Our vision is not only to be the best security company but to be the best corporate services partner in a world of evolving risk
The company remains laser-focused on its purpose-to serve and safeguard customers, communities and people in today’s ever-changing world. There is no other security company that can offer such a vast amount of resources to serve our local communities and customers.
G4S has been recently acquired by Allied Universal – what does it mean for G4S and the market in Serbia?
Allied Universal, a leading security and facility services company in North America, acquired G4S. In April for the total value of is £3.8bn. Combined Allied Universal and G4S now make the 7th largest employer in the world. The company remains laser-focused on its purpose-to serve and safeguard customers, communities and people in today’s ever-changing world. There is no other security company that can offer such a vast amount of resources to serve our local communities and customers. “Our vision is not only to be the best security company but to be the best corporate services partner in a world of evolving risk. Together, we will deliver the highest value proposition to customers in the security industry,” says Steve Jones, Chairman & CEO of Allied Universal. For G4S customers in Serbia this means more security and stability, an even stronger financial position is directly connected with unmatched insurance coverage that G4S Serbia offers to its customers. We believe this is a high-priority component of our offering and also an element that distinguishes G4S products and services from the competition. In crisis situations our customers are covered by extensive insurance policies leaving the worries behind. They transfer the risk to us.
G4S Serbia was recently engaged in a smart parking technology project. What would you like to single out when it comes to the segment of smart city infrastructure and parking solutions?
Indeed. Very often G4S is recognized purely as a company that specializes in securing objects and cash handling services. However, engineering and systems based around security infrastructure are a vital part of our business. G4S Serbia has an expert team consisting of licensed engineers and technicians who constantly take care of your electronic security systems. From project design, planning implementation and integration of complex systems through integration and maintenance, G4S Serbia is a reliable choice regardless of the size of your company or your home. Until recently parking management systems were based on solutions with modern technology based only around financial operations (parking payments). Today, modern technology provides intelligent parking solutions that allow not only extensive levels of security but also a comprehensive real time parking management. For big city infrastructural objects such as shopping malls, hotels or commercial parking this allows increased end user satisfaction. For instance, a smart system will guide drivers directly to the free parking lot which eventually saves time. You know that feeling when done shopping and arriving at the parking level asking yourself: Where did I park my car? ☺
“Key element of our operations is customer centricity as we want to be a supplier of the choice who delivers not only product but creates value”
Well, smart parking with an app on the smartphone will guide you directly to your parking spot. Problem solved! Detailed control of parking utilization allows our customers dynamic pricing models and better optimization of their assets. Last but not least, by making parking experience faster, vehicles burn less fuel and emission of CO2 is reduced in significant amounts when annual throughputs in the biggest parking area are taken into consideration.
What is the role for G4S to play in the smart cities business segment?
Smart cities are an exciting future happening now. G4S is already contributing to smart cities’ infrastructure. Apart from smart parking, we are also heavily focusing on smart buildings. Recently we have acquired a technology company that focuses on building integration systems by offering one clear interface that enables our customer to control buildings and locations from one system (remotely). What positions us strongly is also our capacity in terms of response both on the operational level when there is distress signal from our customers but also in terms of technical support. One of our core businesses is Belgrade monitoring center that operates 24/7 365 days a year. Together with technical response teams around Serbia, we can reach our customers in the fastest possible way. Both miles and danger stay behind us.
What are your plans for the next period in regard to your company’s further development?
We have been a long way on the transformation path from a traditional security company
towards a company that integrates security with technology and big data. Key element of our operations is customer centricity as we want to be a supplier of the choice who delivers not only product but creates value. This year alone in G4S Serbia we will implement three important IT platforms that will allow the customers to have better transparency and improve customer service experience. With our internal experience and security expertise, we make what we do today better and create industry-leading solutions.