The modern security industry is built long before products arrive on a job site. It begins in conversations between architects, consultants, engineers, owners, and trusted advisors shaping the future of infrastructure during the earliest phases of design. That is the world The ACE Alliance was written for.
Inspired by years of experience working alongside the Architectural, Consulting, and Engineering community, and expanded through the publishing platform The ACE Guide, this book explores the strategies, relationships, and technical fluency required to successfully navigate one of the most influential sectors in the built environment.
The ACE Alliance: Navigating the Art of Selling to Architects, Consultants, and Engineers is not a traditional sales book. It is a field guide for professionals who understand that long-term influence is earned through trust, collaboration, technical competency, and the ability to create value throughout the lifecycle of a project. In the ACE world, success is rarely transactional. The professionals who shape specifications and infrastructure decisions are looking for trusted partners who understand design intent, operational requirements, resilience, risk, and the realities of construction.
The book draws from real-world experience supporting enterprise campuses, data centers, critical infrastructure, healthcare, transportation, education, and corporate environments where security intersects with architecture, engineering, operations, and business continuity. It examines how modern projects increasingly demand collaboration between physical security, cybersecurity, operational technology, life safety, and infrastructure resilience teams.
Through both the book and The ACE Guide platform, Christopher Hills explores how the security industry continues evolving beyond hardware and installation toward integrated conversations involving digital transformation, cyber-physical convergence, AI-driven infrastructure, operational resilience, ESG considerations, and long-term infrastructure governance. The platform itself was created to serve as an ongoing resource for professionals seeking insight into the relationships, strategies, and technical considerations shaping the future of the AEC and security industries.
Readers are introduced to topics including upstream influence, Division 28 specifications, BIM and Revit workflows, consultant engagement, project lifecycle strategy, data center security integration, and the importance of building credibility with the design community. Rather than focusing on short-term tactics, The ACE Alliance emphasizes the importance of becoming part of the project ecosystem early, when ideas, standards, and infrastructure decisions are still being formed.
At its core, the book reflects a simple principle that defines the ACE community: projects are built on relationships long before they are built with materials.
For manufacturers, consultants, integrators, engineers, project managers, and security professionals seeking to better understand the ACE environment, The ACE Alliance and The ACE Guide offer a practical, experience-driven perspective on how trust, collaboration, and technical leadership shape the future of security and infrastructure design.