Motorola Solutions’ Pedro Simoes on cloud integration and company’s ecosystem in exclusive Intersec interview

As a company with a long history in the security industry and strong global presence across many enterprise and public safety verticals to this day, Motorola Solutions’ booth was a must-see at Intersec Dubai. Pedro Simoes, CVP Sales Video Security & Access Control for Motorola Solutions, received asmag.com for an exclusive interview.
 
Asmag.com: Let’s imagine I’m an integrator visiting the Motorola Solutions booth at Intersec, what would be the most interesting solutions to explore? What makes Motorola Solutions stand out?
 
Pedro Simoes: The beauty of being in the safety technology business for close to 100 years is that you can look back on a rich history of delivering diverse technologies through a very strong channel partner community. We have a unique position in the market because we offer a customer and partner-friendly ecosystem. As the convergence of voice, data and video technologies continues, our end users benefit from having fully integrated, AI-powered solutions that enable integrators to serve multiple domains.
Our R&D also sets us apart and continues to drive new innovations. Here at Intersec, we’re showcasing new, generative-AI enabled solutions, including Avigilon Visual Alerts and Avigilon Intercom Touch. These two solutions can help security teams make the transition from reactive incident response to proactive management, and they provide easy-to-use interfaces and natural language capabilities.
 
Asmag.com: Do you see significant changes in the way integrators and end users are approaching new projects? What expectations do they have and what do you do to meet them?
 
Pedro Simoes: The security environment is growing more complex, especially for organizations with multiple sites needing to secure their operations. We work in close consultation with integrators to understand and address the real pain points faced by customers. That helps us to deploy solutions that draw on the core capabilities of our ecosystem and to deploy them in ways that deliver meaningful outcomes. best-possible outcomes for our partners and customers.
Across many projects, we’re being asked to deliver robust integration of multiple systems– for example, radio communications and video security systems. Customers and integrators want to be able to incorporate multiple new components within their security platforms and know that they will simply work. We’ve made our security platform open so that we can work with any manufacturer in the market. This is particularly important at a time when customers are shifting towards AI and cloud while wanting to retain the capabilities that their existing systems deliver today.
 
Asmag.com: You mentioned the shift in technology, but there is also a shift in the people integrating and managing security systems. Do the skills of integrators need to be more specialized? What skills do they need to develop to keep up with these changes?
 
Pedro Simoes: We are seeing the security industry in transformation. Conversations about AI and the cloud aren’t in the future, they’re happening now. That means need to widen their focus to become experts in networking and data.
Many of our partners have had experience in delivering subscription-based services long before that trend took off in the security industry. For them, conversations about technology change are easier than for traditional security systems integrators who went through the transition from analogue to IP cameras. By 2030, we believe around 50% of the security industry will have migrated to the cloud.
 
Asmag.com: How about end users who are reluctant to shift to the cloud, for example because they are used to CAPEX-based models instead of OPEX-based subscription models? Other end users, meanwhile, are actively pushing for greater cloud integration. Do you see changes in the willingness to switch to the cloud?
 
Pedro Simoes: If you think about life today, many services are subscription-based, from the apps on our phones to Netflix in our homes. End users are open to adopting this model because they’re seeing the benefits—cybersecurity updates, good user experiences and the delivery of new features.
We have seen large organizations that had rooms full of racks for their servers 10 years ago make that shift. Today, it’s estimated that more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies host everything in the cloud, including their CRMs and various back-end systems. We are seeing a massive change driven by end-user demand because they understand the benefits and the business model. From an integrator perspective, this is new, but they’re also positioned to benefit from the transition. They can deliver services to benefit customers while also accessing recurrent revenue, giving them predictable returns while allowing them to plan for the future.
Motorola Solutions’ channel partners are very important to us. We see them as an extension of our organization and we’re equipping them to adapt to industry shifts by providing them with training, support and incentives to continue being successful.
Asmag.com: Motorola Solutions has broadened its portfolio for video security and access control significantly over the past couple of years, for example through the acquisition of Pelco. What’s next for Motorola Solutions?
 
Pedro Simoes: Every acquisition delivered by our executive team was made with a clear view of what was missing from our portfolio and could add genuine value to our customers. Now we’re focused on delivering best of breed technologies and solid integrations that showcase what those newly acquired organizations can do.
 
One of those important acquisitions was Silent Sentinel, whose long-range cameras can identify objects at distances of around 30 kilometers away. They’re now part of our integrated technology platform and have expanded what we can deliver for border control and government security organizations.
I can’t disclose what else is coming, but we continue to look for opportunities to build on our existing solutions while maintaining our leadership in the industry. Motorola Solutions has transformed from being a radio communications company into a safety and security solutions provider that offers a full solution suite to address our customers’ most complex challenges.
 
Asmag.com: What verticals and geographies promise most significant growth for Motorola Solutions in 2026?
 
Pedro Simoes: As we are speaking here in Dubai, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. There is a lot of investment in the Middle East and we’re seeing the transportation, healthcare and oil & gas sectors all booming.
At the same time, defense spending has increased throughout this region and in Europe. This will drive the need for security solutions across the board as governments and enterprises seek to deliver safer cities, facilities and services and greater protection for workers and communities.