Some traditional guarding services take advantage of this economic model by convincing local governments that outsourcing guarding services is more cost-effective than hiring or deploying police officers for crowd control and other non- critical functions. Allied Barton Security Services is in this traditional physical security company category. Just visiting one of its trade show booths, you can feel the “old school” tradition. While short-term opportunities may be promising, the outsourcing model cannot scale against new technology. Today, outsourcing guard functions can be done at half the price of a full time police officer, but technology will soon displace the security guard at much better savings. The cost model also displaces security guards.
Sensors and robotics are changing the way our nation does war fighting and offers a glimpse of the future of the security industry. If the 1967 movie “The Graduate” was filmed today, the advice whispered to Dustin Hoffman would not be “plastics” but “sensors.” The wireless robotics controlled by combat soldiers that sense and destroy IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and the aerial drones killing terrorists in Pakistan and operated by pilots sitting outside of Las Vegas are examples of the technologies and personnel representing the future of the security industry.