Recently everyone has learned to live in what seems to be a new world, and in many ways, we have all succumbed to change in one way or another.

Evaluating the state of any market is a tricky thing during a pandemic — things are changing daily; new technologies are being explored; the future is unknown; and it’s difficult to look back at the past clearly.

A continuing strong economy, end user desires to do more with their access control systems and increasing interest in new technologies, integrations and models all led to a positive outlook in 2019 and a general feeling of optimism for 2020, with a few notes of caution.

From its humble beginnings in a Toyota Corolla, CPI Security — originally Crime Prevention Inc. — has operated with a singular focus.

The venue for the 14^th annual Axis Connect & Converge Conference (ACCC) was symbolic of the theme conveyed by host Axis Communications throughout the two full days of the meeting.

As one of six distinct security-related divisions of a global powerhouse, this year’s Systems Integrator of the Year draws on the history of not one, but two long-standing companies, along with a deep commitment to its employees and customers, and a strong understanding of technology to distinguish itself from the competition.

Is the smart home market maturing and stabilizing, showing a clear path forward for security dealers wanting to capitalize on the new desires of homeowners to interact with many areas of their home life, including security? Not exactly. But there are definitely signs that it has moved to another level of adoption and interest, making the time ripe for action on the part of those who want to adjust their business model to capture opportunities and revenue in this fast-growing space.

Security integrators describe the 2018 market for integrated security systems as “strong,” “hot” and “accelerated” — all apt terms, given that the nation’s largest integrators grew their systems integration revenue by at least 14 percent last year.

When asked about their biggest challenge in the coming year, security integrators and manufacturers alike often say the same thing: attracting workers.

For decades the dominant story in access control has been that it was a victim of its own success: that is, customers were reluctant to change out what was still working — even 15 or 20 years on — and didn’t see the benefit in spending the money to upgrade, even for significantly new or different features.