2025 Security Industry Predictions: Geoff Kohl, Security Industry Association
Kohl shares his thoughts on what’s ahead for the security industry in 2025, continuing our ongoing series of prognostications.
Photo courtesy of Security Industry Association
Our 2025 Security Industry Predictions series continues with a few looks into the future by Geoff Kohl, senior director of marketing at Security Industry Association:
Security Sales & Integration: Without getting into any specific vendors or branded solutions, what technology category or solution area do you see as 2025’s ripest, most profitable growth opportunity for security dealers, installers and integrators? Explain your reasoning.
Geoff Kohl: Mobile credentials — using the phone as the credential rather than fobs and cards — is an area ripe with opportunity for systems integrators willing to invest the time to learn the nuances of this changing ecosystem. We recently named mobile credentials as one of SIA’s 10 Security Megatrends for 2025.
You’re seeing major vendors support this change, along with the emergence of possible standards like PKOC and Aliro. And the push to mobile credentialing is clearly a strategy for mega-techs like Apple and Google that have enormous influence.
It’s also an opportunity to have deeper conversations with end users about their goals around their badge office and, more importantly, integration of identity across their organization (a conversation that has to involve security, IT and HR). It’s also a conversation about their employee experience.
There’s no doubt that the world is moving to mobile credentials.
SSI: These days, we’re all hearing a lot about the cloud migration, AI/machine learning, crime deterrence vs. crime reactiveness, etc. Which of these “hot topics” do you think is overplayed? Which ones do you think will truly transform the practice of security integration in the coming years?
Kohl: I think “crime reactiveness” is a bit overplayed. The reality is that many emerging “smart” solutions today are not really about reacting to crimes. Instead, these systems are automating security pain points — things like deciphering signal from noise in a GSOC or managing cybersecurity and updates to thousands of devices.
There are, of course, some interesting “crime reactiveness” solutions in the market — chiefly in the areas of weapon detection and gunfire detection — but the real request from the end user seems to be around applying AI to help them differentiate meaningful data in their security centers from the noise that distracts them from their core duties of protecting their people, facility and assets.
SSI: What’s getting better about the security industry these days? What seems to be getting worse and worse?
Kohl: What’s getting worse is the number of technology systems in place today that an integrator’s customer has to interface with. There is a myriad of security system technologies (e.g., video, access, intrusion, visitor management), and, if you expand to the larger facility ecosystem, you have to consider elements like energy efficiency systems, lighting, HVAC, environmental monitoring, etc.
One of the new Security Megatrends we recognized in our 2025 report was “Platform Aggregation.” There are companies trying to solve this overload of data and overload of disparate systems. One of the first steps to solving this problem is to put key information in a single dashboard through a software platform that aggregates the important data that, otherwise, would often be isolated in these systems.
There are many who think the second step will be to apply AI to these systems through these aggregation platforms so that it’s not just about looking at a “single pane of glass” but also about finding the meaningful data within these unified views.
SSI: What’s liable to catch some security dealers, installers and integrators off guard in the coming year?
Kohl: Our number one Security Megatrend for 2025 is entitled “Evolution of the Channel.” And after speaking with some of our Megatrends Advisors, like Bill Bozeman and Convergint’s Eric Yunag, one of the biggest factors in this evolution is the delivery model.
You’re seeing more and more direct-to-customer delivery models from solution developers/manufacturers/software companies. And this is especially common in systems that are sold under a SaaS model.
This brings up the greater question: How does the integrator get a piece of the recurring revenue pie and not be relegated to purely an “installer and device maintenance” role?
Another thing we heard from some top security practitioners representing enterprise-level tech companies is that they want a closer relationship with the technical team members at their systems integrator.
There’s a feeling that their only direct interface is with the sales and business development team. However, technical team members in the corporate security organizations truly want a relationship with your engineers, your techs and your designers. There’s a sense that their demands are not being heard.
One of the opportunities we see is to embed (or partially embed) your technical experts into the end-user organizations.
SSI: Finish this sentence: “2025 will be remembered as the year that the security industry…”
Kohl: …truly works together to begin to solve the labor challenge of attracting people who have the technical skill sets that our industry needs to advance. I certainly hope this is true, and there are more resources than ever (the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent, the SIA-PSA Security Industry Careers Guide, the existing career pathways guidance produced jointly by SIA and ASIS, etc.).
However, we also have to commit to getting out there and telling the great story of our industry and why talented individuals should want to make our industry the home for their career.
Click here for the 2025 Security Industry Predictions series!
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!
Related Content
Security Is Our Business, Too
For professionals who recommend, buy and install all types of electronic security equipment, a free subscription to Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration is like having a consultant on call. You’ll find an ideal balance of technology and business coverage, with installation tips and techniques for products and updates on how to add to your bottom line.
A FREE subscription to the top resource for security and integration industry will prove to be invaluable.
