent Technologies, uniquely positions Andrews to address security concerns from the client’s perspective. We understand pressures to mesh business and security objectives and, therefore, can help build security programs for maximum effectiveness and efficiency that support our clients’ corporate growth."
O’Hara’s experience includes managing large-scale security consulting and investigations projects in emerging markets and developing international executive protection, crisis management and response plans. In addition to his operational responsibilities, O’Hara established and managed workplace violence client training programs for corporations and most recently developed crisis management and response plans for public venues, such as shopping centers, educational institutions and the Olympic Games. These programs involved setting policies and procedures, as well as training seminars for security, human resource, employees, tenants, media and legal representatives at key locations.
"Economics, technology and communications are changing how businesses operate, opening new opportunities," said O’Hara, "With these opportunities come challenges and risks rewarding companies that learn to manage risk to support their business objectives."
O’Hara currently serves as Secretary on the ASIS International Board of Directors and has served as President of ASIS’ Professional Certification Board and Chair of the ASIS International Investigations Council. He is board certified in security management by ASIS International and is considered a Risk Vulnerability Expert, with experience in analyzing and categorizing business vulnerabilities, homeland security initiatives, terrorism and political threats. He is a founding member and the first Chair of The Alliance for Enterprise Security Risk Management, a partnership of leading international security organizations formed to address issues surrounding the convergence of traditional and logical security.
"The combination of resources and expertise provided by the Andrews International team is unparalleled," said O’Hara, "Emerging requirements, from corporate governance to regulations regarding security assessments and surveys, as well as the challenges created by legislation, regulation and compliance that have heaped additional responsibilities on already over-burdened executives at every level. Andrews International’s combined capabilities truly provide companies with the support necessary to mitigate risk, litigation and liability in a most efficient and effective manner."
Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery
Disaster can strike at any time, as witnessed by the recent tornados and flooding in the Midwest United States and the earthquakes and cyclones in China and Burma. These and other incidents can devastate regional and national economies, with similar impact on your business regardless of your level of operations in the affected region.
Business continuity and disaster recovery planning are vital and complex, requiring the input of many areas within an organization. The plans must also be maintained, continuously tested, revised and audited to ensure relevance to the company, as well as your supply chain and support infrastructure.
Business Impact and Risk Analysis
The first step in the development of a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery planning process is evaluating the risks and potential impacts of each type of disaster or event, whether natural or man-made. Forecasting the probably of these disasters and the resulting impact on business operations allows you to focus resources on the most critical aspects of your business continuity.
There are several approaches to analyzing risk and impact including quantitative and qualitative measures that improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the plan.
Quantitative analysis incorporates statistical information and probability figures based on previous incidents to determine:
- Probability of an event, and
- Likely impact of an event
While potentially more accurate, quantitative analysis relies heavily on data which can be unreliable and inaccurate. Probability can rarely be precise and can, in some cases, promote complacency. In addition, controls and countermeasures often tackle a number of potential events and the events themselves are frequently interrelated.
Qualitative Risk Analysis
This approach does not require probability data and relies on estimated potential loss that takes into account a number of interrelated elements that are more specific to your business, operations, environment and geography, including:
- Threats – what can go wrong
- Vulnerabilities – where are we most prone to a threat
- Controls - countermeasures for vulnerabilities that fall into four categories:
- Deterrents that reduce the likelihood of a deliberate attack
- Preventative measures that protect vulnerabilities to prevent or reduce the impact
- Corrective controls that reduce the effect of an attack
- Detection that discovers attacks and triggers preventative or corrective controls
In addition to having a firm understanding of the risks, creating the plan requires gathering information and documents that may be critical to planning and recovery, such as:
- Any existing business continuity plan(s)
- List of major suppliers and their contact details
- List of emergency services and their telephone numbers
- Staff contact information
- Existing evacuation procedures
- Copies of floor plans and maps
- Asset inventories
- Premises addresses/maps
- Health and Safety procedures and policies
- Copies of maintenance and service level agreements (SLAs)
- Operations procedures and manuals
- Inventories of information and IT assets
- IT/computer system specifications
- Communication system specifications
- Any industry regulations and guidelines
- Information security policies and standards
- Environmental and quality procedures
- The organization name chart
- Offsite storage procedures
- Insurance details
Planning, preparation and practice reduce the anxiety and stress related to handling disasters and reduces the impact, including the loss of life, down-time and valuable resources. Preparedness is the greatest defense against any disaster.
Case Study: Disaster and Emergency Response
In August of 2005 a hurricane of a biblical proportion struck the lower portion of the United States. In response to Hurricane Katrina, Andrews International deployed a 28 person rapid deployment team to handle security needs within days of the disaster. Our teams of active duty peace officers or retired officers were able to gain access to the damaged areas that were restricted to military, law enforcement and rescue personnel. Because of Andrews International's prompt and well structured planning; and relationships at the local, state and national level; we were able to efficiently and effectively position our team in key restricted areas.
Andrews International personnel deployed at numerous locations and provided 24 hour security and intelligence gathering to keep the respective business owners informed. Andrews International later screened and assisted workers and displaced employees returning to the ravaged sites. Many employees were still traumatized and would not return without a highly visible security presence. Not only did Andrews International respond to the immediate needs of current client locations but we supported additional businesses when other security service forms were unable to support their customers.
When other companies failed to deliver, Andrews International mobilized a team of experienced security professionals to deal with this catastrophic event.
In an ever-evolving industry, it's all about '-ability'
Ability, desire and dedication go a long way towards defining who we are and what we become in life. Similarly, '-ability' has become the defining factor in the maturity of the security industry and will play a key role as the industry continues to evolve.
Accountability
Guidelines, standards, regulations and laws, both domestic and international, have driven accountability to the C-level for virtually every aspect of business operations. This accountability is pushed down through an organization requiring more intensive reporting and measurement. These have been further intensified by more recent economic pressures that expand roles and responsibilities for professionals throughout an organization.
Accountability increases the demand for high-quality performance and measurement, but economic pressures often continue to drive decision-making. As a security professional you play an important role in helping secure private businesses and critical infrastructure as evolving threats, such as terrorism, natural disasters and workplace violence, continue to expose security vulnerabilities. Security will continue to be asked to "do more with less" requiring a focus on more efficient, cost-effective security policies and measures.
Forseeability & Liability
Enterprise Risk Management, or the evaluation of an entire organization’s risks from many aspects to account for an entire business continuity plan, has become the dominant protocol for evaluating the threats and risks facing organizations today. Events such as terrorism, workplace violence and natural disasters can have catastrophic effects on operations and personnel. Consequently, it is essential that organizations critically review their entire risk assessment and emergency planning strategies. The approach must be broad--securing facilities and assets, coordinating with local first responders, and developing an alternative emergency response homepage for disseminating contact information during a disaster.
Capability
Providing high-level security can often be an expensive proposition which is often viewed as an expense item, particularly in today’s economic environment, with few immediate visible benefits or return to an organization's bottom-line. Technological innovation will continue to be at the forefront increasing the capabilities of security products and services, reducing costs and bridging the budget gap between security and business operations.
The convergence of information technology and physical security systems allows organizations to achieve an even higher level of security and efficiency by facilitating instant, real-time notification and communication that can lock down an entire facility, alert security staff to investigate and notify a facility's administrator and/or employees of a potential situation.
In the ever-evolving security industry, it’s all about ‘-ability.’ Accountability, forseeability, liability, capability, and unpredictability are issues that will continue to play significant roles as organizations decide how to best prioritize their security efforts.
Have you met your Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) and Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) requirements? Andrews International can help. Our DHS-certified CVI (Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability Information) Group can assist with top-screens and Security Vulnerability Analyses (SVA's). Please contact Dean Davidson for more information at 713.961.7670, or email ddavidson@andrewsinternational.com.