The security industry today is very different from how it was just a few years ago, and it continues to redefine itself. Moving away from mere security considerations in isolation, factors such as technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and more are shaping today’s industry.
As we quickly approach the latter half of the year, now is a good time to look at some of the trends that are shaping the security industry and consider what these might mean for incumbents.
According to recent figures, AI in the security market was valued at US$5.08 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$14.18 billion by 2026. Indeed, for several years running, artificial intelligence (AI) has been the predominant trend as companies continue to leverage its advanced capabilities for functions such as facial recognition, video surveillance, audio analytics, and more.
More recently, we have seen a shift towards AI being used as a preventative rather than a reactive measure, meaning that security teams can stop incidents taking place in the first place thanks to things like predictive analytics and machine learning.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the move towards cloud-based security and monitoring. According to a recent report by Calipsa, 75% of businesses surveyed said that they are now using cloud-based video analytics for security purposes, an increase of 8% when compared with 2020.
Cloud technology enables organizations to become more agile in their approach to security, putting them in a better position to respond to emerging challenges and scale their approach with organizational growth. It’s also far more adaptable than legacy security solutions. For example, cloud-based identity management technology can be integrated with the latest developments in biometric access control in real-time to enable faster and more secure authentication.
When it comes to entrance control, the last few decades have seen us move a long way from keys, pin codes, and ID cards. It’s now more commonly the case that organizations are instead relying on biometric solutions to manage it, such as facial recognition systems that unlock doors as an authorised user approaches them.
Biometric systems bring with them many advantages. They’re more efficient because they can verify in less than a second and they’re more secure because they are much harder to trick or counterfeit. These and other factors are going to see biometrics proliferate within entrance control during the next few years.
The term ‘zero trust’ is often used in cybersecurity to describe a philosophy of “never trust, always verify”—in other words, it eliminates the concept of trust from an organization’s network and forces everyone, no matter who they are, to verify their credentials.
This concept is gradually making its way into the realm of physical security and access control as the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to blur the lines between physical and cyber security. Indeed, with more physical security devices connected over the Internet than ever before, cybersecurity has become an immense challenge for the physical security industry, and it’s concepts like zero trust that will help firms stay ahead of threat factors.
The COVID-19 pandemic had huge implications for privacy, and the use of tracking technology and other data-driven tools by governments worldwide has led to consumers being understandably more concerned about it. Given that the number one goal of any physical security solution is to protect your people and assets, you shouldn’t underestimate the role your organization now plays in building public trust.
The heightened sensitivities of the public around privacy means that the physical security industry is now having to do more to address it and find appropriate solutions. For organizations that see this as an opportunity rather than a challenge, privacy could prove to be the driving force behind forward-thinking strategies, such as privacy-first system design, and become a catalyst for further growth.
Ready to get ahead of these trends?
Newmark Security is the leading provider of electronic and physical security systems. From advanced access control systems for secure environments to human capital management systems, our solutions help to protect your personnel and guarantee the safety of your critical assets.
If you would like to learn more about how smart physical security solutions could help you get ahead of the latest trends and protect your bottom line, contact the Newmark team today for more information.
