The Security Industry Association (SIA) recently hosted the 2026 SIA GovSummit, a conference connecting government, security and technology, held annually in Washington, D.C. At this event, government security leaders and private industry technologists discussed the top security concerns and trends impacting federal, state and local agencies. Ahead are five key takeaways relevant to security integrators: 

1. OSDP Standard Makes Update to Better Support HSDP-12 

According to Rick Focke, director of product and market development, JCI Security Projects, the SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) has proven to be a well-accepted standard for reader-to-panel communications in the access control world. The standard was the theme of his session at the 2026 GovSummit. 

“When it comes to HSPD-12 and FICAM interoperability, the market ended up with two competing OSDP command sets: Transparent Mode and Extended Packet Mode,” Focke said. “There were numerous reasons behind the split, but a common complaint from manufacturers was that the OSDP standard did not include a single, concise set of PIV commands. 

“That is changing in the upcoming OSDP standard v3.0, which will feature a consolidated set of HSDP-12 commands for reading and authenticating U.S. government smart cards,” Focke continued. “In addition to enabling full interoperability between vendors in the U.S. government space, the new standard improves read times using a new ‘autonomous’ mode, and the standard provides for future mobile credential use in the HSPD-12 ecosystem.” 

While a release date is not yet firmed up for OSDP v3.0, Focke said the work is nearly finished, and compatibility testing will begin in earnest this summer. 

2. Aliro Mobile Protocol & its Relevancy for the Government Market 

As federal agencies modernize workplaces, campuses and mission environments, credentialing is undergoing a fundamental shift, with legacy plastic personal identity verification (PIV) and common access card (CAC) readers and proprietary reader ecosystems giving way to standards-based, mobile-first access strategies designed for interoperability, resilience and long-term sustainability. A new standard, the Aliro mobile protocol, is changing what the future state of federal credentials can look like.  

“Today, PIV is expensive and hard to implement,” said Eric Dean, chief technology officer, security and electronic systems, M.C. Dean. “PIV has come a long way, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a mobile credential to get into the perimeter or the controlled environment.” 

Nelson Henry, chair, the Aliro Working Group, discussed the new mobile access standard, which came out in February 2026, with a focus on defining how smart devices can act as digital keys across many different market types. The nonproprietary credentialing system is built to take complexity off operating and give people the tools to build creative infrastructures, he said. 

3. Don’t Miss the Grants! 

Grants experts Elisa Mula, founder, EM designs, and Shannon Day, senior grants development consultant, Grants Office, discussed how security businesses can work with clients to identify the right grants and craft competitive applications for security grants across sectors, including school security systems, law enforcement technology upgrades, drone detection and mitigation solutions and critical infrastructure protection. 

Key grant opportunities relevant for security projects include: 

• The School Violence Prevention Program, offered by the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office, provides funding to states, local governments and tribal agencies to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs and technology.
• The Homeland Security Grant Program, presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offers funding for faith-based and other nonprofit organizations to improve their physical security and cybersecurity to prevent and protect against targeted violence.
• The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program provides funding for law enforcement, corrections and prosecutorial agencies to support the purchase of body-worn cameras and implement comprehensive programs with sound policy and training. 
• FEMA’s Transit Security Grant Program offers funding to eligible public transportation systems to protect critical infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism. 

Day stressed the importance of having a strong needs statement in applying for a grant, as well as a comprehensive budget and a budget narrative that aligns with it.  

Mula encouraged consultants and integrators working with grant applicants to “smooth everything out, get the communication flowing [and] make sure everything is well documented so the suffering on the part of the applicant is minimal.” 

4. Taking FIPS 201 Beyond the Card 

Experts examined the evolution of Federal Information Processing Standards 201 (FIPS 201) identity models to support today’s digital-first environments. Roger Roehr, PACS subject-matter expert, BruckEdwards, emphasized that digital PIV is what the new workforce expects. 

“Technology providers and integrators need to stop viewing FIPS 201 as simply a smart card standard and start recognizing it as a full identity management system,” Roehr said. “While FIPS 201 is written as a very specific standard for issuing high-security credentials to U.S. government employees and contractors, NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-63 is designed to be scalable and can be used to evaluate any identity management system.” 

Integrators, consultants and security practitioners should apply the criteria outlined in NIST SP 800-63 to evaluate how identities are bound to credentials and how access rights are granted and revoked, Roehr said.  

GovSummit conference speakers Trevor Hoselton and Michael Hamilton of HID both emphasized that now is a great time to move beyond a physical-only credential strategy. 

“Government executive branch employees are using their digital devices in a secure method today,” Hamilton said. “It’s time we bring that capability to physical access control.” 

“From a federal perspective, the biggest gap isn’t technology, it’s execution,” Hoselton added. “The standards already exist, but many organizations still struggle to implement FIPS 201 as a true identity life cycle. As demand for mobile credentials grows, the focus needs to stay on preserving the trust models that made PIV successful in the first place.” 

5. Evolving Changes in Government Procurement & Policy 

Experienced industry contract managers and General Service Administration professionals examined the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) overhaul, which offers an integrated way to measure files, as well as changes to the letter of supply requirements. Additional updates included significant changes to GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts impacting original equipment manufacturers and industry partners — including pricing, EULAs, the Vendor Partner Program and Authority to Sell — as well as the evolution of other GSA vehicles such as SEWP and Oasis and other pending changes impacting the security industry.  

One of the biggest changes comes in the form of what’s called Transactional Data Reporting (TDR).  

“All GSA Contractors must accept the modification action that converts their MAS Contract to Transactional Data Reporting (TDR),” explained Lynn de Séve, founder and president, GSA Schedules Inc. “In exchange for reporting sales monthly by transaction, Most Favored Customer as a basis of award of the contract no longer applies. There is no requirement to disclose commercial sales practices. 

“The Economic Price Adjustment clause has been changed to remove the 10% cap and other procedures,” de Séve added. “A terms and conditions action has been required to incorporated this into all MAS contracts that were not TDR.” 

She noted that in addition to these TDR changes, there are new GSA software tools to help contractors determine price reasonableness.