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www.securitysystemsnews.com March 2015 SEcUrITY SYSTEMS NEWS NEWS 16 By Amy Canfeld DELRAY BEACH, Fla.—Lever- aging Big Data establishes retail security professionals as business enablers, according to four experts at TechSec2015. Jon Shimp, VP of asset protec- tion for Louis Vuitton, Americas; Paul McGinley, LP director for U.S. Dollar Financial Corp.; and Brad Reeves, LP director for A&P;, each said that their roles now extend beyond their titles. It's about using security's data to build a better business relation- ship within organizations, Shimp said during t h e e d u - c a t i o n a l session on Day 2 of the TechSec conference, based here Feb. 3-4. Understanding Big Data and k n o w i n g h o w t o provide it t o o t h e r d e p a r t - ments in the company for a num- ber of uses is what led to McGin- ley's personal career advancement, he said. As for A&P;'s Reeves, "keeping up with the times" in a company that has been around for 150 years is a specifc challenge that he's risen to, and that includes his knowledge of Big Data. Collected data from security cameras and o t h e r p l a t - forms, such as POS systems, can be used to reveal pat- terns, trends and associa- tions, all of w h i c h c a n benefit retailers overall, noted panel moderator Bob Beliles, VP of enterprise marketing for Tyco. "This aggregate information can be used for better insights and per- formance," Beliles said. Security now is "not just preventing bad things, it is aligned with the goals of the organization." The panelists, representing the diversity of the retail sector, agreed wholeheartedly. At luxury retailer Louis Vuitton, for example, "everything is client- based. We collect a lot of data for client information. Our internal executives want to target clients and see what is working," Shimp said. "We have evolved as a busi- ness partner, not just security." Louis Vuit- ton's data can be used to see what products i n d i v i d u a l upscale cus- t o m e r s a r e lingering over. It can be used to understand what kind of music they prefer to hear in the dressing room to make their shopping experience more enjoyable—and more profitable for the retail outlet—and more. "We have a lot more interaction with merchandising. They're actu- ally knocking on our door to fnd out what's going on," Shimp said. Using Big Data differs from market to market, so the chal- lenge is picking what you want it to do, said McGinley, whose non- bank fnancial services company offers short-term consumer loans, secured pawn loans, check cashing and gold-buying services, among other services. "There's an investment of your time to craft your rules around the data and how you're going to use that data," McGinley said. He and his team spent a lot of time at first going through the incoming data, McGinley said. "A lot of it was wasted effort. You need to make sure you're asking First stop for biz intelligence? Retail security pros With Big Data, security not just about preventing bad things, but aligning with company goals Jon Shimp Paul McGinley REtAIl see next page