The security industry is evolving, and multiple disruptive factors are driving systemic changes. Three new research reports from the Security Industry Association (SIA) highlight the current state of the industry – including market confidence, global market size and employment statistics and how systems integrators are adapting to the challenges presented by new technologies, business models and external societal factors.
Security Market Index: Business Conditions on the Uptick
Confidence remains solid in the security industry, with nearly three in four respondents to the March-April 2024 SIA Security Market Index (SMI) research report rating current business conditions as positive – and almost a third describing them as “excellent.” The SMI measures security industry executives’ current status and future expectations through a select survey of SIA members. The index – which was measured at 54 in this latest report – is calculated using a proprietary formula based on three-month projections related to five key business components. Key focus areas and findings in the report include industry leaders’ perspectives on expected business conditions for the next three months, projected spending changes in select areas, insights on economic growth as the Federal Reserve considers interest rate cuts and thoughts on what ISC West means to security industry businesses ahead of the 2024 expo and conference.
Complexities in the Global Security Market
How many people work in the security sector worldwide? What is driving growth in the security equipment market? What trends are making the greatest impacts? A unique new partnership study from SIA and ASIS International answers these questions in more. Complexities in the Global Security Market: 2024 Through 2026 is a new research report, produced for SIA and ASIS members with insights from global analytics and advisory firm Omdia, examines the equipment, technologies and employment of the global security industry, including regional market breakouts and global security industry market size. Key findings include:
- The global physical security equipment market is expected to be worth $60.1 billion in 2024, as the industry continues to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic and grow to $70 billion by 2026.
- The overall physical security equipment and services market is much larger, totaling $405 billion in 2023 and projected to grow to nearly $500 billion by 2026.
- The physical security market employs more than 30 million people worldwide, with 210,000 of those being in the equipment market, about 7.87 million in the services market and 22.6 million working as security end users.
Additionally, the report offers stats on the size of the security technology market by region, revenue from the global security market, security industry employment, the market outlook for video surveillance equipment and access control technologies, the physical security market size and more.
The Adaptation of the Systems Integrator
Security systems integrators specialize in installing, combining and maintaining physical security systems. They need to adapt to the challenges being brought about via new technologies, business models and external societal factors. The Evolving Security Industry: The Adaptation of the Systems Integrator – a new report produced for SIA by Novaira Insights – looks in more detail at the changes, suggests potential strategies for integrators to adapt and provides the end-user perspective. The report is free for SIA members and can be purchased by nonmembers.
Top challenges faced by security integrators and identified in the report include:
- HR challenges and training: The report identifies better training and education of existing security employes and attracting new talent to the industry as top challenges for security integrators today. Additionally, the industry faces general hiring issues and challenges with retaining staff and meeting wage demands. Potential solutions include offering structured and progressive training programs, particularly covering emerging technologies impacting the security industry, and recruiting apprentices and qualified professionals from other disciplines, offering them incentives into the industry.
- The changing role of the security integrator: Trends such as cloud technology and business models, AI and IoT are disrupting the traditional system integrator role in many areas, including how integrators are involved in system design and installation, maintenance, system refresh, fulfillment, billing and value creation. Potential solutions include shifting from being a systems integrator to a security managed service provider and offering end users a modern, advanced app experience.
- Threats from outside industry: Some physical security vendors and manufacturers are already performing parts of the role traditionally performed by security integrators and are likely to be joined in the future by organizations from outside the industry – including big tech organizations, telcos, IT managed service providers, AV integrators and large end users moving more responsibility in house. Potential solutions include adding value beyond the sum of the parts (for example, cloud architecture allows for potential integrator value-add to come from their own additions to end-to-end solutions via more standardized cloud integrations). Additionally, poor customer understanding of cybersecurity is an opportunity for cybersecurity-related offerings as value-add, billable services.
In addition to diving more into these key challenges our industry is experiencing today, the research report shares exclusive stats and findings on long-term trends critical to the evolution of the security industry, future disruptors and how integrators can succeed and respond to the new market landscape.
