Security Megatrends Take Center Stage at ISC West 2025 Panel

At ISC West 2025, a packed room of security professionals gathered for an educational session that unpacked the latest findings from the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) 2025 Security Megatrends report. Moderated by SIA Senior Director of Marketing Geoff Kohl, the session featured a panel of industry thought leaders — Tara Dunning, vice president, global security and infrastructure sales and strategy, Wesco; Devin Love, vice president, core platforms, Allegion; and, Eric Yunag, executive vice president, products and services, Convergint — who explored how major trends like IT-OT convergence, AI, automation and channel disruption are reshaping the business and practice of security.

The SIA Megatrends report, updated annually based on broad industry input, forecasts the 10 most impactful forces expected to shape the security market over the next three to five years. This year’s panel spotlighted several of those trends in depth, with a focus on practical implications for integrators, manufacturers and end users alike.

IT Integration and the Expanding Role of Connected Systems

A key theme discussed by the panel was the convergence of information technology (IT) with connected systems across business and industrial environments — a shift that panelists said is changing how security technologies are deployed and managed.

“The pace of technological change is accelerating in our industry like never before,” said  Dunning, noting how devices that began as consumer conveniences — like wearables, smart thermostats and voice-controlled tech — are now common in enterprise environments.

With networks hosting everything from cameras and access control to HVAC and lighting systems, security professionals are grappling with increased complexity, integration demands and cybersecurity risks.

“It spells opportunity, but certainly increased risk,” Dunning said.

Yunag framed this change within a broader historical context. “We’re all navigating a historical change in the way the world works… fundamentally rewiring how the world operates,” he said, comparing it to the fourth industrial revolution. “This isn’t just analog to IP — it’s bigger than that.”

Visual Intelligence and the Shift to Sensor-Driven Outcomes

One of the most forward-looking discussions centered on the concept of “visual intelligence” — a term Yunag used to describe how video systems are evolving from traditional surveillance tools into sources of actionable business data.

“Think about how we can turn anything we see into data,” he said. “It reframes the conversation around video infrastructure. It’s no longer just about risk mitigation — it’s about driving business outcomes.”

Yunag emphasized the importance of reframing investments in cameras and video infrastructure as part of a larger strategy to support both security and operational goals. “We can drive better security outcomes with new investments in video and AI technology and visual analytics,” he said, “but how else might we use those investments to drive business outcomes?”

By viewing cameras as “visual intelligence sensors,” he said, integrators and end users alike can begin to connect these tools to broader enterprise initiatives. He challenged practitioners to ask how video-derived data can contribute to customer experience, workforce optimization or business intelligence platforms. “It is really good to step back as a security practitioner and think about reframing a little bit,” Yunag said, “and just broadening out that thought process to be a contribution to these larger data aggregation exercises.”

The panelists agreed that this more holistic view of video technology is gaining traction. Whether it's cameras tracking queue lengths in retail environments, identifying bottlenecks in commercial buildings, or helping optimize underused office space, the message was clear: security technology is becoming a strategic asset well beyond its traditional role. And as visual intelligence capabilities grow more sophisticated, their contribution to cross-departmental value — and even revenue generation — will continue to expand.

Platform Aggregation and the Complexity Problem

As specialized applications and AI-powered platforms continue to emerge, end users are facing challenges managing and integrating multiple systems across the enterprise. “The industry needs to solve for the complexity you are all experiencing,” Dunning told the audience, which included industry practitioners from across the ecosystem.

The panel described a layered architecture in which different applications, often built for specific use cases, must be aggregated into cohesive operational workflows. “It’s not about one-size-fits-all platforms anymore,” said Love. “It’s about specialized, outcome-specific applications that still work together.”

Love also acknowledged the burden this places on solution providers. Referring to a complex system diagram, he remarked, “It reminds us that it's our job to take care of that complexity.” He emphasized that value comes from making this complexity manageable: “We need to be focused on the outcomes… and really delivering an outcome that's valuable.”

The panel raised critical questions about data ownership and interoperability. “Who owns the data? Who makes the rules for how it’s consumed?” Dunning asked, adding that the “democratization of data” is now driving closer collaboration between IT, security and facilities departments.

Love summed up the opportunity clearly: “The value we bring collectively is to make sense of this complexity and to drive it to outcomes that customers are willing to pay for.”

A Channel in Flux: Who Owns the Customer Experience?

The panel’s discussion of channel evolution — named the No. 1 trend in the 2025 SIA report — underscored the shifting nature of how security solutions come to market. “For the last 50 years, our industry had a relatively simple model,” said Yunag. “But the move toward cloud-based services and real-time applications is disrupting that linear path.”

With cloud-enabled platforms offering health monitoring, chat-based support and API integrations, traditional roles between manufacturers, integrators and service providers are blurring. “There’s less clarity and more opaqueness about ownership,” Yunag said. “We’re in a battle for customer engagement.”

Love described this shift as a natural outcome of a rapidly changing market. He noted a “healthy tension” between expanding what providers offer and specializing in areas of deep expertise. “It is that tension to take on more and to do more, but also be better at what you do,” he said.

The panelists emphasized that this fluidity in the channel — while disruptive — also creates opportunity. As Yunag pointed out, the movement toward shared service models, cloud infrastructure and outcome-based engagements will likely push the industry toward new models of accountability, much like the managed services evolution in IT.

Reframing Value: From Technology to Outcomes

Panelists also explored the issue of value perception in the security industry — arguing that the industry is often undervalued, not because of lack of impact, but because of how it frames its contributions.

“We’ve done ourselves a real disservice by focusing too much on the technology and not enough on the outcomes,” Yunag said. “If I’m just paying a different price for the same function in a different location — what’s the point?”

He encouraged integrators and practitioners to position their work around three core business levers: reducing risk, achieving compliance and increasing return. “If we’re not driving one of those, we have no business being there,” he said.

Dunning emphasized the importance of cross-departmental value recognition. “If your solution helps with energy savings, space optimization or retail analytics — that’s funding from another department,” she said. “We need to help customers see that.”

Collaboration Is the Path Forward

Among the strongest calls to action from the panel was the need for deeper industry collaboration and a renewed focus on solving real-world use cases. “No one company can do it all,” said Dunning. “So we have to figure out a way to make our systems more interoperable. We have to figure out a way to always think with the end user at the center of the circle and how to solve problems for them.”

Yunag echoed the importance of staying grounded in the customer’s perspective. He emphasized that rather than focusing solely on technology or traditional roles in the channel, companies should concentrate on delivering meaningful outcomes. “The more you can kind of stay focused on that instead of the technology and the channel and everything else, the more of those things fall into place,” he said.

Ultimately, he framed the industry’s challenge — and opportunity — as a shared one.

“If we keep that [customer focus] out there,” Yunag said, “then that’s where we’re headed and that’ll help us — I think us as a whole in this room — navigate a lot of what’s ahead.”