The security landscape is shifting. Much like your Motorola Pager, lock-and-key and the jingling key rings that come along with it are relics of the past.

The reality is that employers will need to invest in technology from doorknob to desk that keeps employees safe against COVID-19 and other viruses in the coming years, leading to opportunities for security integrators.

Security has long been a lagger, staying with more traditional, on-premises-only security programs, which misses out on stronger security integration, efficiencies and true security benefits. Today’s technology innovation is prime for remote and centralized management and our global environment has created demand for more efficient remote capabilities at an incredible rate.

Why has the security industry seemingly abdicated the “smart building” and IoT movement to other contractors? Long-time security industry professional Chris Hugman explains why the security industry should be leading the way in smart building deployments and building automation.

As the more immediate impact of mandated shutdowns, employee layoffs and shelter-in-place orders begin to shift to the longer-term goals of recovering from the economic impact, end user organizations will be forced to re-evaluate and reflect their needs. The one thing that is certain is the coronavirus pandemic will permanently change consumer behavior and corporate decision making.

We are all collectively experiencing the proverbial “nightmare” scenario: a healthcare and business crisis [i.e. COVID-19] that got here in a flash and left us in a social distancing experiment. While change was forced upon us, I believe some of it will be positive moving forward.