Bridging the Knowledge Gap

The Knowledge Gap

None of us will fail to be impressed with the near-superhuman feats of strength and skill on display in a couple of months in Athens. Even more impressive than the seconds and minutes it takes for the competitors to execute their events are the hours, days, months, and years each of them has invested in rigorous training. For them, training is not part of the game. It is the game. These athletes know the gold is won or lost, not on the playing field, but on the training field.

Today’s security technology integrators are faced with the challenge of building successful businesses in an environment that is every bit as competitive as their athletic counterparts will face in August. And, to make an integrator’s challenge a little more interesting, a chasm is fixed between where they are now and where they need to be to stay in, and win, the race.

We call this chasm “The Knowledge Gap”, or “The Gap” for short. This Gap has been created by the quantum technological leaps the security industry has made in the past four to six years. And with the introduction of each new technology, whether it be TCP/IP networking, client/server architecture, wireless connectivity, or digital video compression, the Gap widens.

Bridging the Gap

The only way to span the Gap is to build a knowledge bridge. Each section is constructed out of an understanding of how these new technologies fit into what you already know and how to integrate them with other system components. Sections of your bridge are purchased every time you invest in training.

Training usually has a substantial short-term opportunity cost. Training can be expensive. It is time-consuming and takes time away from seemingly more profitable activities. Some integrators have decided the costs are too high and are trying to compete for what little business remains on the left side of the Gap. But others have taken a long-term view and, and a result of their training investments, have spanned the divide and are enjoying their prospects on the right side.

In my seventeen-plus years developing and delivering technical training content, I can appreciate the scope of the challenge security integrators are facing trying to bridge the Gap. I’ve seen integrators struggle trying to keep up with the deluge of new vocabulary, technologies, and products. While these new technologies have, in most respects, made security end user’s job easier, the underlying technologies that integrators must grapple with have become more complex.

Bridging Strategies

There is no simple remedy to this dilemma. To remain competent and competitive, integrators must invest in training. AMAG, as well as other forward-looking security system developers, has enhanced its training systems to make it more accessible to integrators. For example, AMAG maintains three, state-of-the-art training centers, one in Los Angeles, another in Washington D.C, and a third in Gloucestershire, England. To supplement its classroom training, AMAG publishes monthly technical newsletters that address real-world technological situations and offers both advice and solutions.

Distance learning tools are also playing an increasing role in assisting integrators continue their education. To leverage these tools, AMAG has developed a series of detailed interactive software tutorials to facilitate distance learning for its dealers. The obvious upsides to the distance learning model are that it lowers the costs to acquire the information and makes it available at any time. The not-as-obvious downsides are that deeply technical content cannot be adequately delivered or understood remotely nor does distance learning provide the essential hands-on training needed to practically apply instruction.

The single greatest opportunity for integrators to pole vault over the Knowledge Gap relates to their understanding of core Microsoft® technologies, such as the Windows® operating system, Microsoft TCP/IP Networking, and SQL Server. AMAG and most other high-end access control system providers build their applications on top of these enabling technologies. To truly understand these access control systems, integrators must understand the underlying Microsoft technologies.

To address this requirement, AMAG has enriched the curriculum of its training programs to include exposure to these fundamental technologies. However, given the time constraints our training programs must work within, it is impossible to cover in-depth Microsoft and AMAG training at the same time. But without a substantial grasp of the principles of the enabling technologies, integrators who do make the wise decision to invest in system-specific training will likely not enjoy the maximum benefit from their investments.

To remedy the situation, I make a couple of recommendations to incoming students, and the companies that send them to us for training. First, I encourage integrator companies to select key technical personnel to Microsoft training before sending them to AMAG. Then, have these Microsoft-trained employees create and supervise internal Microsoft training programs to disseminate their knowledge throughout the organization. Identifying a candidate with good communications skills and technical aptitudes to be the internal trainer is critical to the program’s success.

Second, if an integration company’s budget won’t allow for formal Microsoft training, I recommend these companies start an instructional library, including both books and magazines. Employees must be given the time and incentives to motivate them to check-out and read these materials and pursue a course of self-study. Employees can be encouraged to share the nuggets of knowledge they have extracted from their readings with other employees at weekly or monthly meetings. Top “teachers” can be recognized and rewarded to further perpetuate the educational process.

That you apply these suggestions, or come up with some of your own, is not the point. The point is that you, as an integrator who wants to remain competitive and profitable in the midst of the dynamic and competitive environment, take steps now to build a bridge across the Knowledge Gap. Like your Olympic counterparts, making the necessary investments in training now will ensure you get the gold in the future.

About the author

Perry Galloway is a senior Support Specialist/Technical Writer for AMAG Technology, Inc. and is responsible for all AMAG curriculum materials development. He has over seventeen years experience in developing and delivering training content related to various electronics and data systems. Galloway began his career in the U.S. Navy and holds both the MSCE certification and a B.S. degree in Education.