Persistent supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, compounded with recent geopolitical events and lingering economic uncertainty, have left the global security industry at a crossroads heading into the new year. Business leaders are looking to streamline their international security protocols, and soon. For many, the most significant consideration will be how to drive operational efficiency as market conditions tighten further.
Although security strategies will vary based on enterprise and industry, several trends have emerged supreme as we near 2023. Business leaders are looking for global security providers that offer a standardized and centralized experience across various locations. They’re also prioritizing operational efficiency and eliminating tool sprawl by choosing a one-stop-shop service provider. Finally, more leaders are opting to digitally transform their processes and embrace the power of AI-backed data.
Let’s discuss how these key trends will play out globally in the new year.
1. Organizations seek providers with global presence and local knowledge
The pandemic temporarily suspended cross-border flows and called globalization’s long-term future into question. But global trade and capital have resumed in full force this year, reaffirming the staying power of an international business ecosystem. Now more than ever, global leaders are seeking technologies that aid this expansion and drive competitive advantage.
Standardization has proven key in this respect. In a standardized enterprise, employees in all offices enjoy the same degree of security and safety, regardless of location. Uniformity is crucial because it ensures safety protocols are equally robust across all areas – from Singapore to the U.S. to France. Furthermore, standardized security drives efficiency by providing a single point of contact, creating a less cumbersome troubleshooting experience. Uniform deployment guidelines also ensure consistency when new offices come online, eventually saving time and money.
Consistency is not a new priority. Executives often discuss the concept in the context of marketing or sales. As expansion continues, this expectation has shifted to other areas of business continuity – and for a good reason. Business process standardization improves scalability and reduces implementation costs.
But standardization is just one piece of the puzzle. Clients will also seek providers with deep knowledge of local regulations to support compliance with various codes, standards and privacy laws. When selecting or deploying a security system, business leaders should note whether their security provider has experience handling large international enterprises. Internationalization is a good indication that a provider will have local compliance expertise, which helps reduce business liability. Ultimately, providers that offer global services alongside local and regional expertise will excel in 2023.
2. Efficiency is a top business priority
Business leaders are searching for ways to capitalize on existing technologies and deploy solutions that fulfill various functions. In fact, 78% of enterprise leaders identified optimized operations as their top business priority in 2022. As enterprises deal with the repercussions of uncertain market conditions, including budget cuts and layoffs, operational efficiency will become an even greater priority for all organizational functions. Security is no exception.
To this end, all-in-one solutions will be crucial for business continuity. Providers offering a cohesive security ecosystem eliminate the need for managing multiple vendors, budgets and timelines. Working with a single provider also simplifies implementation and ensures that security owners have time to focus on mission-critical tasks outside of security. A holistic provider will handle myriad security tasks – from deployment to maintenance and troubleshooting. This streamlines the process and redistributes time to internal team members.
In the coming year, security leaders are looking to adopt innovative technologies in response to supply chain difficulties and altered production timelines. We already saw this play out in 2022 with a marked rise in mobile credentials, often replacing traditional RFID access control systems. Mobile credentials allow employees to access areas using an app on their phones, eliminating the need for physical access cards or keys, which were significantly impacted by supply chain disruptions over the last two years.
Initially, the switch to mobile credentials accelerated as a response to these disruptions. Now, businesses continue to adopt technology as an operational benefit. A similar technological revolution will likely play out in the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) space.
3. Intelligent data that improves ROI is critical
AI and ML are crucial for collecting and deciphering data, especially as we enter the era of IoT 2.0 (also known as the next Industrial Revolution). In this new era, data capabilities will expand far beyond what human processing is capable of, with an estimated one trillion devices contributing to the IoT by 2025. The IoT market is growing rapidly in response to the data explosion, and business leaders will capitalize on those advancements in the new year by focusing on AI-first data strategies.
When organizations roll out effective AI technologies, they eliminate judgment calls. This is critical for security tech because it impacts the health and safety of consumers and employees, not just the financial well-being of an enterprise. AI-powered security systems can easily detect anomalies in behavior captured by security systems and automatically alert the business of suspicious individuals. This level of insight can help prevent security threats before they even arise.
Just as powerful are the post-event applications of collected insights. Once security tech ingests data, ML empowers the system to latently process data sets and provide clear, actionable insights upon which to base operational improvements. For example, an administrator may learn that a facility is busiest at a particular time of day through ML-driven data. Using this information, they can lower energy costs during lulls or redistribute limited personnel for on-site guarding during peak hours. Intelligent data will become even more impactful next year when persistent labor shortages require an intelligent redistribution of resources.
To address all shortages – in labor, budget and supply – leaders must adopt an always-on approach to security that prioritizes global expertise, efficient business processes and data-backed decisions.
Doing so can help alleviate concerns associated with a possible global recession, yes. But beyond that, it can place enterprises in a position to compete – and excel – in their respective industry.
As global businesses flock to digitally transformed and efficient processes, leveraging a competitive edge will become crucial. Soon, it won’t be a matter of if, but when, enterprises adopt the leading tech.
Nelson Barreto is Senior Vice President, of Global Clients for Securitas Electronic Security (becoming Securitas Technology)". He leads the Global Clients Program, focusing on systems integration and global enterprise opportunities. Nelson works effectively across borders and business teams to deliver clients' best-in-class technology solutions at scale in various markets.
