The changes rippling through the security industry are powerful, and they’re realigning the structure and modus operandi of how everyone does business. Technology, 9/11, systems integration, home security, monitoring contracts, new competitors, the Internet and advanced software developments are just a few of the change factors pushing the industry in different directions.

In the J.P. Freeman Co. “2003 Worldwide Video Surveillance” report, dealers were asked to look toward 2007 and forecast what those directions might be. The report narrowed the choices of what to consider down to a combination of 12 products and services.

Exploring Recovery, Risk Services

Several services not traditionally associated with the dealer level were included because they can be important to potential business growth.

For instance, disaster recovery and risk management questions were included even though they are not normally thought of as major parts of a dealer’s business. But the combined impact of 9/11 and technology has increased the focus on them, as all organizations are more concerned about continued operations in the event of a disaster.

Meanwhile, insurance rates are on the rise due to terrorist vulnerability, making it important for security users to properly assess that factor as well. While some may believe it is a minimal threat, it is nonetheless something else the insurance company can charge as a risk premium.

Small to midsize security users rarely get a risk analysis from anyone, so it’s something dealers can consider including in their service arsenal to generate new customers. It can be a source of incremental recurring revenue as well since risk analyses have to be done periodically, and they often lead to system upgrades and changes in monitoring coverage.

Video Dominates the Forecasts

After considering their business factors in the 12 product and service choices, dealers expect CCTV/video surveillance business to lead the way by 2007. Close behind are access control and integrated systems, all three of which are increasingly interconnected in today’s market.

Remote and networked video is only a small step behind, and video monitoring brings up the last of the list’s top six.

In total, four of the top six lines of business in 2007 are likely to involve video surveillance. A key difference between how dealers and systems integrators see the future is that integrated systems ranks first among the integrators. Dealers are, therefore, still looking at video as more of a standalone business than are integrators.

The fire market leads the second group of six in dealer importance, while asset tracking continues to rise as users develop more applications.

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