The question is no longer if your business will be disrupted, but when. Chances are you’ve already faced events that challenged your continuity plans or forced your business to shift operations or priorities.
As an intelligence solutions and engagement manager at Securitas, I help businesses navigate these situations every day – and guide them on implementing and using actionable intelligence to proactively mitigate threats and manage risks before they lead to disruption. Through our Risk Intelligence Center (RIC), we help clients sift through the noise, make smarter and more informed decisions, and act quickly and confidently.
In this blog, I’ll share how intelligence-led security can help organizations prevent costly disruptions, protect what matters most, and build greater resilience for the future.
Laura Stevens, Intelligence Solutions and Engagement Manager
Using real-time intelligence to prevent disruption
Some of the most damaging disruptions businesses face today tend to be those that impact their people. But even seemingly isolated incidents or minor events can lead to major disruption, especially if businesses aren’t prepared. Road closures caused by a severe storm or disruption to power, telecoms, or other utilities could present serious operational challenges.
Although the RIC doesn’t have a crystal ball – and can’t necessarily stop events from happening – we can identify, assess, and monitor them to raise awareness and understanding. This helps businesses proactively prepare and stay one step ahead with real-time intelligence and expert analysis.
Here’s what this could look like in practice:
We identify through our all-source intelligence strategy that a planned demonstration will take place in vicinity of a client location, so we send an alert, notifying the client.
The client may request further insight with questions such as, “Will this target us?” or “Do we have any links to the subject that has triggered the event?”
The intelligence we provide helps the client refine their security strategy at all levels of their organization. Tactically, this could be changing the number of security personnel on-site, or increasing patrols. Operationally, this could be developing plans to proactively manage the situation. Strategically, this could be briefing senior stakeholders on the business impacts of the event, and guidance on how to navigate the risks.
These simple adjustments may help them prevent property damage and protect their brand and reputation, all while maintaining business continuity.
This is exactly the kind of accurate, timely, relevant, and actionable intelligence that empowers businesses to identify potential disruptions early and take steps to prevent them before they escalate. Especially when speed and context are critical, proactive intelligence-led security can make all the difference.
Driving cost savings with intelligence-led security
Traditionally, security has been viewed through the lens of “observe and report” – responding to threats or incidents as they occur. But increasingly, intelligence is being embedded into decision-making at every level of the organization to support a more proactive approach.
This multilayered, intelligence-led strategy strengthens preparedness and expands the strategic value of security. For one client, it helped prevent a targeted disruption that would have cost them over £1.2 million directly, in addition to impacts to their consumers, suppliers, and brand and reputation.. Working in close collaboration with the organization’s internal teams, the RIC produced a threat assessment that became key evidence in a High Court case. The resulting injunction protected their site and employees from what could have become a major disruption.
Or take something as routine as selecting a venue for a major event. One client identified a hotel for its annual general meeting based on standard factors like price and amenities. On paper, it was a great choice. But intelligence revealed a heightened security risk tied to nearby political activity and social unrest. With that insight, the client chose a safer alternative, avoiding potential disruption.
These examples show how embedding intelligence into decision-making helps organizations stay ahead of risk, protect their people, and avoid costly business interruptions.
Making sense of the noise: Answering the ‘So what?’
Much of what we do in the Securitas Risk Intelligence Center comes down to answering one vitally important question for our clients: so what?
In an always-on world, data is everywhere and, unfortunately, so is information overload. The real challenge for businesses isn’t in accessing data but making sense of it. Which alerts matter? Which signals point to real risk? What actually requires action – and what is the most effective course of action?
That’s where our analysts come in. It’s something we say often at Securitas: Our people make the difference. Our experts do the hard work behind the scenes: verifying sources, filtering out noise, digging deeper for context, and translating raw data into clear, actionable intelligence.
What we provide clients is clear, concise intelligence that helps them develop security strategies to mitigate the threats they face.
We break it down simply:
- Here’s the impact.
- Here’s what could happen next.
- Here’s what to do about it.
This clarity helps our clients move from reactive decision-making to proactive risk management. Together, we focus on what keeps them up at night: the threats that could disrupt operations, damage reputation, or erode trust. When intelligence is applied effectively, it not only helps clients avoid costly disruptions, but it also helps build the resilience needed to face whatever comes next.
That’s what I love most about this work – helping provide the assurance that someone is looking out for your business, so you can focus on moving it forward.
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