According to a research note published this week by IHS, the world market for security system integration was valued at $59.5 billion in 2013, an increase of nearly $5 billion over the prior year.
Revenue for the market, which consists of design, consultancy, installation, service and maintenance, as well as the sale of video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection equipment, is expected to continue growing in excess of 9 percent through 2018.
“The market is characterized by a handful of large international players, numerous regional rivals and many local competitors. Such a competitive landscape means fierce competition abounds and that both integrators and installers must remain at the forefront of technology trends to be able to continue serving “best-in-class” integration packages to their customers,” wrote Paul Bremner, senior analyst for IHS.
Bremner added that systems integrators have been keeping a close eye on Security-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings, such as Video Surveillance-as-a-Service (VSaaS) and Access Control-as-a-Service (ACaaS), both of which provide companies in the industry an opportunity to expand their recurring month revenue (RMR) while also becoming closer to end users. Additionally, the SaaS model enables integrators to increase the value they bring to the table and helps them change how customers view their relationships to being seen as more of a partnership.
“As equipment margins continue to edge lower for integrators, driven by price declines in the equipment itself, it is the services that integrators can offer, as well as the added value they are perceived to bring to the customer that will ultimately prove to be the separator between the winners and losers in this market,” concluded Bremner.