Started with 2 guards in 1988, now about 6,000 workers; a new path in e-guarding
Securex, which claims to be Bangladesh's first security company, started in 1988 with just two guards when many laughed at the idea. Now about 6,000 strong, it launched electronic guarding in 2019, which cut one client's guard numbers by a third.
Securex began in 1988 with only two security guards. Few people sought such services then, and many laughed at the initiative. Over time the company grew to about 6,000 workers and built a reputation in the security industry. According to the report, around 600 security companies in the country employ about 600,000 people. In 2019 Securex became the first to introduce electronic guarding, or e-guarding, in Bangladesh: motion sensors, glass-break detectors, heat and smoke detectors, shock sensors and CCTV cameras monitored by trained operators at a remote central station. At the time of the report two organisations used it: IPDC Finance and Chittagong Fashion. A Chittagong Fashion supervisor said the number of guards fell by one third after e-guarding was introduced, and security costs also fell. The company's managing director said e-guarding can augment or even replace manned guarding, and that he plans to focus more on e-guarding than on the existing manned services. The managing director of another firm, Elite Force, also said turning to e-guarding is a demand of the time because clients want the best service at low cost. The report did not give e-guarding prices or cost comparisons.
Lessons
- 1.A new kind of service may find few customers at first; start small and build a reputation patiently.
- 2.Clients want good security at lower cost; adding technology so fewer guards give the same cover helps keep them.
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