Turning Point: Study Shows Physical Security Evolving In The Age Of Technological Disruption

Digital innovations are reshaping building security, providing data centralization, increased collaboration and an enhanced user experience. 

According to Brivo’s 2024 Top Global Security Trends report, technologies such as facial authentication, cloud systems and artificial intelligence are pushing the industry forward. But while many industry professionals are eager to embrace what comes next, many are concerned that their existing systems aren't capable of supporting future advanced and integrated needs.

In the survey, nearly 40% of respondents reported little confidence in their current security systems, yet about 50% of respondents also reported feeling resistant to change because new technologies may disrupt security systems already in place. This fear may be fueled by a variety of factors, but the risk of adopting these new technologies outweighs the risk of being left behind, said Kerstin Demko, vice president of marketing at Brivo, a worldwide leader in cloud-based access control and smart building technology.

“What we see now is that security organizations are starting to realize they need to centralize its physical operations and its tech stack to create a ‘single pane of glass.’ Security cannot be a separate practice within an organization anymore,” Demko said. “But now they’re asking, ‘How do we take security and embed it within the overall practice of the whole organization? How can we trust these modern systems?’”

To forge more trust and companywide cohesion, companies are prioritizing integrating security systems in a multidisciplinary fashion, touching all sections of a business, Demko said. This will help them centralize data and prepare for a seamless adoption and integration of new technologies when the time comes. 

It boils down to the need for increased collaboration and communication within companies, she said.

“It's about coming together and evaluating all of these solutions to industrywide challenges, whether it's a human resources solution, a guard solution or a parking garage solution,” Demko said. “Companies are now saying, ‘Let's have one big picture about what we need to secure our facilities.’”

The report also revealed that many organizations are considering forming security operations centers to help consolidate security measures and centralize operations while making sure they are up to date on all of the latest technologies and best practices. Many of the latest technological solutions revolve around AI, which remains an uneasy subject for some security practitioners.

Uncertainty surrounding AI’s capabilities and how to effectively implement it into daily practice is the “topic du jour,” Demko said. Only 36% of respondents to Brivo’s survey said they had strong confidence in their organization’s ability to understand and leverage AI and automation. Their hesitancy mainly stems from lack of budget and limited expertise, as well as perceived maintenance costs. 

But as more companies take the leap into the future and adopt AI-driven products and applications, reservations and worries will be pushed aside, Demko predicted.  

“You're going to see AI integrated into different pieces of how we go to market and how we build products,” she said. “There's a spectrum of artificial intelligence capabilities that we're going to see. Some of it is going to be analyzing data and making quicker decisions, and some is going to be natural language search.”

Demko said the security industry is already seeing natural language search enter the equation through platforms like ChatGPT and similar tools that can deliver useful information and accelerate the delivery of security solutions. It will not be a singular intelligence tool that does everything, but rather a gradual integration that will ultimately improve efficiency by saving capital and valuable time.

The Brivo team is already using AI in products like Snapshot, which takes the best frame of a video at an entrance to a building and checks against a database of people authorized to enter the building. Brivo’s Anomaly Detection flags potential security risks by using machine learning algorithms to monitor suspicious activity, she said. 

“The report found that a major goal for the industry is to improve user experience,” she said. “At Brivo, we're already doing these types of machine learning and artificial intelligence practices within our products to make them better.”

The final trend sweeping the security industry is the increased importance of chief security officers. In Brivo’s report, 74% of respondents said CSOs now have a more important role than they did previously, largely due to the increased frequency of cyberattacks and the pandemic restructuring the workplace. 

Although the industry is recognizing CSOs’ importance, several obstacles remain, including a lack of budget and a perceived lower importance than other executives and leaders at the table. 

“The influence that the CSOs and other security leaders are going to have in the IT space is going to accelerate, and we think that's a great thing because if we don't do it now, people are going to get left behind,” she said. “Collaboration between all kinds of leadership within an organization is going to happen, and it’s going to propel change and advance the industry forward.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Brivo and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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