Crowdguard will be exhibiting at International Security Expo once again this September, and, once again, we will be sharing our stand – D100 – with our partner Highway Care Security.

Our relationship with Highway Care is one of many partnerships we have cultivated at Crowdguard, with the company supplying the RB50 and Claw HVM systems that we frequently deploy as part of security and counter terrorism protection for events and public realm locations.

Our business model is founded on the concept of partnership; both as a customer of HVM and perimeter protection systems, and as a provider of security and counter terrorism services to event management specialists, traffic management companies, venues, local authorities and a host of other customers.

We also work in partnership with experts, such as CTSAs, the police and security consultants, and with organisations including the PSSA and FSOA, ensuring that knowledge sharing, best practice, collaboration and continuous improvement are embedded in everything we do; from first enquiry through to risk assessment, specification, installation and de-rigging.

People are often curious about how our relationships with partners like Highway Care work – they expect there to be a conflict of interests when we share a stand with one partner at an event like International Security Expo, while other partners, such as ATG Access, Unafor and CLD Fencing, are also promoting what they do in the same room! But the truth is that protecting in partnership is not only embedded in our culture, it is also a guiding principle for our partners. Highway Care shares our goal of keeping people and places safer – we are not competing for share of voice, we are collaborating to achieve the best possible solution for our customers and every member of the public that attends their event or public space.

And that’s why, despite joining forces with just one partner on Stand D100 at International Security Expo, the concept of multiple partnerships is so central to what we do at Crowdguard. As our MD, Iain Moran likes to put it, we put ‘round pegs in round holes’ – because whatever the identified risk, operational requirements and commercial considerations following a threat, vulnerability and risk assessment (TVRA), we will select an appropriate and proportionate solution.

We are not tied to a single provider. We’re not even limited to two or three. We have a broad range of partnerships with multiple market leaders in HVM and perimeter protection for temporary, semi-permanent and permanent deployments, along with a national – and now international – resources for quality assured installation by trained technicians, and a partnership with the RAPAID Emergency Bandages Charity to reduce the impact of an incident should the worst happen.

The breadth of those partnerships also means that our customers are never at risk of a conflict of interests from us either. When we do a specification following a risk assessment, there is no danger that we will compromise our integrity by putting forward a system that’s not quite right, or disproportionate to the identified risk. Instead, we can cherry pick a solution – or mix of solutions - that we consider best suited to the requirement. Indeed, we often specify a mix of products from different partners for a single deployment.

Ultimately, a family going to the match on a Saturday afternoon, a couple enjoying a night out at a gig, or group of friends having fun at a Christmas market don’t care who designed, made or installed the HVM system protecting them. They might not even notice it. But they are the part of what we do that really matters, and protecting in partnership is fundamental to keeping them safe.