With the changing channel, lightning-speed advancements in technology and other pressures, security integrators have no shortage of challenges going forward in 2025; but the flip side of challenge is opportunity, and those interviewed for this report were overall very optimistic about the outlook for 2025 and beyond.

Here we take a look at three of the biggest opportunities in the coming year, which not coincidentally mirror some of the top trends: AI & business intelligence, cloud and hybrid cloud, and video monitoring.

AI & Business Intelligence. With an increasing focus on video cameras as a means to provide business intelligence and the rapid advance of AI tools, many in the industry see this as one of the top opportunities in the coming years.

 “Our biggest opportunity in the next year is the continued implementation of AI software and its use-cases for various market-specific challenges,” says Mark Barbaric, senior vice president, Prosegur, Herndon, VA.

 Tim Hobbs, director of video sales engineering, Owl Services, Gaylord, MI, says his company is using AI today in terms of cash register data. “We do very well turning point-of-sale data to the video,” he continues. “Now we have predictive indexes that help judge when someone is going to steal. It helped cut out employee theft over night. We designed some really good AI tools in the cloud and customers are looking to roll out to their chain nationwide.”

 Josh Dice, president and CEO of Security Alarm Corp., Salem, IL, adds, “One of the things we try to do here is when we are talking video with our customers it is not always about security, but about how can we help them run their businesses better. We are always trying to talk about that and show them when they can do, not just for security, but for quality control, or for keeping an eye on machines, and all those things that aren’t necessarily security-related.”

 Christopher Zenaty, president, Turing AI, San Jose, CA, says his company has high expectations for 2025, in large measure because of the change from reactive to proactive when it comes to the ability to inform customers about what is happening. “The change in the video surveillance industry from you record it so you can see what happens, to now we are using AI to watch it and inform you exactly when it is happening so you can do something about it, is a pivotal, massive change. That will be ongoing from 2025-2027, but it really starts to happen in 2025.”

 Fredrick Nilsson, vice president, Americas, Axis Communications, Chelmsford, MA, and others also point to the huge interest in the technology from outside the security industry as something that will also help drive it forward. “The continued interest and investment in fields like computer vision from major IT companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft will have profound implications for the video surveillance industry,” he says. “Their contributions to AI will help push the boundaries of what is possible, creating new opportunities for automation, security and business intelligence in the market.”

 Tim Palmquist, vice president, Americas, Milestone Systems, Lake Oswego, OR, agrees. “Also exciting is the unprecedented interest from technology companies that historically might not have given this industry a second look. These new players are bringing fresh perspectives and innovative technologies that aren’t constrained by legacy thinking. This injection of new ideas, particularly around AI and automation, will expand opportunities. It’s a sign that the security industry has reached a scale that’s attracting new attention from new technology innovators.

“Personally, I believe we’re going to see entirely new use cases and value streams emerge that we haven’t thought of before,” he adds. “When you combine smart people finding new ways to extract value from this data with new AI tools to analyze it, that’s where the real transformation is going to happen. It’s not just about better security anymore. It’s about turning that data into actionable business insights.”

Eric Salava, chief revenue officer, Verkada, San Mateo, CA, says video security as a strategic business enabler is one of the top expectations he sees coming up. “The video security market will continue to grow in importance to organizations well beyond just security and safety. As business leaders recognize this value, pitching video security as visual intelligence and a strategic business enabler will open up previously constrained investments,” he predicts.

“AI is transforming the video security technology in ways that were hard to imagine just a few years ago,” Salava adds. “Today we’re using AI to set alerts for specific behavior and to track down footage in seconds; but this technology is quickly evolving. This is incredibly exciting. As this technology continues to evolve, we expect to see new capabilities and features that help organizations proactively identify and prevent potential threats, shifting the focus from responding to incidents, to stopping them before they happen.”

Cloud & Hybrid Cloud. With today’s options in the world of cloud, including a variety of architectures designed to fit a multitude of customer needs, and the potential RMR opportunities it creates for the security integrator, it is no surprise that this is another opportunity many see as truly opening up in the coming years.

“For dealers building that recurring base, the more they can build that, the more stable their business will be,” says Brad McMullen, president of products and solutions business, 3xLOGIC, Pacom and Sonitrol, Fishers, Ind. “That helps offset some of the peaks and valleys. And certainly with all of the mergers and acquisitions, that recurring base is also a very good valuation metric for dealers. If you are looking to build a business, the more you build that [RMR], not only is it more recession-proof, but it also increases your valuation.”

McMullen also predicts the cost of chips, and of cloud storage will come down as volume grows, which will also help with economies of scale.

Zenaty encourages security dealers and integrators to look towards the cloud — the sooner the better, even before this occurs. “Years ago when video went from analog to IP, some people thought IP was never going anywhere. A lot of those guys are out of business now or could never catch up. I think the cloud is similar. … The adoption of cloud video is moving significantly faster than the adoption of IP cameras in the early 2000s.

“The business opportunity for integrators is the ones who start to adopt the concept that video is moving to the cloud will be able to capture that market share much faster than the others, because the end users are asking for it. …The opportunity is for integrators to adopt it earlier and not have to end up playing catch up.”

I don’t see many major challenges that could slow the growth of the video market in 2025, but companies will need to adapt to the changes created by technology.

Tom Cook, executive vice president of sales, marketing and operations, North America, for Hanwha Vision, Teaneck, N.J., agrees. “I don’t see many major challenges that could slow the growth of the video market in 2025, but companies will need to adapt to the changes created by technology. Cloud-based systems have finally taken hold, but people are still evaluating and asking themselves: ‘Do I want to push my surveillance to the cloud or stay with an on-prem system? Can I do a hybrid system?’ Ultimately it will be similar to choosing an electric, gas or hybrid car. Eventually we’ll move to electric but for now more people are comfortable with a hybrid option. I see a similar approach when we talk to our end users [about cloud video].

“I think that’s where you are going to see the market reside for a while before ultimately pushing more toward the cloud,” he adds. “It will happen; it will just take time.”

Video Monitoring. This technology just keeps growing in interest both from end users and from dealers and integrators. The opportunity was big enough that last year’s annual Barnes Buchanan conference devoted a good amount of time to explaining both why and how attendees should consider it. And 63 percent of the 2025 SDM Industry Forecast respondents are already doing just that, with another 47 percent planning to offer it in the next two years.

One such company is Security Alarm Corp., Dice says. “One of our goals is to install one video alarm monitoring system per week,” he explains. “At the end of 2025 I want 52 video monitored systems. It is a different way of thinking about an intrusion system. It is not your normal thing, but I really believe that is where the market is going. In five or 10 years, I don’t think we are going to install motion sensors. We have some pretty good incentives to help try to motivate our sales guys to sell and customers to latch onto it.”

One part of that offering, he explains, is health monitoring of systems, servers and cameras. “So many people don’t realize they have a problem until they go to play their video back and realize it isn’t there,” he says.

Jon Adams, vice president of sales, DMP, Springfield, Mo., agrees video monitoring is something integrators should seriously look at. “One of the biggest opportunities for integrators in the next year is to implement analytics, specifically those that report to the monitoring center. They need to avoid creating a further chasm between their monitoring services and video services. It’s not the same today as it was even five years ago, when it was very complex for a monitoring center to monitor video. You had to have separate servers. That’s just not the way it is today.”

Adams cautions, however, that it isn’t something you can just try and stop if it doesn’t work. “So the opportunity is that you can implement video services in an easier, lower cost manner with your monitoring center, but you can’t abandon it. If you do, you’re not helping solve the false alarm problem.”

Dice is optimistic that his goal is realistic, adding that overall upgrades are also an opportunity in general. “There is still a huge potential for upgrades of existing systems, going back to our existing customers and demonstrating new technology and the huge untapped potential.”

Barbaric sees a similar upside to 2025, no matter which new technology is being offered. “Prosegur is very optimistic about 2025, as we are seeing end users being more educated and informed on the cost-benefit of upgrading their technology infrastructure to address their specific needs. There is not a better time to upgrade legacy systems that are failing and are costly to maintain.”