Video surveillance continues to evolve from a stand-alone security function — viewed as an after-the-fact, evidence collection tool — into a fully integrated, intelligence-driven component of unified security solutions. In 2025, that evolution accelerated as organizations moved decisively away from siloed technologies and toward platforms capable of delivering measurable business value, presenting opportunity and growth for manufacturers and integrators.

Alex Castaneda-Ballard, corporate vice president of sales, North America video security and access control, Motorola Solutions, Chicago, says a key theme across 2025 was the integration of video security solutions to better understand and respond to security events. “Bringing together video security, access control, environmental sensors and other systems into one cohesive view allowed security operators to define and automate workflows that helped them escalate and focus on the most critical events,” he says. This convergence is reshaping not only how security teams respond to incidents, but how organizations extract insight from their physical environments.

As integration deepens, interoperability has emerged as both a priority and a pressure point for the industry. From this perspective, Leo Levit, chairman, ONVIF, San Ramon, Calif., has observed a growing recognition that multi-vendor deployments require standardized approaches to ensure systems can communicate effectively. “The awareness of open systems and avoiding vendor lock-in is definitely growing,” he says. That shift reflects a more mature market, one in which end users and integrators alike are demanding scalability and long-term architectural freedom.

At the same time, these technology and architectural shifts are fundamentally changing how video surveillance is valued inside organizations. “Security systems are rapidly shifting from cost centers to revenue drivers thanks to new, intelligent technologies, impacting company bottom lines for the better,” says Ian Siemer, vice president, product and marketing, OpenEye, Liberty Lake, Wash. “This transition redefines ‘return on investment,’ transforming physical security from a static cost center into a dynamic engine for actionable business insight and strategic value.”

Together, these forces set the stage for a video surveillance market that is not only healthy, but increasingly strategic as it heads into 2026.

The 2025 Story: Healthy, but Disciplined

Overwhelmingly, security experts agree that 2025 was a positive year for video surveillance, offering incremental growth and a qualitative shift in how video is perceived, deployed and utilized. SDM’s 2026 Industry Forecast respondents bear this out, with 95% describing the video surveillance market in 2025 as “good to excellent,” the same as last year. Eighty-three percent described the video analytics/artificial intelligence market in the same manner, a 4 percentage point increase over the previous year.

The strong performance was driven by the increasing value of video as a strategic tool, says Fredrik Nilsson, vice president, Americas, Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass. “This momentum reflects the convergence of several key technology trends, including more advanced analytics that enhance security and extend into new use cases to deliver operational efficiency and business intelligence; high-quality video becoming practical at scale through improved compression that reduces storage and bandwidth requirements; and more capable camera technologies, such as remote PTRZ, which shorten installation time and lower total cost of ownership,” he says. “In parallel, adoption of scalable cloud-based solutions continued to accelerate, alongside heightened demand for platforms with robust, built-in cybersecurity.”

Less reticence toward the cloud and more interest in AI also opened myriad opportunities for video surveillance in 2025. Service solutions (software-as-a-service, security-as-a-service, video-as-a-service, etc.) are quickly becoming the norm, and almost everyone is eager to look at these as viable, long-term options. “Partners are really understanding, more and more, the value of a versatile deployment and an adaptable deployment with hybrid models,” says Anastasie Najem, product marketing manager, Genetec, Montreal.

Scott Brothers, chief operating officer, Oncam, Boca Raton, Fla., posits the shift is so major, security is now viewed as a genuine technology industry, rather than an archaic security industry. “You can base that on the fact that we are now cloud connected,” he says. “When you combine the Internet of Things with the cloud, with AI, with the kinds of companies that are now entering the market or investing in the market, as opposed to just the big players that have always been around, it’s fair to say that some of the big seven technology businesses in the world are now looking at companies in this space.”

Because of these shifts, video has extended well beyond basic monitoring. “It has become critical for enterprise security platforms,” says Ravinder Kumar, director, product management, video, Honeywell Building Automation, Atlanta. “Data that is collected and analyzed from video is being used to improve situational awareness, quicken incident response and reduce nuisance alarms.”

Gerard Figols, chief operating officer, i-PRO, Houston, argues video has extended even further — beyond security altogether, while remaining a security-centered product. “Video is used for many other applications where video can generate data, can generate insights that might be helpful for the end users or the customers to use this data for many purposes,” he says. As end users increasingly seek out business partnerships from security companies, this becomes a critical benefit for integrators to keep in their toolbelt.

Kristen Plitt, vice president of marketing, IDIS Americas, Coppell, Texas, calls 2025 a “reset year” for video surveillance. “Customers invested, but with far more discipline and intention,” she says. “The conversation moved away from simply adding cameras and toward how video delivers measurable outcomes: improving safety, reducing loss, supporting compliance and increasing operational efficiency.”

Of course, the year came with challenges. Although they turned out to have little impact on the market, tariffs were of great concern at the beginning of the year and continued to influence decision-making. “They change week to week, so it’s hard to figure out what prices you should be charging,” says Dean Drako, founder and CEO, Brivo (formerly Eagle Eye Networks, prior to the companies’ recent merger), Bethesda, Md.

Global economic headwinds have impacted budgets for hardware and cloud storage costs, and manufacturers have had to strategize how to reduce the pressures of supply chain workflows. Privacy and compliance risks also presented challenges, particularly with facial recognition, that slowed the pace of adoption, says Mike Poe, director of product management, 3xLOGIC, Fishers, Ind.

Throughout the year, end users were more particular about their security selections, hence why Ryan Bailey, CEO, Knight Watch (a security integrator offering solutions across video surveillance, access control, fire alarm, HVAC controls, building automation and weapons detection), Kalamazoo, Mich., refers to the 2025 market as healthy, but more disciplined. “Demand remained strong, particularly with our enterprise clients; but, overall, customers were more intentional about how and why they were investing. This was less about expansion for expansion’s sake and more about strategic modernization,” he says.

A major shift in 2025 that security experts agree is going to have a very notable impact on 2026 is the breakdown of traditional silos in the market. “Historically, the industry has been very fragmented; you had your camera company, your access control company, and your sensor company all operating independently,” says Abraham Alvarez, vice president of product, Verkada, San Mateo, Calif. “In 2025, we saw a massive push toward bringing these layers together into a unified view with more powerful integrations. When you integrate video with things like environmental sensors or workplace management, you enable use cases that simply weren’t possible before.”

This momentum reflects the convergence of several key technology trends, including more advanced analytics that enhance security and extend into new use cases to deliver operational efficiency and business intelligence.

Market Shifts & Subsequent Growth

In 2025, customers demanded scalable, cost-predictable solutions; conversations focused on outcomes rather than products; and advanced AI capabilities. These demands created various shifts for companies across the security industry.

3xLOGIC, for example, saw significant growth in its SaaS video platforms and integrated analytics because customers wanted actionable insights without heavy infrastructure costs. “This change also aligned with the broader trend of security systems becoming part of business intelligence rather than simply loss prevention,” says Mike Poe of 3xLOGIC.

For Axis Communication, the biggest change was helping the market understand and adopt the new AV1 compression standard. “As with previous innovations — from our first IP cameras to H.264 compression — being first brings the opportunity to lead, but also the responsibility to educate partners and customers on the benefits and practical use of the technology,” says Fredrik Nilsson of Axis Communications.

The uncertainty and impact around tariffs lent itself to additional business for Brivo, which saw spikes in camera sales when some other companies didn’t have cameras due to tariff-caused cost constraints. “The real big change that we saw was the number of customers coming to us with requests for AI for all kinds of different things,” says Dean Drako of Brivo. “‘We want AI to count the number of pickles going through the manufacturing line.’ ‘We want AI to detect how long the burgers have been on the grill.’ ‘We want AI to detect when people are coming in the door but not buying anything.’ People want to use it to make their businesses run better.”

Genetec also reported a successful year, aligned with key statistics from its 2026 Global State of Physical Security Report. “Our unification model is really key,” says Anastasie Najem of Genetec. “We are helping a lot of our customers replace their old, siloed video systems and access control systems with a solution that really puts everything together.

“We see that as a sign that end users are finding in our solution the right things for their deployment, and that way we are also equipping our partners with the right tools, with a solid offering and a solution that fits their portfolio when they are consulting with their end users,” Najem adds.

For IDIS Americas, the biggest shift was AI becoming central to every conversation. “Customers started with a business problem — shrink, safety, investigations, staffing — and expected AI to be part of the solution,” says Kristen Plitt of IDIS. “At the same time, there was growing demand for simplicity: systems that are easier to deploy, manage and maintain over time.” This, in addition to a heightened focus on cybersecure-by-design solutions and customers looking for complete, integrated systems rather than pieced-together components, drove growth for the company.

Gerard Figols of i-PRO was excited by the implementation of more real AI applications and the subsequent growth of the company’s Edge AI tools. “We are moving more from the theoretical concept of what AI can do, and all this marketing stuff that we say, into more practical applications that bring benefits for the customer. We see increases in the accuracy of the analysis, in the accuracy of the data. ... At the end of the day, it’s very, very important to focus on data integrity. The data needs to be trustable,” he says. “If we deliver this message, and they see with their eyes that the data is trustable, that basically they can use this data with some practical benefits, then I think it’s how we see the biggest change and the biggest improvement for them.”

Anticipate a Growing, Dynamic Landscape

With the steady growth of the market in 2025, security experts overwhelmingly agree that 2026 will pan out to be another year of upward trajectory. The Security Industry Association’s 2026 Security Megatrends report frames video — as it becomes embedded in operations, not just security — as a shift toward visual intelligence and enterprise-wide value creation. “This matches what we are seeing in the field,” says Dan Kostecki, vice president of sales – North America, IQSIGHT (formerly Bosch Security Systems), Fairport, N.Y. “From a market-sizing lens, several forecasts still project steady multi-year growth driven by cloud and analytics adoption.”

A portion of the growth will come from the percentage of people that are still switching from legacy standalone video management systems (VMS) or network video recorders (NVR) to unified cloud. Brian Lohse, general manager, commercial business unit, Alarm.com, Tysons, Va., believes that percentage has only reached the tip of the iceberg. “My expectation is that we’ll still continue to see more and more folks make that switch,” he says. He also expects to see growth in remote video monitoring (RVM) and mobile video, or ‘video anywhere,’ the benefits of which are becoming increasingly apparent to end users.

SDM’s Industry Forecast respondents also reflected this thinking, with 71% expecting revenues to increase both in video analytics/AI and video surveillance in general. Further, 72% currently offer remote video monitoring — up 9 percentage points over last year — with 65% of those who don’t indicating that they plan to offer it in the next two years.

Jeremy White, founder and CEO, Pro-Vigil, San Antonio, Texas, a company specializing in RVM, says the benefits of this technology are already being realized. “From what I’m hearing, others in the market grew too,” he says. “That tells me remote video monitoring is becoming a go-to option, even when the industries behind it are having a tougher year. It’s a practical, ROI-driven investment when it’s done correctly, and, in a tight environment, that matters.”

Integrators foresee customers having higher expectations and wanting quicker solutions. “The market is maturing, and customers are becoming more educated,” Bailey says. “That favors integrators who can think in platforms, not just parts.”

Brian Kozlosky, founder and president, 2 Krew Security & Surveillance (a security integrator specializing in turn-key integrated security and surveillance solutions across commercial and residential sectors), Kittanning, Pa., says we live in a world of instant gratification, and that this is bleeding into end users’ expectations for seamless solutions. “My expectations are to continue following and making sure that the manufacturers are building unified systems, because those are the companies I’m going to be doing business with,” Kozlosky says. “I don’t want somebody that sells a product that I have to have launched six applications for in order to just lock my building and secure my premises.”

White expects the insurance-driven requirement model to spread. “If underwriters can reduce losses and payouts by recommending a solution that’s proven to deter and prevent crime, it benefits everyone. Customers protect assets and avoid premium pressure, and underwriters reduce exposure,” he says.

Overall, the video market is set to be dynamic in 2026 — because where opportunity lives, challenges follow. Integrators expect to come head-to-head with cybersecurity requirements, data privacy concerns, workforce shortages, increasing commoditization, scalability, unification, network and bandwidth, and client education about available technologies, especially AI.

“Technology is advancing quickly, but the expectations around responsibility and reliability are rising just as fast,” Bailey says.

Kozlosky supports this claim, noting that integrators have a real responsibility to ensure clients are reasonably informed about AI: “I think the end consumers are getting educated enough to be dangerous. The challenges that we run into, a lot of times, is we either have a customer that is not educated and has absolutely no understanding of what we’re doing or why we’re doing it, [or] one who believes that they are a CEO of an integration company and they’re going to tell me how we’re going to do the solution for them. It’s a balancing act. If you want, as an integrator, to be ahead of the game, you have to adopt the current technologies. You have to understand them. You have to be able to educate your consumers … enough so that you can sell the product, but not enough that they go and install it themselves.”

This ties into integrators’ concerns about scaling effectively. “Demand is strong, but if a provider hasn’t invested early in the right people and the right technology, scaling becomes very difficult in this industry,” White says. “A lot of companies will find they outgrow their foundation faster than they expected.”

Not working with the right people, i.e. decision makers, can also present myriad challenges for integrators. “Years ago, we didn’t talk to IT people because our stuff didn’t live on their networks,” Kozlosky says. “In today’s world, we have to work with an IT individual because we’re living in the same space. We’re sleeping in the same bunks. The challenges really are getting the right people on the team, articulating what needs to be done and realizing that it’s now not just the security guy comes in, pulls his own cable, does his own thing and gets out.”

Overwhelmingly, experts agree that AI, cloud and, perhaps most importantly, cybersecurity and data protection, are going to be the biggest challenges in the video market.

One of the most difficult points to navigate, in terms of privacy, is the fact that it’s very regionalized. “In all of the regions, there are different policies, there are different regulations. We need to be aware of that. We need to really educate ourselves and understand how it’s going on all over the world,” Genetec’s Najem says. “We need to provide options and flexibility to provide technology that really is aligned with those regulations: privacy, analytics, filters, masks, things that are very important as we serve those different verticals. This is where integrators have a lot of value and expertise to add to educate their customers and help them choose the right solution for them.”

Differentiation is also difficult with the rise of AI and cloud. “Partners are going to need to basically transition and grow into telling new value stories that have quite a bit more depth to get customers to switch because everybody is going to have a cloud-based system with remote access,” Lohse says. “That’s going to require some real work and storytelling that perhaps wasn’t the case in the past.”

Demand is strong, but if a provider hasn’t invested early in the right people and the right technology, scaling becomes very difficult in this industry.

Next week, we’ll explore the top technologies presenting both challenges and opportunities in the video market (and some misguided expectations about these technologies), as well as advice for integrators to build their skillsets and remain competitive in a certain-to-be dynamic landscape.