Vendors Given a Reality Check at Homeland Security Summit  

Muphen Whitney   www.HomelanDefenseStocks.com
June 30th, 2004  

Vendors who think their products and services are absolute necessities within the Homeland Security and Defense industry were given a reality check by one of the industry’s heavy-hitters at the recent McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Summit.  

Dennis Treece, Director of Corporate Security for the Massachusetts Port Authority, acknowledged that “the feeding frenzy for Homeland Defense dollars is intense.” Many of those seeking to get some of the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Massachusetts Port Authority spends are barking up the wrong tree, however, according to Treece.  

“Vendors throw things over the transom that they have developed, with the idea that if they have built it, I will buy it. They don’t seem to develop things with buyers in mind,” Treece told his audience in a packed conference room at the Summit .  

Chris Nichols agrees, “this has been a lot of the problem.” Nichols, Director/Vice President Strategy of MDM Group, Inc. (a development stage advanced technologies Research and Development Company focused on business risk management, IT security, software development, non-lethal weapons, and security solutions for law enforcement agencies, military and Homeland Security), adds that it is a two-way street because sometimes “the buyers don’t know what they want and sometimes can’t define what they need as there are often too many overlapping requirements across numerous departments, divisions, or agencies. There often is a big disconnect between what theoretically an organization should do to protect themselves across the board and what can actually be done at an acceptable cost to reach a certain level of compliance within each department, division, or agency.  

Nichols asserts, “sometimes buyers are too reactive and look to the market for solutions in response to an incident. Organizations that take a more proactive approach are far better off and are better prepared to mitigate risk and meet compliance. Further, proactive organizations can work much closer with vendors to develop/customize solutions that fit their needs, rather than trying to force a solution to fit." Organizations need to also take responsibility for clearly defining solutions that fits their needs to help guide vendors.”  

Roaming Messenger’s Vice President of Corporate Development, Bryan Crane, said that where his company is positioned in the development process keeps them from encountering this problem. Roaming Messenger has developed a breakthrough wireless communication system that provides powerful intelligent mobile messaging immediately to ‘on-the-scene’ decision makers in the homeland security, emergency response, military and enterprise automation arenas. 

“We work hand in hand working on pilot programs with software application providers in their particular market niche,” Crane said recently. “Because we are a platform, we can build for many diverse vertical markets.”  

Aethlon Medical, Inc., which develops therapeutic devices that treat HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C and other infectious diseases, is another company that has a strong position when it comes to knowing and developing what the market wants and needs. The company has carried its philosophy into the development of its newest products, which are pathogen filtration devices for use by military and civilian populations to combat infectious agents used in biological warfare and terrorism.

Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO James Joyce explains, “We operate on known fact. Our reality is that the federal government has made it clear that the number one threat in the war against terror is biological agents. ”In this regard, we are developing viral filtration systems that are specific to treating the pathogens that our Federal Government considers to be the greatest threats.”  

Joyce furthers, “the issues and candidate pathogens have been defined for us, we certainly are not guessing. We are focused on filling the need for treatment counter measures that can be effective against a wide range of ‘class-A’ pathogens. ”  

Although focused and experienced companies such as MDM, Roaming Messenger, and Aethlon Medical, do not follow the ‘over-the-transom’ method, used by some of the newer companies, trying to hit their target market, Treece’s advice should be heeded by those new to the Homeland Security and Defense industry.  

In addition to desiring products and services tailored to his needs, Treece wants vendors to provide good answers to the following questions when he evaluates a product or service:

·         Are there reliability figures from prior testing or use?

·         What are the maintenance costs?

·         Does the system use proprietary or open architecture?

·         What training is needed? How will it be provided? How much will it cost?

·         What are the licensing arrangements? Is leasing available? Is financing available?  

Treece also wants vendors to keep the following realities in mind, when they are formulating their marketing strategies:

·         Buyers are looking for accurate systems at a low price;

·         Outmoded standards – or no standards at all – from the federal government make any security investment decisions risky and

·         Buyers need more information than just manufacturers claims for their products and services.  

Finally, Treece cautions vendors not to get enraptured with pie-in-the-sky technology that may not work in real-word situations.  

“It is not just new technology, “he said, “but good policies and procedures that are key to improving homeland security and defense.”  

The principals of Roaming Messenger and MDM concur with Treece’s priorities.  

“I agree wholeheartedly, “said Roaming Messenger’s Crane. “We have designed the backend of our system with a comprehensive reporting and audit trail. We tailor it to what the end-user needs to carry out good policies and procedures.”  

Miss Whitney brings a background in systems analysis, journalism, and marketing/communications to her work with ECON. For more than three decades she has provided marketing/communications consulting services and writing/editing services to companies in the high tech, biotech, financial, medical, and legal fields.