Anil Puri CMD, APS group A first generation serial entrepreneur, thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, an innovator and a strategic thinker. He has used this combination to innovate and implement on-ground many new business ideas. His rich experience in various businesses has enabled him to nurture & mentor innovative ideas and scale them up. Introduction E-commerce has come a long way since Michael Aldrich created online transaction processing in 1979. The term refers today to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. From a customs perspective, it is used to refer to the sale of physical products online, including illicit ones (the risk of this is ever increasing). Driven by the increase in internet users worldwide as well as smartphone and mobile penetration, e-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses and consumers market, buy and sell goods and services, providing a vast choice of products as well as advance shipping, payment, and delivery options. There are now even specific terms to refer to mobile-commerce (M-Commerce) and social media commerce (S-Commerce – which integrates social media into e-retail sites and adds e-commerce functionality to social networks. Approximately 18% of e-commerce takes place via social media). Today, it is widely recognized that the growing e-commerce sector is an important growth engine for economies, providing and developing new trade modes, driving new consumption trends, and creating new jobs. It has ‘enabled’ growth opportunities to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in terms of wider access to larger markets by lowering entry barriers and reducing operational costs. E-commerce has become one of the largest industries in the world to function. Today, it is widely recognized that the growing e-commerce sector is beneficial to economies, providing new growth engines, developing new trade modes, driving new consumption trends, and creating new jobs. The evolution of technology and the internet led to the opening of infinite ways to engage with consumers worldwide. But larger the business, the greater the risk and this is the case for e-commerce as well. As an organization, it becomes imperative to protect the organization from various and varied threats. When you traverse along the Indian highways, every mile is dotted with mushrooming warehouses. Deploying security systems for the warehouse and logistics category can seem daunting to anyone outside of the security industry. Everything risk-related needs to be factored in, from theft prevention, access control, surveillance, fire and safety, to disaster recovery, data security. Environment monitoring has also become a part of the ‘security threat’ and needs to be continuously monitored and factored in. The days of the facilities manager simply contracting a single service provider or vendor (usually the lowest-quoted priced) for each risk category and hiring them to install and forget about it, are all but gone. ‘one or single point’ is an expression we in the security business use to describe the advantages of working with a single integrator to handle everything security-related. That way, when something needs to be addressed or fixed, there is only ‘a single point.’ The need for such ‘single point’ processes are gaining prominence as manufacturers, distributors and retailers look to optimize their supply-chain processes. Warehouses are evolving into highly automated centers equipped with the latest, cutting edge technology. Identifying risk and threats At its core, physical security refers to protecting people, property, and physical assets from the risk of physical actions and events such as fire, flood, natural disasters, burglary, theft, vandalism, and terrorism. Some of the most common processes for Security monitoring and prevention are the most basic – warning signs or stickers, fences, vehicle barriers, restricted access points, security lighting, etc. When physical security and ‘E-Security’ divisions operate in silos, they lack an overall and coordinated view of security threats targeting their enterprise. As a result, successful attacks are more likely to occur and can result in the theft of sensitive or proprietary information, economic damage, disruption of critical functions, or even loss of life. Physical Security & ‘E-Security’ – an ultimate solution Physical security integrates with ‘E-Security’ by limiting access to spaces where is needed and the reverse is also true. Physical security components connected to the Internet, such as RFID key card door locks, smartphones, and video surveillance cameras, are often vulnerable to cyber-attacks and are thus a security risk. Traditionally, physical security operations were run by professionals with expertise in maintaining the physical safety of a facility using solutions such as locks, cameras, guards, fencing, and alarms. While ‘E-Security’ was the exclusive domain of the IT department, which had responsibility for the computer systems and network. The two departments lacked an integrated approach to and in decision-making for security procedures. Physical security is a vital business practice to give a ‘human touch’ helping prevent unauthorized persons from entering your business and causing harm, protect your intellectual property from corporate espionage, and mitigate workplace violence, amongst other concerns. A strong ‘E-Security’ strategy safeguards and enhances the sensitivity of physical security. This combo strategy on security will enable network devices, applications, and software that power smart, cloud-based devices and security systems as well as the people who manage, monitor, and make business decisions for these functions based on real-time threat assessment and prevention and last but not the least an ‘informed reaction.’ Principles of application of convergence strategy Whether you are responsible for your organization’s physical security or ‘E-Security,’ you still need to apply the following principles: Identify and classify your assets and resources (what to protect). Identify likely vulnerabilities that threats may exploit (the likelihood). Identify plausible threats (who to protect it from). Identify the expected cost if bad things happen (the consequences). The Benefits of Integration The benefits of ‘E-Security’ and physical security integration can broadly be categorized as: Cost Saving. Incident response and management. Risk reduction. ‘E-Security’ Helps Build a Physical Security Framework ‘ E-Security’ supports and enhances the…
