The State of Physical Security: 5 Predictions for the year ahead
Genetec have released the sixth edition of their annual State of Physical Security Report. Here are their predictions for the year ahead, based on insights from over 5,600 physical security professionals.
1. Cloud Adoption: Pragmatism trumps hype
Almost half (48%) of end users in Europe ranked ageing outdated physical security and/or IT infrastructure as a top challenge.
As a result, while the adoption of cloud-based security infrastructure continues, organisations are becoming increasingly strategic about exactly how and where they deploy the cloud in their environment.
According to the report, 43% of end users envision hybrid deployments as their preferred approach within the next five years, compared with just 18% favouring fully cloud-based implementations and 17% planning to remain fully on premises.
This preference for hybrid-cloud is also echoed by consultants and channel partners, with 66% of consultants planning to recommend hybrid deployments in the next five years.
- Intelligent Automation (IA): Key to AI success
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into physical security systems is a promising development and one end users are eager to explore (10% did in 2024 and 37% plan to in 2025). However, concerns regarding privacy, ethics, and data bias still persist.
AI-enabled security solutions can be game-changing, especially when organisations identify key operational challenges and then solve them using intelligent automation (IA), intuitive user experience (intuitive UX), and automation. Effective implementation is also grounded in responsible AI practices, ensuring the technology remains ethical and transparent.
This strategy ensures that the partners developing AI technologies and the organisations using them evaluate the systems, maximising trust and compliance while minimising risks.
Moreover, physical security teams who integrate AI into their security systems will seek outcome-driven benefits, including automated event detection through video analytics and streamlined emergency responses. By filtering and classifying events for human assessment and identifying process improvements, IA can transform data overload into actionable intelligence.
- Regulatory Compliance: A top priority
Compliance has become a critical focus for security leaders as both cybersecurity threats and regulatory requirements continue to grow. Recent data shows record-breaking costs of data breaches in 2024, underscoring the need for strong compliance measures.
Key regulations such as GDPR, SOC II Type II, and NIS2 are shaping how organisations approach data protection strategies, particularly as security systems rely on interconnected networks and cloud storage. In fact, 67% of end users said their organisation was affected by these regulations, a big jump from just 13% in 2023.
In 2025, we are likely to see more organisations focusing on strengthening cyber hygiene practices, improving data encryption, and aligning with international and industry-specific regulatory requirements.
- Cross-Team Collaboration: Crucial for success
72% of channel partners anticipate hiring challenges to continue, which may explain why tools that help with ‘data analysis and visualisation’, and ‘improve collaboration between teams’, rank among the top five projects for 2025.
As staffing shortages and budget constraints persist, collaboration between security, IT, facilities, and other departments will become essential for effective security management.
Work management software can help with cross-team collaboration, as it centralises information to improve communication with work dispatching, and resource management, as well as with reports and audits. Meanwhile, digital evidence management tools make it quicker and simpler for teams to collect, review and securely share footage with authorised third parties such as the police.
- Organisations will ask more of their physical security systems
Physical security, traditionally viewed as a cost centre, holds valuable data about the flow of people, assets and vehicles. This is why it is increasingly shared with IT departments.
However, security systems are often underutilised within organisations, a phenomenon known as the ‘Consumption Gap’ – a common challenge organisations face in fully understanding how to leverage the technology. Integrations between security systems, other IoT devices, and operational technologies can fundamentally add value to wider operations. Could 2025 be the year this is increasingly embraced, enabling physical security professionals to present a clearer ROI for proposed investments?
Conclusion
It’s evident organisations are embracing a significant digital transformation, with a strong commitment to updating old legacy systems and enhancing cybersecurity best practices. And despite over half of respondents reporting 100% on-premises deployments of physical security, there is a growing interest in hybrid deployments that can help tackle upcoming challenges more effectively.
You can download the Genetec report
State of Physical Security
www.genetec.com/a/physical-security-report
Nick Smith
Regional Sales Director,
UK & Ireland, Genetec.
