HID’s latest 2024 State of the Security Industry Report gathers together responses from 2,600 partners, end users, and security and IT personnel worldwide, across a range of job titles and organisation sizes representing over 11 industries.  The report delves into the underlying concerns driving upcoming innovations and the technologies that underpin them, helping security leaders to be proactive in adapting to evolving challenges.

Conducted in the fall of 2023, this year’s survey reveals six themes, as follows:

1. Mobile identity is expected to be ubiquitous in the next five years

Given the widespread use of mobile devices, momentum continues to build around their use in support of identity. Within the next five years, surveyed end users state that nearly 80% of organisations will deploy mobile IDs. Industry partners are even more optimistic in their outlook, stating that 94% of their customers will have deployed mobile IDs.

2. Multi-Factor Authentication is widespread, despite slow but growing implementation of Zero Trust

More than 83% of end users respondents said their organisation currently uses Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), mainly due to the vulnerabilities of passwords. For many, this represents the first step on the longer journey toward Zero Trust, an approach to security that calls for organisations to maintain strict access controls and to never trust, always verify anyone – internal or external – by default. Zero Trust has been implemented in 16% of organisations with over 100,000 employees and 14% in those with up to 10,000 employees, according to the survey.

With MFA being widespread, the eventual end of passwords is imminent. The creation of new standards such as FIDO (Fast Identity Online), which uses “standard public key cryptography techniques to provide phishing-resistant authentication,” will pave the path to new and more secure authentication options that will be part of a more robust Zero Trust architecture.

3. Sustainability becomes a growing driver in business decisions

Among HID’s survey respondents, sustainability continues to rank high as a business priority, with both end users and partners rating its importance at a “4” on a 1-to-5 scale. Additionally, 74% of end users indicate the importance of sustainability has grown over the past year, and 80% of partners reported the trend growing in importance among their customers.

As such, there will likely be a continued emphasis on solutions that minimize energy use, reduce waste, and optimise resource usage. A shift to cloud-based solutions and increased use of mobile devices are two clear strategies to reach these sustainability goals.

4. Biometrics continues its impressive momentum

In this year’s survey, 39% of installers and integrators said their customers are using fingerprint or palm print, and 30% said they’re using facial recognition. The momentum continues to build as 8% plan to test or implement some form of biometrics in the next year and 12% plan to do so in the next three to five years.

5. Identity management points up to the cloud

Nearly half of end users are moving to cloud-based identity management, with 24% already using it and another 24% in the process of implementing such systems. Industry partners say their customers face several hurdles here, including existing reliance on legacy/on-prem equipment (28%), lack of budget (24%), and cloud-based identities simply not being a business priority (21%).

6. The rise of artificial intelligence for analytics use cases

Conversations about AI have come to dominate the business landscape, and many security professionals see AI’s analytic capabilities as the low-hanging fruit to enhance identity management. Rather than looking to AI to inform the entirety of the security system, it’s possible to leverage data analytics as a way to operationalise AI in support of immediate outcomes. In this scenario, 35% of end users reported they will be testing or implementing some AI capability in the next three to five years, with 15% already using AI-enabled biometrics.

3xlogic has launched Vigil NVR Case Management, a cloud storage solution designed for sensitive video clips. The standalone solution provides cloud storage capability to Vigil NVRs, making it easier for operators to review, share, and store video clips in a single place.

Vigil NVR Case Management is ideal for installations requiring multiple stakeholders to oversee video footage and where clips may potentially include sensitive or personal video data, for example, public venues, construction sites, retail outlets and shopping centres, and warehouses and factories. Video is stored within the cloud in a centralized video archive with no additional hardware costs.

Operators no longer have to manage the retrieval of multiple video clips from different NVRs individually and instead have one platform for video management such as setting expiration dates and updating case files. Using georedundant cloud storage, Vigil NVR Case Management ensures that sensitive videos are safe and secure on the cloud, giving added peace of mind. These watermarked videos can be retrieved years after the event has occurred, to aid with criminal investigations and more.

NVR Case Management also provides a simple interface to generate expiring, sharable links to send watermarked videos to external parties, as well as a utility to view them.

Mike Poe, Director, Product Management at 3xlogic said, “We recognise the growing demand for cloud storage capabilities in the surveillance industry and have launched our NVR Case Management solution to cater to this. There is an increasing amount of sensitive video data being collected and stored, so it is crucial that organisations invest in a secure and reliable storage solution. With its cloud storage capabilities, centralised video archive, and scalability, 3xlogic’s NVR Case Management will help organisations keep up with technological advances today while futureproofing them for tomorrow.”

Vantage Data Centers has transformed its global security operations using Genetec Security Center unified security platform and Genetec Mission Control decision management system. The leading operator of large-scale data centres recently standardised on the Genetec unified platform to modernise security at 32 data centres in North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.

As the proprietary access control and video management systems of its data centres aged, Vantage experienced growing connection lags and increasing maintenance, and couldn’t easily integrate new technologies. After deploying the Genetec Security Center unified physical security platform at one location, they decided to standardise security infrastructure and practices worldwide on the Genetec platform.

Firooz Barakzai, Global Manager, Security Solutions and Standards at Vantage Data Centers, said, “Within Security Center, we’re managing about 500 cameras, 400 doors, 2,000 cardholders, a couple hundred intercoms, and other sensors per location. Having all that information in one centralised view has made it much easier for our operators to see what’s happening. It’s also user-friendly, so training new operators is faster.”

Automating decision management unlocks new operational efficiencies

Once all locations were unified with Security Center, the team implemented Genetec Mission Control. The decision management system helps operators quickly address pressing situations by guiding them through more than 30 standard operating procedures (SOPs). The system also automatically creates incident reports that can be exported and shared with stakeholders.

Open system eases integration

Vantage secures its properties with seven layers of security, various forms of authentication including biometric readers, cards, and pins, all connected to Security Center. Since all user activity is tracked and linked to associated video, Security Center provides an audit trail that strengthens compliance and optimises processes while saving time.

In addition, Vantage has used the Genetec Software Development Kit (SDK) to develop custom applications, like using a Soft Pin plugin to compile data from different systems and track key performance indicators across the business. This same tool enables the team to standardize system naming conventions to cardholder groups, dashboards, and reporting schedules across all sites.

Looking ahead, the team at Vantage intends to add more system integrations within Security Center, such as a human resources system, video analytics, and IT ticketing services software. They’re also trialing the Genetec Autovu automatic license plate recognition system to add another layer of perimeter security and exploring the Cloud Link Roadrunner enclosure management system to better manage access to server cabinets.