Confidence in the security industry is hitting new highs, according to the results of the January–February 2026 Security Industry Association (SIA) Security Market Index (SMI) survey.
When asked to rate current business conditions for their companies, 31% described them as “excellent,” while 53% said “good,” and 12% said “average.” The 84% positive sentiment was a four-point improvement over the results in November–December 2025.
“We are thrilled to see the security industry start the year so strong,” says Scott Dunn, chairman of the SIA board of directors. “The innovation and resilience of SIA members steered them through a fair amount of uncertainty resulting from government budget and trade disruptions last year, but we are now looking ahead to an outstanding 2026.”
What Does the Security Market Index Measure?
The Security Market Index “measures security industry executives’ current status and future expectations through a select survey of SIA members,” according to the association announcement.
The Index’s goal is “to provide a macro-view of confidence levels in the security industry every two months while closely examining six specific business measures,” including:
- Number of employees or hours worked
- Marketing spending
- Product production or service output
- Capital equipment spending
- R&D spending
- Product or service sales
Special focuses of SIA’s January–February 2026 Security Market Index include:
- Security leaders’ perspectives on a bright short-term industry outlook
- Expected conditions for companies in the next three months
- The economic landscape, including growth amid slowed hiring
- Security leaders’ top industry topics of interest including artificial intelligence and data centers
