SecurityRI.com does security installation, guards and IT

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I.—To reflect the complete line of integrated service that it now offers, Industrial Security & Investigators has changed its name to SecurityRI.com.   

“We do everything from guards to camera installation to monitoring [as well as IT services],” Jon Volatile, president of SecurityRI.com, told Security Systems News.

Founded 35 years ago by Volatile's stepfather, Industrial Security & Investigations specialized in armed guards and private investigation services. Volatile bought that company four years ago and merged it with CompuTech, a physical and IT security installation company. Volatile himself has a background in IT security.

SecurityRI.com has 145 employees, about 125 are guards, the rest are divided between IT specialists, physical security specialists and office personnel. The company does between $3 million and $5 million in revenue annually.

Most of Volatile's customers are small businesses and many are retail stores. SecurityRI.com installs a lot of self-monitored systems and contract guard/video combination services. It also does armed response for clients and it derives service revenue through maintenance contracts.

The company does some professional monitoring, using a third-party provider, and Volatile said that he would like to add a central station to his services in the future.

The emphasis at SecurityRI.com is selling a solution that combines “peace of mind and security.”

An increasingly important element of a complete solution is cybersecurity, Volatile said. “We protect people, property and profits,” he said. But “if you want your building to be safe, your infrastructure has to be safe,” Volatile added.

Cybersecurity audits are great for big business or government entities, but they're not a realistic alternative for small businesses, Volatile said. And small “mom and pop shops don't have any idea how vulnerable they are,” he said.

For example “when you have a tech set up an alarm and [the customer] opens up a port on their router … Who is the tech? Where are passwords stored?”

These are questions that small businesses don't ask and that many security companies do not bring up.

Part of Volatile's business plan is emphasizing the steps his company takes to ensure cybersecurity threats are minimized in terms of employee background checks, password protocol and general best practices for installation. He also seeks to educate his customers about cyber threats.