As 2016 rolls on, a number of factors and trends that will gain traction in the security sector, shaping the progression of the security sector, writes Neil Cameron, GM of Johnson Controls Building Efficiency. These include increased demand for integration, big data which will require automation and artificial intelligence, and the transformation of CCTV systems into a comprehensive operational tool.
Increased demand for integration
In 2016, the concept of technologies communicating to one another will no longer be a thing of the future. In addition, security management teams have reached a point where they will be looking for integrated solutions that not only communicate with one other, but also offer robust analytics that are capable of generating executable information. We will also learn that risk management teams want simplicity that improves their return on investment (RoI).
This means there will be a logical move from manual, people-based security systems that feed information through to operators and security managers toward security technology that is aligned with automated streams. It will transform traditional CCTV surveillance systems into a comprehensive operational tool, benefiting all areas within an organisation.
Integration will spread to other areas as well, and instead of being limited to two or three suppliers that are able to integrate with an organisation’s CCTV systems, open platforms will become a far bigger role player as they enable integration with multitude of systems.
This will result in better personalisation of security facilities, tailored to a customer’s specific needs.
Big data will require automation and artificial intelligence
Big data will be a driving force in the field of security, however, it is not an easy concept to understand and as such, processes will need to be established in the background that can formulate this data into meaningful, useful information.
This will result in higher automation and integration requirements for a security system, yet saying this, it will become easier and more cost effective to handle. Additionally, it delivers more value to the business and is more useful to the end users.
Integration and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication also results in big data as components that communicate with each other generate data, much more data. This information can become overwhelming, and organisations will reach a point where they will require artificial intelligence behind their systems. This artificial intelligence will be used to analyse data and identify potential security risks.
Behind-the-scenes automation can, through fuzzy network logic, look at algorithms to highlight areas of possible infringement and can allow the business to focus only on the higher risks, while ignoring other points in the building as those will have been identified as ‘normal’ activations.
Transformation of CCTV systems into comprehensive operational tool
All of this is changing the security mindset to one that looks beyond security, including other functions. Risk management teams will no longer be concerned with preventing incidents; they’ll be looking at how to add value from an operational perspective.
For example, in the case of a retail shopping mall, CCTV systems can be used to identify trends that highlight consumers’ preferences and movements, enabling retailers to arrange merchandise accordingly.
Bottlenecks at points of sale can be prevented and more cashiers dispatched. To cite another example, if a component on a mining conveyor belt fails, the correct measures can quickly be taken and an alert automatically sent to the operations manager to summon a maintenance team to repair the breakdown.
Security is not limited to businesses and the commercial sectors, the need to have a better sense of security and monitoring services in other sectors such as education will also see an increase, for security and operational purposes. This reflects the private sector’s desire for smart security.
2016 is going to be a big year trend-wise. Staying on top of the trends in the security industry will mean that organisations’ are better equipped to make important decisions and more likely to spot threats and identify opportunities for growth before the competition can.