The security industry is always changing, and four prominent integrators say they expect a jolt this year and beyond thanks to the election of Donald Trump as president, the growth in the use of artificial intelligence and customers’ unquenchable thirst for data and analytics.
The integrators were among those who gathered in Tampa, Fla., for the annual Resideo CONNECT event. During a highly interactive roundtable discussion, they touched on some of the hottest topics in the industry and shared what they think will happen across the space in the next 12-plus months.
What follows are highlights from that conversation, during which the four participants, who had never met each other, became fast friends and perhaps future collaborators on some high-profile security systems installations across the U.S. and around the world.
Strengths and Competitive Differentiators
People’s Security Company, located in Brainerd, Minn., delivers “peace of mind” for its customers, most of which live in high-end homes or are outfitting their second homes in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, says sales manager Jason Cave.
“This is the biggest investment some people have,” he says.
Langston Security & Integration, LLC, in Peoria, Ariz., meanwhile, prides itself on being a “one-stop shop” for its customers, most of which are commercial business leaders, CEO Kristen Siqueiros says.
“If they worry about how to use their technology, it takes them away from what they do,” she says.
Siqueiros notes that it’s everyone’s responsibility at Langston to make sure customers’ needs are always met.
“If the phone rings more than twice, everyone is responsible for picking up the phone,” she says, noting the company has “always been built on word of mouth,” meaning they pride themselves on a job well done because it means it will lead to more work from their neighbors and beyond.
Fleenor Security in Johnson City, Tenn., “intentionally focus[es] on our culture,” says president Will Fleenor, noting the multi-generational family-run company worked on its mission vision of values about six or seven years ago and hasn’t stopped trying to perfect them since launching the effort.
“I’m a torch bearer for the company, holding on to the values that have made us successful,” he says. Fleenor calls Fleenor Security “a high-challenge, high-support environment,” noting that constant push for excellence helps when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees.
Protection Systems in High Point, N.C., “treat[s] all employees like family,” says president Chris Lohr, whose father started the company in 1970 and whose sister also is among its 25 employees. To amplify the point, Lohr notes Protection Systems has five employees with more than 25 years of experience there and a dozen with 10-plus years in the fold.
With such a well-known company in such a tight-knit community, Lohr knows he can’t hide — and he wouldn’t want to — if things go haywire with one of Protection Systems’ installations.
“People know where to find me,” he says.
The Effect of a New President
With Donald Trump having just launched his second, non-consecutive, four-year term as president as of Jan. 20, our roundtable quartet expressed universal optimism about the effect he’ll have on their businesses, citing his campaign promises and policy focuses on his road to the White House.
“Many small business owners are optimistic,” says Fleenor. “You have to be proactive [before Trump takes the office from President Joe Biden] and prepare for robust good health by having the right systems, people, and processes in place.”
Cave noted the stock market and the cryptocurrency sector both went up in the immediate wake of Trump’s election in November. The new president is “putting money into things that are important, including school safety and border security,” he adds, saying that those emphases from the Oval Office will help security integrators get more work.
Siqueiros says Trump’s strong personality and ability to lead will trickle down to business leaders and help to instill confidence in them and their customers.
“We know that 80 percent of running a business is psychological,” she says. “People will follow a person who’s leading them.” Siqueiros is also “excited to see how [U.S. Health and Human Services secretary designee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] will help with healthcare policies.”
According to Siqueiros, Trump “has a proven track record when it comes to the economy and the supply chain. He advocates for business, and we drive the economy.”
Trump also “brought in [the National Defense Authorization Act] during his first term,” adds Lohr.
With Trump winning a second, non-consecutive presidential term, “the anxiety level starts to drop,” says Fleenor. That’s because, he says, Trump is considered “a pro-business president.”
“I see companies investing in growing and moving and that’s good for us,” he says. “We’ve had a great four years [with President Biden], but I expect the next four years to be even better.”
Siqueiros is realistic that Trump’s election doesn’t mean the U.S. is about to become perfect, but she does expect it to be better for the security integration business as a whole and Langston Security in particular.
“Problems never go away completely,” she says. “The security industry is pretty good about noticing trends and responding to that.”
Security Leads the Way on RMR
When it comes to recurring monthly revenue, the security integration world has always been well ahead of other integration sectors, including AV and IT. With customers now paying monthly subscriptions for just about everything these days, it’s a no-brainer for them to do so for security systems, our panelists say.
“There’s value in peace of mind,” says Cave. “There’s a lot of time and money savings for customers who are paying those monthly fees for their security systems. That monthly rate is nothing to them.”
Fleenor calls RMR “the gas that powers the engine,” adding it’s “integrated in our DNA.”
“The public has also been trained [to pay monthly fees for alarm services],” he says. “It’s expected to go with security systems. We don’t get the pushback like some other industries might.”
Siqueiros notes that recurring monthly revenue has seen far too many small companies, both in and out of the security industry, step away from RMR out of fear of upsetting or losing customers for asking them to dig deeper in their pockets every month.
“A lot of small security companies are afraid of going after RMR,” she says. “If they don’t jump on it, though, the harsh reality is they won’t survive.” The increase in cloud security installations is the most obvious way for security integrators to jump in on recurring monthly revenue, says Siqueiros.
Protection Systems “won’t sell access control without RMR,” says Lohr, meaning customers who bristle at the monthly fees have to find someone else to do their installations. That doesn’t happen all that often, though, he says.
“People don’t mind paying,” says Lohr. “If you tack on too much, people wonder if it’s necessary, but we don’t have too much of an issue with how we do it.”
Fleenor has inspection agreements for its fire alarm systems, while Siqueiros has similar deals for its access control, closed-circuit television and call box installations.
AI and Other Hot Security Technology Trends
Although artificial intelligence is getting the lion’s share of the hype when it comes to technology that will change and revolutionize industries of all kinds, that doesn’t mean that it’s the only thing security integrators expect to become more regularly requested by their customers.
“There’s a huge demand for video monitoring,” says Siqueiros. “It’s a game-changer.”
This will be the year to “expand use of video analytics combined with AI,” says Fleenor.
Lohr notes that customers are coming to him armed with a lot more information today than they did when he first started in the security integration space.
“They see ads and start to expect what they see in commercials,” he says. “It’s fascinating how they educate themselves.”
When it comes to incorporating more AI capabilities in your security systems, “you have to have some education behind it,” says Siqueiros. “It’s going to happen fast. It needs to go through the vetting process. It’s so new that no one has done a lot this yet.”
Cybersecurity is another hot area, she says.
“You have to put up guardrails to protect the customers and ourselves,” says Siqueiros.
Cave says AI has a problem when it comes to adoption among his customers.
“A lot of people want the features, but they don’t want it to be called artificial intelligence because it makes them think of China,” he says. “Customers want to call us and talk to someone and rely on somebody. When AI replaces human interaction, you can run into some problems.”
Fleenor agrees, to a degree.
“We’re called for a reason: to solve problems,” he says. “We’re leveraging tools and technology to do that faster. That’s something we’ve always done and something we’ll always do.”
Like all hot new technologies, the advancement of AI across the security landscape is “a generational thing,” says Cave.
“You have to see industry trends and try to understand where things are going so you can help your customers know what kinds of solutions will work best for them,” he says.
Fleenor does a lot of reading and attends as many security industry conferences as he can to make sure he’s schooled on the latest happenings across the sector, while Siqueiros relies on Langston Security’s reps to stay on top of the latest trends and what’s coming across the horizon.
“They help us stay educated,” she says. “There’s a lot of us out there, but it’s a small industry.”
Lohr jokingly compares the security industry to Hotel California, meaning, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” as Don Henley famously sang in the ubiquitous megahit.
“We all sell the same things,” he says. “The differentiator is in the relationships.”
Security’s Relationship with Other Systems Integrators
Sticking with the subject of relationships, there has long been a perception that security integrators don’t always play well with others, and they try to preserve as much as their turf as possible from being pirated by AV and IT integrators. Our panelists, however, say that perception isn’t close to reality.
“Security is nothing without network infrastructure,” says Cave. “We’re more competitive with AV.”
Fleenor notes that IT integrators and staffers are often the gatekeepers who determine whether a proposed security system integration will be approved to be installed.
“You have to convince the IT team that what you’re putting on their network won’t compromise the network, won’t bog it down, won’t become a target for hackers, all of that,” he says.
Langston Security “used to be a security company that did networking, but now we’re the opposite,” says Siqueiros. The company also started an AV integration arm in 2018, working with partners to serve clients who needed both AV and security installations all in one.
Protection Systems’ technicians “are almost IT techs, too,” says Lohr.
Bold Predictions and Hot Takes
Our panelists certainly weren’t shy about embracing the start of another Trump presidential term and their bold predictions and hot takes for what’s ahead for the security industry in the next 12 months — or even longer — reflect that optimism.
“The economy will snap back, and interest rates will drop,” says Fleenor, noting those two developments will leave to a boon for the security industry because companies will add more real estate and that will need their need the latest security technology to protect those new spaces.
Lohr expects to see video technology continue its upward trajectory and get better in terms of both quality and affordability for a wider swath of customers, a development that comes with a bit of a curveball for Protection Systems.
“I thought I was an alarm company,” he says with a laugh.
Cave sees farming as the vertical market that’s most ripe, if you’ll pardon the pun, for integrating more security-related solutions. He points to crop counting, audio alerts for cows when they have calves and marijuana dispensaries and cannabis retail outlets as the most receptive to the services that security integrators bring to the table.
Crop counting, in particular, incorporates a slew of analytics in terms of yield, protection from four-legged intruders and how much water a particular plant needs to meet its peak, he says. That’s reflected in video surveillance systems that can be isolated to a fraction of a second, says Cave.