Specifically Speaking: Todd Winslow on how to create robust, resilient infrastructure

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Exante360’s Todd Winslow knows how critical it is for organizations to make the right security decisions, and his company is more than ready to help them meet the challenge.

“The necessity to create a robust and resilient infrastructure is motivation for the entire Exante360 team,” said Winslow, PSP, NICET Level III senior consultant/associate principal at Exante360, a technology consulting and design firm. “For many companies and organizations, security decisions made today can determine the organizations’ ability to maintain and expand technology and operational management for years to come.”

Winslow says Exante360 helps clients create a robust security environment with services that include current and emerging threat assessments, regulatory compliance, policy review and development, standards development, master planning, and technology designs and implementation management.

As part of Security Systems News’ monthly column Specifically Speaking, the following is an exclusive Q&A with Winslow:

SSN: What kinds of systems do you design/specify, and what services does the company provide?

WINSLOW: Exante360 was founded in 2013 by security consulting industry executives in response to architectural and end-user client demands for a customer service-oriented design and consulting practice.

Exante360’s core values are responsibility, excellence, versatility and superior customer service. The focus of our work has always been on finding appropriate solutions (and) rightsizing, while maintaining scalability, maximizing useability and performing change management.

SSN: Any interesting projects that you can mention?

WINSLOW: Recently, I had the opportunity to consult with Disney Global Security on an intricate access control database consolidation project. As a member of the project team, I helped align multiple card holder databases containing more than 1 million cardholders into a common database that could be utilized for a global enterprise system. There were more than 45 custom-developed software interfaces that were rebuilt and validated in both the QA (quality assurance) and production environment because they were needed immediately after the migration.

SSN: Can you talk about what new or emerging technologies you are seeing or specifying today?

WINSLOW: We are still seeing a shift to the cloud, with cloud offerings really starting to have robust features that make the cloud experience on par with the on-prem experience and arguably providing the end-user a friendlier interface.

As consultants, we must have complete confidence when specifying solutions. We are optimistic that the promises of AI (artificial intelligence) will soon be realized, offering up information in a proactive predictive manner that allows for security decision makers to make very informed anticipatory decisions, further reducing organizational risk.

Opportunities will increase for video surveillance system end-users to develop specific analytic functions unique to their organization, leveraging machine learning at the edge and in the cloud using their own video.

SSN: What is your view on the industry moving forward?

WINSLOW: The security industry in the U.S. is going to grow and change, at least from an automation and technology capabilities perspective. The relevancy of the security department to the corporate bottom line will continue to evolve as systems become more capable, and the resulting “big data” will be analyzed by AI for functions beyond just the department. In other words, the criticality of the security department will intensify in lockstep with the corporation’s appropriate investments in its officers, technology and best practices.