Straight From the Experts: Security’s Most Pressing Issues

A lack of trained workers, deceptive sales practices and unpredictable tariffs and regulations are just a few of the issues security experts say must be addressed in 2019.

Straight From the Experts: Security’s Most Pressing Issues

The security industry had a lot to be happy about in 2018. However, there are still lingering issues from last year that will be present in 2019. As part of SSI‘s 2019 Industry Forecast, we asked a dozen experts to share what they believe will be security’s most pressing issues in the new year.

“The acceleration of growth for ‘smart home’ companies of all stripes is going to create an impossible problem for police response and a possible windfall for communities as they are ramping up their fines, or cutting off response altogether for those with too many false alarms. This can be a serious problem for the industry’s value proposition.” – Jeff Kessler / Imperial Capital

“Manpower; the economy has been hot and there are more jobs than people so competition is fierce for good people. This will not resolve itself overnight.” – Bill Bozeman / PSA

“Manufacturers’ top challenges are attracting and retaining a quality workforce, increased raw materials costs and trade uncertainties. Other challenges include rising healthcare/insurance costs, transportation and logistics costs and a strengthened U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.” – Don Erickson / SIA

“Unpredictable tariffs and regulations related to products manufactured in China have caused several integrators, and manufacturers that source a large volume of their product from China, to explore alternate products. Those highly dependent on product originating from China risk being caught off-guard in 2019.” – John Distelzweig / FLIR

“Increased connectivity of homes and businesses requires more cybersecurity. The dealer upside/opportunity is cyber is the next frontier for residential security. Once you connect the house or business, and make it smart, you have to double back and make sure the entire network, not just security, is secure.” – Jorge Hevia / Napco

“Deceptive sales practices on the residential side will continue to be unresolved as the industry seems to not understand the negative impact this has on the industry as whole.” – Richard Ginsburg / Alert 360

“Recruiting and attracting qualified technicians will remain difficult. Part of the reason is other industries have found ways to offer better compensation/benefits. We will have to step up and become more proactive in our recruiting efforts. If we are serious about recruiting the best talent, we will need to dust of the wallets to pay for them.” – Bob Harris / Attrition Busters

“The monitoring space will continue to consolidate as staying relevant and competitive will require significantly increased investments. The type and level of expertise required to maintain a monitoring center will continue to evolve, fueling the trend of full service companies outsourcing monitoring to wholesale providers.” – Morgan Hertel / Rapid Response Monitoring Services

“Cybersecurity will continue to plague the security industry. Any solution that relies on the Internet is vulnerable to attack. Every cyber tool improvement presents an irresistible challenge to hackers. We’re seeing more state sanctioned and organized cybercrime. It’s a perpetual race to keep up.” – Fredrik Nilsson / Axis

“What to do with all the data being collected. Just consider the quantity of data derived from citywide surveillance, large-scale buildings, industrial complexes, governments, and other large and small organizations. Given that this is continuing to increase exponentially, manufacturers must focus on providing Cloud-based solutions to the growing data storage challenge.” – Pierre Racz / Genetec

“Focusing on employee training, understanding technology and managing your business. The days of putting the same system in day after day, sticking a yard sign in the lawn and sending out a monitoring invoice are over. Too many dealers don’t tap the resource of their local, state and national trade associations. Go to a meeting and see what’s happening.” – Mitch Reitman / Reitman Consulting Group

“We will continue to prosper not by sticking our heads in the sand but by being willing to observe the changes around us and reacting accordingly, never losing sight of the tremendous mandate we serve and that is entrusted to us.” – Ivan Spector / TMA

Now that you’ve read the industry’s most pressing issues, it’s time to take action! Check out the articles below to help you plan your 2019.

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