From branding to succession planning, CSIA Best Practices and Benchmarks is a comprehensive, thoroughly vetted manual to help you build a better business.
The BP Manual is a:
It is unique to the SI industry, so it is concise and to-the-point.
The manual is comprehensive, covering nearly all aspects of running an SI business.
It identifies what practices you should incorporate, while allowing you to decide how to implement them.
You don’t have to search for all the right things to do in managing an SI company. The BP manual lays it all out for you.
Most SI companies are started and run by people who excel at technical know-how, but who may not be business savvy. The CSIA Best Practices fills that void.
The practices in the manual minimize trial-and-error learning.
The manual is a basis for most processes and procedures in an SI company, so it saves you time. Processes and procedures lead to increased efficiency and profits.
Plus, it’s regularly tested by a committee of seasoned system integrators, auditors and end users as part of a continuous review and improvement process.
In short, the BP Manual is your ultimate playbook for running a successful SI business.
The CSIA Best Practices and Benchmarks manual (BP Manual) is the industry standard for successful management of a control system integration business.
It’s written by SIs for SIs.
Plus, it covers every aspect of an SI business – from tip to tail:
The CSIA Best Practices and Benchmarks version 6.1 is updated to reflect advances to all sections in general and significant improvements and additions have been made to General Management to include a section on business ethics; Sales and Marketing to further differentiate between sales and marketing and expound upon the various facets of marketing; and Cybersecurity to build upon and clarify this rapidly evolving segment of the industry.
Version 6.1 was released in 2023. BP 6.1 Chair Tony Valasek explains what’s new in this episode of Talking Industrial Automation.
Curious about what’s new in the latest Best Practices Manual? BP 6.1 Chair Tony Valasek recaps the major changes below and answers some FAQs. (You can download the pdf and read it later.)
The main change to this section is the addition of a new section on Business Ethics (1.4). Many system integrators are now being asked about this in proposal prequalification documents. Currently no items in the section are audited.
The Business Risk Management section (1.3.4) was also updated to include cybersecurity attacks.
The Recruitment and Selection section (2.2.1) was updated to include drug screening, authorization to work, and non-compete/trade secret agreements.
The Performance Management section (2.3.1) was updated to include additional metrics to track and continuously track/monitor progress between formal reviews.
The Safety section (2.8) was updated to include a list of safety training topics by role and considerations for contract responsibilities.
The major changes to Section 3 revolved around the idea that sales and marketing are separate functions within a company that work together. Both the sales and marketing portions were updated to current trends.
The existing marketing portion was also expanded to give it more emphasis.
The Proposal Development section (3.7.1) was added to the list of auditable items. This expands contractual language addressing ownership of integrator-developed solutions.
Minor updates in this section to broaden standards beyond GAAP specific requirements and include more clarity around qualified professionals reviewing finances.
A few items were added related to planning for supply chain issues. The Project Quality Assurance (5.12) was moved from Section 8 to this section, and a new area called Agile Project Management Considerations (5.14) was added.
Details around Master Service Agreements (MSA) and Purchase Orders/Statement of Work documents have also been added.
The Procurement Management section now includes some considerations of inventory management.
Internal & External Kickoff section (6.1.1) was rewritten and should be reviewed in its entirety. The requirements section (6.2.3) includes details around protecting your company from liability if the client doesn’t review or approve system requirements.
The Internal Design Reviews section (6.3.2) was rewritten and should be reviewed in its entirety.
A Closure (6.11) section was added to address proper communications and warranty considerations.
The major changes in Section 7 consisted of clarifying business process definitions and the ownership of those processes, as well as edits to Configuration Management to use terminology used within the industry and align more with its types of deliverables.
It now includes support by all levels of management, recognition for employee contribution, and a system for regular review of existing standards and templates.
Some consideration was given to the support of a remote workforce (7.8.5).
This section had some significant updates to make it more focused on core quality principles and stay current with quality management trends.
Project Quality Assurance was moved to Section 5, and Support and Service Quality Assurance to Section 9.
The major changes in Section 9 consisted of adding content and defining service and support services. The modifications clarify why service and support services are different from project work and why they need to be managed differently.
This section also now includes an escalation method if the resource can’t solve the problem.
Multiple sections were rearranged and rewritten to allow for better flow and understanding, but the overall structure remains unchanged. The section has been updated to reflect the current state of technology and current cybersecurity standards such as ISO 27001, NIST Cybersecurity framework, along with the knowledge and experience of CSIA integrators.
Some requirements were removed to focus on the IT systems of the integrator rather than deliverables to clients.
This includes more focus on the security of the information of both the integrator and the customer.
The BP Committee also added requirements in the use of services in the cloud.
It depends on your business and services being provided. The best approach is to read and understand each section and then look at your business on where your biggest risk or opportunities for improvement are, then start improving in one or two areas.
Continuous improvement is key for a company and very effective with a guide that reflects the best practice of leading system integrators. Whether you are certified or not: You can start with V6.1 immediately after release.
Send single chapters to your different departments and have them read the new content and let them work on improving their procedures accordingly.
As of December 31, 2023, you will need to be certified (or recertified) on V6.1.
Correct, the new level has moved to letters instead of numbers, and they are as follows: Level A – From $750K to $5MM in annual revenue,
Level B – From $5MM to $15MM in annual revenue, and
Level C – Anything above $15MM in annual revenue.
The only impact is that some integrators will now have a lower threshold to pass since they will now be considered a Level A instead of a Level B integrator or a Level B integrator instead of a Level C integrator.
Yes, when you let CSIA know that you would like to prepare for an audit, staff will forward you an electronic copy of the V6.1 manual as well as the V6.1 Audit Prep File.
At the back of the V6.1 manual, in the Appendix section, there is a V5 to V6.1 change matrix to show you what has changed.
In some cases, it may just be wording changes, other cases, a section may have moved, and in other cases a section may have been added or removed.
Contact either your CSIA auditor or someone on the Best Practices Committee, and they will be able to answer your questions directly or get the answer for you.
Remote audits are available for all certifications. There are currently no restrictions imposed on the availability of remote audits.
You are empowered to select between an in-person or remote audit (it is your choice). Remote audits remain a viable option, also for new BP pilot audits.
CSIA Best Practices provides guidance for what procedures and guidelines are good to have for your system integration company. ISO 9001 requires a company to adhere to the procedures they have in place but doesn’t provide guidance for what should be in place.
Yes, for smaller organizations, the same people typically perform both sales and marketing. As an organization grows, it becomes more important to split the activities into different departments.
No, version control is a key component of configuration management, but Configuration Management is much more than just version control. Configuration Management is the overall plan for managing change within all deliverables and systems used for development and delivery.
CSIA Certification is the capstone of implementing the Best Practices. It’s a rigorous process, but worth it! Learn more about it – including a white paper that shows CSIA Certified means proven results!
The BP Workshop is held in person once per year in conjunction with the CSIA Conference, typically in May or June. Mark your calendar for the next one!
See the people who make the manual happen. Maybe you want to join them?
The certification has made us much better businesspeople. And I’m very thankful that we have a roadmap to say, “If we follow this, we will get better.” And then lo and behold, you follow it, and you get better. And one of the things CSIA says is, “You get 10 ideas, and you give one.” And it is. It’s organized support for our industry.
Interstates has been tied in with CSIA for a long time. There’s a saying often thrown around at the CSIA conference, “You give one idea, you get 10 in return.” Interstates bought into that early on and, after having been at Interstates 11 years, I’ve personally seen it. We’ve been CSIA Certified 8 times since the early 2000s. The Best Practices make us better, and we continue to see value and invest in them.
We’re very proud to be part of CSIA and we’ve gotten a lot out of it over the years…The certification program has been very good for us, and I highly recommend it not only for my systems integrator counterparts but certainly for customers looking for a partner. It’s a great place to start because it’s a great baseline that tells you, “OK, I’m looking at a group of businesses that have been evaluated.
