'20 under 40' 2014—Jim Lash

Jim Lash, 37
Director of advanced IT Installation, Diebold, Canton, Ohio

What inspired you to get into the security industry?
Before I worked in security, I had a traditional IT role. Working in physical security is like adding another layer on to traditional IT security. My interest was piqued once I got in the door [at Diebold], I liked the fast pace, the different technology and the speed with which it changes and still being able to leverage my IT background. Once I saw that, I was hooked. It's cool, it's exciting, it never gets old. That's what draws you in.

What can be done to boost the ranks of young people in the industry?
What interested me is the things we deliver, the complexity and size of the systems. If more young IT professionals understood that you're not just hanging security cameras—it's so much more than that. That's what will hook them in. And once you get into this industry, you don't want to leave.

If the industry had some sort of forum or avenue where [young IT professionals] could see what we do, they would want to be involved. That would increase the population of people who want to buy into the security scene.

Where, in terms of technology and trends, do you see the security industry going next?
We see a lot of business consolidations. Companies that have offices nationally or globally are starting to bring everything together, centralized into an enterprise architecture. They're standardizing on an architecture and bringing [information] from all regions into headquarters. [That means end users can] have system information, video at your fingertips within seconds. Everything is more accelerated, bigger, better, faster.