Updating the ConsultantRegistry.org website has been a high priority, whirlwind of a project this summer.  In an effort to improve collaboration tools and reference materials available to our members, we spent a lot of time on redesigning the website.

Here are a few of the dozens of the new additions and improvements:

• White Paper / Case Study Directory
  With over 500 manufacturers in the security industry alone, there are literally thousands of technical papers available. After a paper is uploaded to CRO, the entire content is scanned into our database word for word. Members can now search for documents by any word combination, not just by category.
• Improved Resource Pages
  Members can comment on resource pages, highlight pages they like and share pages through email and social networks.
• Discussion Groups
  We recently announced the creation of the ConsultantReady™ Committee headed by Susanne Ruse. This area is the hub for committee discussions, documents, schedule & status reports.
• Member Store
  Consultants, do you have reports or studies you would like to offer for sale? No charge to list, a small portion of each sale goes to support the organization.
• Content Previews
  Much of the content available in our previous website was hidden until members signed in. Member only content is now available for preview by the public. So you know what you are signing up for!
• Better Member Handling
  CRO was originally designed to support consultants & systems designers.  In an effort to reduce spam, between member communication on the old website was highly restrictive. New member handling allows much greater member to member collaboration and information sharing.

Full details on the upgrade are available at:  CRO Website Updates Fall 2010

Please visit the site and let us know what you think.  Membership is still free for consultants and all other industry guests.

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ConsultantRegistry.Org is a professional organization for independent consultants in the converging space of the Security, IT and Communications industries. CRO is run as a not for profit by a council of its members and operates independently of all product vendors. CRO can be found at http://www.ConsultantRegistry.org.

Last year we released the first-ever ConsultantReady^TM Report. The report was a huge success and showed it was definitely worth the effort (lots of pizza and caffeinated beverages went into that effort).

After taking in all the feedback, we decided a committee was needed to centralize and openly discuss the structure and evaluation criteria for the 2010 report. Therefore, we are happy to announce the formation of our first CRO open committee, the 2010 ConsultantReady^TM Report Committee.

Just like last year, we intend to qualify our framework, evaluation criteria, and grading methodology with our consultant members. However this year, we will allow one representative from each manufacturer evaluated to participate with feedback to the manufacturer member(s) of the committee. Consultant members don’t worry…. you are still the ultimate authority in the committee!

An email invitation will go out to consultants and manufacturers who expressed an interest early on.
All other interested parties should contact Susanne Ruse, our Director of Committee Strategic Planning and Development at [email protected].

ConsultantRegistry.org
President, Greg Bernardo

At the end of April, we announced that Susanne Ruse joined CRO to head up our new effort to committee’ize ConsultantRegistry.Org. I realize that “committee’ize” is not a real word, but our effort to build functioning committees is real.

Building committees is a pretty involved undertaking and we want to make sure that they are relevant and effective. After months of testing collaboration tools and developing internal processes, we believe we are ready to launch our first committee.  Our committees will take on challenges that no single individual could possibly accomplish and maintain the current or relevant status.  These efforts are identified and some are services to our members, while others are ongoing to provide information to our industry or a particular industry segment.

In just a few days we will have more announcements and more information on the ConsultantRegistry.org Committees and other developments.  (we told you we haven’t been taking the summer off !)

ConsultantRegistry.org
President, Greg Bernardo

Does your state require Consultants to be licensed?

Its a simple question that many people don’t know the answer to.  ConsultantRegistry.Org is building new tools to communicate information to our members.  As far as we know, there is no centralized repository for this information.

Knowing whether a State requires a license is important to consultants who are looking to branch out of their home state or for individuals who are considering becoming consultants.  Additionally, some states require errors and omissions insurance.   How much insurance do you have? Is it enough?

Seems like good information a lot of people should know about.

So ConsultantRegistry.Org has started a survey asking our consultant members to give us a heads up on what the requirements are and where to find the information for each state.  ConsultantRegistry.Org will compile the information and post it on our new website targeted to release in September.

If you are a consultant and would like to help out or have access to this information, please sign up on the ConsultantRegistry.org website and we will send you the link.

ConsultantRegistry.org
President, Greg Bernardo

Several members mentioned that communications dropped off the last few months at ConsultantRegistry.org. Let us take this opportunity to give everyone a quick update.

We want to assure you that we didn’t take the summer off!
In addition to our day jobs as consultants, the council at ConsultantRegistry.org has been hard at work these last few months. Several projects have reached a point where they are almost ready for release.

In a short while CRO will be sporting a completely redesigned website with lots of new features and a whole new look. We are working with several sponsors for additional tools and information which will follow shortly after the new website premier.

Check back often and it will be here before you know it.

ConsultantRegistry.Org
President, Greg Bernardo

ConsultantRegistry.Org  is please to announce that Susanne Ruse has agreed to fill the position of Director, Committee Strategic Planning and Development.  “The addition of Susanne to our team is a significant milestone.  We have grown to the point where we are adding members to our board and building committees to manage the organization.” states CRO president, Greg Bernardo.

The Director, Committee Strategic Planning and Development is responsible for communications, organization and structural progress of each committee.  As a developing organization, Susanne’s immediate challenge is to establish the rules and agenda for each committee.

Read more…

As a follow up to our manufacturers’ survey, ConsultantRegistry.org has begun a new survey for Security Systems Integrators.

www.consultantregistry.org/survey Read more…

ConsultantRegistry.Org recently released a survey to Security Industry Manufacturers.  More than 10% of the security industry’s manufacturers have already responded.

www.consultantregistry.org/survey Read more…

ConsultantRegistry.Org released their Fall Newsletter today.

The Newsletter is accessible from the CRO website at http://www.consultantregistry.org

ConsultantRegistry.Org is the only organization that supports the independent consultant in the converging markets of Security, IT, and Communication exclusively.

To help ConsultantRegistry.Org fund its initiatives, Henry Homrighaus, Jr. has graciously agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds from the 2nd release of his book titled “A Primer on Electronic Security for Schools, Universities & Institutions”. 

The Primer, originally published in 2006, was designed to assist educators, engineers, security personnel, and suppliers to address and resolve the issues of potential terrorism or other acts of violence or disruption in our educational institutions.

The Second Edition updates the Primer to include the multitude of changes the security industry has seen in the last three years such as the convergence of Security, IT & Communications and the maturity of the digital video market segment.  To update the Primer, the author Henry Homrighaus Jr. added co-authors Frank J. Davies and Greg Bernardo.

Greg Bernardo, president of ConsultantRegistry.Org offers, “As a new organization, CRO has several important priorities that demand time and resources.   Henry’s efforts to help ConsultantRegistry.org grow are greatly appreciated.”

Interested parties can learn more about Henry’s current book and upcoming second edition, at http://www.SchoolSecurityPrimer.com/

Read more…