16 Aug The rapid rise of security-tech adoption – and what the future holds
After COVID-19 emerged and we were ushered indoors, people and workplaces had to rapidly adapt. Luckily, we didn’t have to do it alone.
Technology became our fallback – and our key to unlocking new heights of productivity and flexibility.
Today, our understanding and adoption of security-tech solutions is only accelerating. Here we explore why – and what it means for the security world at large.
The remote revolution
Recent studies indicate that both remote and hybrid work arrangements are here to stay.
Table of Contents
A 2021 report by Frost and Sullivan found that only 4% of companies plan to discontinue remote work in the future.
Interestingly though, companies are continuing to invest in their physical workspaces – more than ever.
Access control solutions, for instance, are becoming an integral part of organisations’ security efforts. An ASIS and Brivo survey found that 65% of respondents said access control has been “very important or extremely important” in enabling hybrid work.
Upgraded access control came in at the second-most common tech investment. Visitor management systems came in at number one.
The cloud is the key player, here. Unlike on-premise solutions, cloud-based PropTech and security solutions allow companies to operate more efficiently and more securely without the need to be onsite.
Technology begets technology
At USD $9 billion in 2019, the global PropTech market was already expanding before the pandemic. Lockdowns and remote work only necessitated immediate adoption that might otherwise have taken years.
This growth is predicted to drive the global PropTech market from USD $18.2 billion in 2022 to USD $86.5 billion by 2032.
Now that people are using these technologies, they’re beginning to understand them more deeply. That’s leading to further adoption of solutions that integrate with their new or upgraded technology.
Access control and remote video monitoring, for example, are a logical pairing. Improved surveillance and CCTV adds another layer to an organisation’s access control. When the two are integrated, they create a foolproof system.
As people delve deeper into the world of security tech, they’re likely to discover the full breadth of solutions available. For that reason, this knock-on effect is likely to continue.
AI does what humans can’t
There is one major obstacle among this rapid progress: humans have limitations, and we’re still the ones managing and responding to this new technology.
Surveillance illustrates the dilemma well: cameras offer round-the-clock visibility, but it’s people who respond to unusual activity.
Cumberland County Schools in North Carolina, for instance, has cameras installed in every one of its 96 buildings. With 88 schools and 50,000 students, that’s an awful lot of activity for security staff to watch. (Kevin Coleman, Cumberland County’s Executive Director of Technology, explains more in this episode of SecurityTV.)
Anthony Hackett, Director of Smart Cities and Security, tells SecurityTV, “Nobody can observe all the cameras in a school or retail store, all day, every day. It’s physically impossible. So you have to rely on smarter systems to deliver data that you think is relevant.”
Enter artificial intelligence (AI).
AI is significantly more accurate than humans when it comes to detecting unusual activity. It can learn the specific “rules” of an organisation (like ‘no one is allowed in this room after 5pm’) and respond when they’re broken. If it detects anything in CCTV footage, it will immediately alert staff.
That’s just one reason AI is becoming a critical security ally.
The perfect time to adapt
This is a golden age for security technology. The pandemic necessitated a fast and dramatic adaptation to new systems, processes and solutions – and technology has enabled it.
As we continue to move forward, innovation will only intensify. At Torus, we’re excited to be a part of this growing movement towards smarter security technology.
Want to incorporate key control into your security strategy? Torus key cabinets integrate seamlessly with your existing access control solution.