Q&A With S2 Security CEO, John Moss about S2’s Latin American Operations
Q&A With S2 Security CEO, John Moss about S2’s Latin American Operations
Published on: 08/15/2011
Topic: S2 Expands in Latin America
Editors Note: In July, S2 Security announced that it has expanded operations in Latin America to augment the company’s work with local, regional and multinational organizations to meet the unique needs of the region. Read the press release here.
Q: Why is S2 Security expanding into Latin America?
A: Much of Latin America is experiencing economic growth that is fueling the expansion of the industrial and commercial base. The region is rich in natural resources on one hand, and is rapidly developing politically on the other. The result has been the growth of global corporate interest and indigenous business in the region. Until now, we have sold opportunistically into Latin America, but with demand coming from both inside and outside of the region, the time is right to make a greater investment there. Our global program shows the value that S2 offers to clients of all different industries and sizes. S2’s 100% network-based, browser-delivered product line makes global expansion straightforward. There is no one else in the market who can do it the way we are doing it.
Q: Don’t you already operate internationally?
A: S2 has had a significant international presence for over five years. Our products are used in more than 50 countries and translated into a number of different languages. What we are doing now is becoming more strategic in how we can meet specific international needs. We are making the necessary investment to support our integrators from within the region as well as from outside the region.
Q: Why should a company that operates in Latin America pick S2 Security?
A: Really, it’s for the same reasons that make S2 products popular domestically. The networked, web-based approach simply offers a better total cost of ownership, and reducing cost is popular everywhere. As in the United States, our network appliances are available in a range of sizes, and with the upcoming introduction of our S2 Global product, geography truly is no longer an obstacle to adoption.
Q: How has your customer support changed with this expansion?
A: We are embedding in-region support professionals to assist our growing customer base throughout Latin America. We will have on-the-ground local support professionals that speak Spanish and Portuguese. In addition to having professionals in local markets who can handle service issues, we have expanded the hours of our call-in support department to allow for 24x7 emergency support contract options.
Q: Internationally, what differentiates your products from your competitions’?
A: S2 helps customers determine what they need across their organizations, combined with a hard look at what they need—and don’t need—at each facility. Often what we find is that individual facilities can start with a small system that can scale to meet changing needs. This helps our customers meet budgets while purchasing systems they know can grow with them, combined with the confidence that their full organization is protected with a centrally managed security system. This is more cost effective, more appropriate and the modern way to do it. Because our products scale upwards naturally, a small system that is used today won’t be obsolete tomorrow.
Q: What if a company uses a variety of programs to store employee data at different locations?
A: Large companies utilize different systems associated with data, such as PeopleSoft or SAP. S2 systems are able to plug in directly to the personnel management infrastructure already in place at large companies so that when a new employee is added into the personnel management software, even if there are multiple systems, the employee is also added to the S2 security software. The process is seamless.
Q: I already have an existing security system. How difficult is it for me to switch to S2 Security?
A: S2 systems are built to integrate with hardware from other security vendors, so that we can walk in, plug into that hardware, and manage it. In the case of full-scale conversions, we immediately plug in to the existing system to provide continued security, and then conduct a reasonably paced conversion to the S2 system.