Unlocking the True Value of Security: Why End Users Still Don’t See It

In a recent article for SecurityInfoWatch.com, I recapped a panel discussion at ISC West 2025 where top industry voices unpacked the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) 2025 Megatrends report. Among the many insights shared, one theme in particular struck a chord with attendees: the persistent undervaluation of security by end users.

This follow-up story takes a deeper look at that issue, drawing directly from the panel’s frank and urgent discussion around why security still struggles to be seen as a business enabler — and what the industry must do to change that perception.

“This industry is undervalued,” said SIA Senior Director of Marketing Geoff Kohl, setting the tone for a candid conversation. “The work that you do is not getting the value appreciation that it deserves.”

Outcomes Over Infrastructure

Eric Yunag, an executive vice president at Convergint, argued that the problem is largely self-inflicted. “We’ve done ourselves a real disservice,” he said. “Whenever we focus on the technology rather than the outcomes, we devalue what we’re delivering.”

He cited the industry’s fixation on buzzwords like “cloud” as an example, questioning the point of promoting cloud deployments without clearly tying them to better outcomes. “If I’m paying a different price for the same outcome in a different location — what’s the value?”

Instead, Yunag urged security professionals to anchor their messaging in what truly matters to business stakeholders: risk reduction, regulatory compliance and return on investment. “If we can't increase a business return or limit a risk or meet a compliance or regulation… then we have no business being there,” he said. “We’re not just selling technology.”

Devin Love, a vice president at Allegion, reinforced that sentiment from a manufacturer’s point of view. He noted that security’s marketing approach too often relies on specs and data sheets rather than compelling business narratives. “We've had a crutch,” Love said. “We go to our engineers and say, ‘Why is this generation going to beat that generation?’ And that becomes the marketing.”

He called for a more mature approach — one that lights a spark for customers by showing how technologies can do more and drive value beyond the obvious.

Reframing Budget Conversations

Tara Dunning, vice president, global security and infrastructure sales and strategy, Wesco, pointed to a broader need for integration across organizational silos. She referenced a slide comparing spending on security systems versus other services such as janitorial, telecom and CRM platforms. “This slide should not be meant to say we need to increase cost — it’s actually the opposite,” Dunning said.

Instead, she emphasized that value can be unlocked through use cases that tie security technologies to operational benefits — like retail analytics, space optimization and energy savings. “If you can save 30% on energy, that’s a budget that can fund these types of solutions.”

According to Yunag, shifting to a risk-based model may be the industry’s best path forward. Rather than defaulting to upgrade cycles, he advised integrators and practitioners to help customers understand the true cost of doing nothing.

“There’s a cost of small investments,” he said. “There’s a cost of not maintaining systems. And there’s a cost of lost value — whether that’s downtime, compliance penalties, or reputational damage.”

He further noted that much of the value in security lies beneath the surface, in areas like device maintenance, system integrity and business continuity — factors that often go unnoticed until a failure occurs. “Below the waterline on that iceberg, there’s a lot of additional costs and potential implications,” Yunag said. “The preservation of value in and of itself is a justification for investment.”

In a nod to changing expectations, Kohl noted that many of today’s most progressive security leaders are thinking well beyond alarms and access control. “They are looking at all these technologies,” he said, “not just to improve safety, but to unlock value for their organizations — because their budgets aren’t growing as fast as their responsibilities.”

For security practitioners, the message is clear: proving value isn't just about protecting people and assets — it's about speaking the language of business. That means tying security to tangible results and helping customers see what’s often hidden in plain sight.