The security industry has undergone remarkable technological transformation in recent years.
From basic access control systems to sophisticated, integrated ecosystems, the tools at our disposal have expanded dramatically. But having advanced technology isn't enough. Organizations must develop the capabilities to leverage these tools effectively.
Being capable means having the right mix of technologies, expertise, and systems to not just secure, but to optimize, innovate, and create value. It's about building the operational foundation to unlock more.
The Evolving Technological Landscape
The technical landscape has evolved significantly in recent years. With one of the most prominent shifts being the cloud.
The journey from on-premise deployments to cloud and hybrid models has introduced more layers of complexity than ever before.
The shift also brings cybersecurity to the forefront, transcending vertical-specific concerns to become a universal priority. Data protection, privacy, and sovereignty are now major concerns for organizations of all sizes.
At the heart of this evolution is the indispensable role of IT teams.
With security systems becoming increasingly interconnected, IT departments are no longer peripheral but paramount to vendor selection, system deployment, network provisioning, and facilitating integrations. This necessitates that IT has a permanent seat at the decision-making table.
Furthermore, there’s a big uptick of desire for integrated systems, akin to a hockey stick curve, as customers look to derive more value from their security system.
Without IT's involvement, such integrations are either impossible or become exceedingly difficult, time-consuming, and costly processes.
The Integration of Physical and Digital
There is growing desire for integrations between physical and digital security systems. Overwhelmingly that’s to implement single sign-on. This involves leveraging an organizations existing identity provider for single sign on to all systems with existing credentials and multifactor authentication policies.
In addition, organizations are looking to extend the use of physical or mobile credentials, typically used for access control, to other systems in the field, such as vending machines, vehicles, or machinery.
The core idea is to centralize the management of credentials, ensuring all security policies are consistently applied across multiple systems and eliminating insecure, fragmented access points. While this requires system integrations, the ultimate outcomes are higher security and enhanced convenience for End Users.
Building Capability
The true transformative potential of security emerges when organizations move beyond viewing it solely as a protective function.
The capabilities of modern security systems extend well beyond those traditional protective functions, making them capable platforms for diverse business functions.
We’re seeing businesses leverage these systems to manage governance, risk, and compliance standards by verifying qualifications and enforcing critical rules like fatigue management or exposure limits.
Operationally, they can streamline processes such as reconciling contractor hours by invoicing against the actual hours that contractors spend on site. They can also produce full-time equivalent workforce hours by monitoring and controlling remote assets to avoid callouts or guards driving around manually opening and closing facilities.
Security systems are also capable of contributing to sustainability and cost savings through the scheduling and automation of building services like lighting and HVAC.
Managing safety risks is another capability of security systems, they offer support for random drug and alcohol testing, vehicle safety, and PPE checks, and even temperature checks which was prevalent during Covid.
In high-risk industries like mining, security systems are capable of enforcing safety protocols, such as preventing underground blasting when personnel are in blast zones.
Additionally, these systems can generate valuable business intelligence, which is particularly attractive to organizations post-Covid. They help organizations understand space utilization, identifying where spaces might be over or under-utilized.
Modern access control systems are capable of addressing a wide spectrum of business problems across multi vertical markets. Focusing on broader organizational challenges, rather than just security concerns, often reveals these powerful, yet often unseen, capabilities.
The Human Element
While the capabilities of technology form the backbone of this transformation, the human element, expertise, is the catalyst that drives its success.
To leverage the advanced technologies available today, organizations must align and collaborate with multiple departments.
Beyond the critical involvement of IT, organizations should also lean on trusted advisers, such as security consultants, to help distil customer requirements, advising on solutions that genuinely meet organizational needs, and ensuring the selection of products that are future-proofed for seven to ten years and capable of supporting desired integrations.
Integrating with Human Resources (HR) is perhaps the most common system interface that we see in a security system. So, involving HR early ensures that these integrations support core business processes, including potential benefits like shift compliance monitoring.
Collaboration with health and safety personnel is equally important, as physical access systems are powerful tools for enforcing organizational policies.
Successful projects benefit greatly from a skilled business analyst. They help distil business requirements both functional and non-functional. A project manager is also important to coordinate with security integrators on the security project.
Highlighting how the system benefits these and other departments demonstrates greater overall value, which is often key to securing funding for larger projects.
When value is evident beyond the security team, implementation and adoption proceed more smoothly.
Overcoming the Legacy
Legacy security systems can cause all sorts of frustrations, making integration with modern products challenging, if not impossible.
A major pain point for customers is often the lack of clear insight into the age of their equipment or the risks associated with it. From a system integration perspective, integration isn’t possible in legacy systems or it is possible but with antiquated and complex methods that are difficult to maintain.
At Gallagher, we offer tools to alleviate these issues. Our Security Health Check tool identifies potential security risks, lists warranty risks, and recommends improvements. A built-in Warranty Report identifies hardware manufacturer dates and out-of-warranty equipment.
Furthermore, our Upgrade Tools within Command Centre allow for quick configuration transfer from old Gallagher hardware to new with just a click, drastically reducing manual configuration, downtime, and associated risks.
We also offer the QuickSwitch range for rapid hardware replacement of competitor legacy controllers, allowing a full panel swap and automated software configuration in approximately 10 minutes. This significantly minimizes changeover time and site disruption.
When building more capable security functions, looking for a system that can support both old and new hardware simultaneously is very important. This flexibility prevents the necessity of a single, costly, complete system overhaul.
Embracing Technology
To build a more capable security framework, businesses should look to systems that provide automation.
Operational inefficiencies can cost businesses upwards of 20 to 30% per year. That reality is driving change, with 56% of Gallagher End Users having implemented strategies to boost efficiencies through their security system.
Overwhelmingly we’re hearing that the number one operational efficiency that customers are deploying is automation.
Investing in systems with automation capability, will unlock significant efficiencies, making it a smart choice for both your current and future operational needs.
The proliferation of generative AI, specifically Agentic AI, also has the potential to significantly impact security capabilities in the next years. This AI can intelligently orchestrate complex environments, blending adaptability with operational precision that security needs. The result will be security systems that are smarter, more reliable, and more secure while also significantly more human friendly.
Agentic AI’s ability to understand intent and pass that context onto other systems, will expand what’s possible, leading to enhanced operator outcomes and simpler integrations.
The future of AI and physical security hinges on meaningful automation that balances intelligence and predictability to deliver real value.
Unlocking More
Embracing security’s technical evolution enables businesses to move beyond security’s basic protective functions to become a true catalyst for broader value creation.
It's not about implementing technology for technology's sake; it's about building the right mix of tools, expertise, and systems that enable your organization to do more with security.
The journey is complex, but the rewards of a fully integrated and strategically aligned security ecosystem are substantial, moving security from a cost centre to a value creator.