In another successful relationship, Patrick Fujimoto, loss prevention manager at Y. Hata and Company Ltd., brought IST on early in the integrator’s history, becoming its third customer.
Today, IST has a fingerprint on all five of Y. Hata’s facilities spread across Honolulu, Hilo and Kauai. Again, it was the expertise in Lenel that led Fujimoto to investigate IST.
“That really caught my attention,” says the retired Hawaii Police Department lieutenant who launched Y. Hata’s security program. IST installed cameras and door access systems at Y. Hata’s five facilities after passing the test through reference checks at Kaiser and Holikulani Hotel, IST’s second customer.
“You can’t beat their service,” says Fujimoto. “No one compares to them. If you have an issue, they take care of it right away for you.”
Leading the Way
IST has adopted the motto “leading Hawaii to a safer place,” and it’s one that fits the idea of the islands being a large community or even family, says Andrew. “We’re all on an island together,” he says.
Andrew joins Gordon Bruce, chairman and CEO of Pacxa, for a weekly YouTube show called “Hibachi Talk” and hosts technology symposiums to spread the word about the importance of security integration. Bruce worked with IST for about eight years as Honolulu’s director of information technology before he started Pacxa, the state’s largest systems integrator at about $30 million in 2014.
In 2005, the mayor wanted public safety oversight of its communications system with access control and management at any facilities where city employees worked.
“We want everyone to know they don’t have to run off to Silicon Valley,” he says. “The money goes about half as far here, and the pay scale is similar.”
When IST started, many of its employees were ex-military, but they eventually got homesick and left the island. The Lannings have recently put more emphasis on the local workforce both in terms of training and recruitment. “We’re more interested in the cultural fit first,” says Andrew.
Christine notes the symposiums are a good way to get partners and customers together to talk. She sees IST with the potential to grow to a $20 million business in the next nine years, but knows that will mean hiring more people and refining the skills of those who are there.
Related: Building a Family Business Style Company Culture
“Everyone has to appreciate what each other contributes to the daily effort,” says Christine. “It’s critical that we all have equal worth to each other and to our clients. ‘We’ are a product. Once a sound culture is in place, it’s then service. Service sets every great company apart from its competitors. Do outstanding work promptly and with a smile, communicate with your customer honestly and often, share best practices and lessons learned frequently with your internal peers. You also need leadership training for everyone so that they learn to lead. Leadership isn’t inherited; it’s learned and everyone has the ability to lead to some level. We like to challenge our team to lead all the way to the top, and we help them get there.”
Andrew sees the integration world evolving and the number of providers shrinking in the next decade or two. “Our world is becoming an IT world,” he says. “Middle-tier integrators who don’t do IT are going to go away in the next 10 to 20 years.”
That’s one of the many reasons Christine says “certification is critical.”
“It demonstrates the capacity of the individual to consume, understand and interpret technical concepts or strategies to our clients,” she says, noting that IST spends on average twice the normal training dollars on education and training, which includes certification. “We are always looking for people who had a great capacity to learn and grow. And second to that we need them to share that information with others so others can grow, which means they have to collaborate and support one another.
“We expect our technicians to be the very best of breed,” she adds. “They are continuous students of technology, they are understanding of our client expectations, and they are willing to lead others, to teach others to learn what they know, and to learn from others as they grow. It is a part of our bid package to explain how IST has arrived at our current capacity and capability levels. Certifications really give the client a further assurance that we’re providing them with a service that is proficient and won’t waste their time, in other words money, while performing tasking on their projects.”
