The North American security market continues to be strong and robust. Drivers fueling this growth include the need to deal with persisting security issues in the North American region, as well as security technologies that have become more advanced yet affordable.
The North American security market continues to be strong and robust, according to companies we spoke at ISC West this year. Most of them expressed the expectation their growth this year will be in line with, or outright beat, the market average. Drivers fueling such growth include the need to deal with persisting security issues in the North American region, as well as security technologies that have become more advanced yet affordable.
In terms of physical security, North America is still a growth market and is expected to remain so in the next years to come. According to Grand View Research, North America’s physical security market size was valued at US$53.17 billion in 2016, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7 percent from 2017 to 2025.
The positive sentiment was expressed by companies taking part in ISC West this year, held from April 11 to 13 in Las Vegas. “It was pretty healthy last year, and I think it will continue to be healthy. We're still seeing good solid growth. Everything that we're seeing from our customers, with regard to their spending, plans and the things they want to do, indicates that they've got great roadmaps. We're seeing good strong planning for next year and years to come,” said Michael Mathes, Executive VP of
Convergint Technologies.
In fact, a lot of companies said they expected their growth this year to be in line with the market average, if not exceed it. “Yes we're growing faster than the average market, especially in the IP side. If you're starting greenfield where everything is brand new, it's IP. Very rarely will you see users wanting to take a step back to analog, and even if they do, it's because some of the historical issues they have; it's not because of the technology,” said Sean Murphy, Regional Marketing Manager for Video System at
Bosch Security Systems.
“Our growth is expected to be significantly higher than what we see from a market perspective. We grow in two different ways. We grow through acquisitions, and we have a lot of organic growth. We're planning a growth of around 25 percent range, evenly split between organic and acquisitive growth,” said Mathes.
Security growth drivers
So what’s driving this growth in the North American market? Backed with a strong US economy, end users are continuing to allocate budget on security amid persisting security risks, from gun violence to terrorist attacks. Recent incidents in the United States, including the 2017 shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival leaving 58 people dead and a Florida school shooting in February 2018 leaving 14 students and 3 staff members dead, make investing in security all the more relevant and needed.
“Unfortunately, there's been a lot of major security events that have gotten lots of publicity. We've seen active shooter events that are driving people to think more about security. Our victor video management system is integrated with a gunshot detection system that is generating a lot of interest on how it interacts with our VMS and what risks we can help mitigate,” said Jammy DeSousa, Senior Product Manager for American Dynamics at
Johnson Controls.
“If you think about security in geopolitical or socioeconomic trends, you think about nightclubs in Orlando, or country music festival in Las Vegas, or schools in Florida … security is so important in our world right now that I think everyone is thinking really hard about security, and making sure that we think about how we minimize some of these outrageous attacks,” said Trent Perrotto, Senior Manager for External Communications and Media at
Honeywell Home and Building Technologies.
Amid these dangers, advances in security technologies – from video analytics that detect anomalies or unusual behaviors exhibited by individuals to physical-logical access control integration to ensure both physical and data security – have played a huge role in driving the market expansion. Not only are these technologies more advanced than ever, but they are also now coming at more affordable prices that appeal to the end users with their cost-effectiveness.
“There's been a lot of discussion about downward price pressures having a negative effect on the security market here in the U.S. However, we believe the availability of cost-effective products and solutions helps grow the market for our products because it encourages end users in all vertical market sectors to invest in security,” said Jeffrey He, President of North America at
Hikvision Digital Technology. “At the same time, advances in security technology are enabling manufacturers to create cutting edge-products that address the ever-changing and increasingly challenging global security environment. This will also help with market expansion. I firmly believe that end users in need of the latter will invest in new technology, even if those solutions require a premium.”
“If a solution to minimize a risk is too expensive, then it becomes more acceptable to accept the risk. For instance if I was a retailer that needs to have a product on the shelf, and I have a risk that someone might steal it, I need a system that can keep them from stealing it. But if that system costs me $50 for every item on the shelf, I’d say that's more expensive than the fact that someone was going to steal from me every once in a while. But if someone develops a new technology and says ‘For every piece on your shelf, it only costs you $1 to protect it,’ then the customer will be more willing to buy that technology,” said Mathes. “That’s why we see new software around identity management, and new technologies like gunshot detections, which are now becoming more cost-effective.”