Genetec publishes its forecasts for the physical security industry for the year 2024

Genetec, a leading global company in the development of integrated security solutions, public safety solutions, and business operations and intelligence, has announced its major predictions for the physical security industry in 2024.

The company highlights the growing interconnection between IT and physical security teams, anticipating increased collaboration in the coming year. The provision of these valuable skill sets is expected to more effectively mitigate risks and enhance data management across the entire organization.

Physical security leaders are progressively incorporating IT expertise into their departments. Concurrently, security operations teams are expanding their roles to address physical security risks and leverage data from both skill sets. The IT department will increasingly take on the responsibility of providing physical security within its domain and commence overseeing physical security tasks across the organization.

The need for unified and cloud-connected physical security solutions is on the rise due to increased collaboration and synergy between different departments. This integrated and connected approach will empower specialized teams to obtain a comprehensive view of systems and evolving threats, enabling more efficient use of data.

Access control updates will continue to be a top priority in technology investments throughout 2024. To streamline system upgrades, many organizations will transition to a hybrid cloud model, deploying access control solutions that support cloud functionality. This will provide continuous updates for innovation and cybersecurity, enhancing security measures from doors to networks.

There will be an increased demand for open-access control solutions as well. Companies are increasingly seeking flexibility to add and integrate the best available technologies, including building management systems, life safety solutions, and even mobile phone credential data.

Many organizations will reach a tipping point in managing separate video and access control systems. In their pursuit of greater efficiency, business leaders will take decisive steps to unify systems, simplifying monitoring and maintenance tasks, leading to increased productivity and cost savings across the enterprise.

The adoption of hybrid cloud solutions is expected to significantly increase in the physical security industry next year, especially in medium and large enterprises.

Recent research conducted by Genetec, involving more than 5500 physical security specialists, indicates that 44% of organizations already manage over a quarter of their physical security operations in a cloud or mixed cloud environment.

Additionally, 60% of surveyed organizations prefer the hybrid cloud as a long-term strategy.

With the growing adoption of cloud technologies, there will be an increased focus on new delivery and operation devices that support the cloud. These devices will not only simplify access to cloud services but also enhance edge computing capabilities.

There will also be a heightened focus on using cloud data, leading to increased associated costs. Users will increasingly turn to cloud-managed devices for storing heavy data such as videos.

Organizations will seek to acquire expertise from distribution partners to explore use cases beyond security, maximizing investments in hybrid cloud.

This will create a profitable opportunity for distribution partners as they focus on value-added services to help their clients overcome new challenges, all while generating sustainable recurring business.

The proliferation of industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices and the associated data will lead to increased demand for analytics. The market is currently experiencing a surge in the deployment of physical security devices and sensors for IIoT.

Companies across various industries are adopting these technologies not only to increase data diversity in their security operations but also to break down the silos between systems and recover valuable information.

It is worth mentioning that organizations opting for an open architecture relying on application programming interfaces (APIs), alongside a unified approach, will reap maximum benefits from this trend over time.

This will enable the integration of multiple data sources and their analysis to guide new strategies and boost revenues across all technology investments.

With the continued growth in available data, many organizations will seek ways to digitize and automate workflows to support operators.

As a result, there will be an increasing demand for physical security solutions with embedded analytics, automation tools, and visual information dashboards.