Physical security spending in the Americas is becoming more closely tied to measurable operational results, as organizations seek to reduce costs, improve incident response and make better use of existing systems rather than simply add cameras or alarms.
Physical security spending in the Americas is becoming more closely tied to measurable operational results, as organizations seek to reduce costs, improve incident response and make better use of existing systems rather than simply add cameras or alarms.
Executives from Netwatch, Verint, Intellicene and Acre Security say artificial intelligence, integrated platforms and hybrid cloud are drawing investment in 2026. But buyers are scrutinizing whether these technologies can reduce operator workloads, speed investigations and work with infrastructure already in place.
Security spending faces greater scrutiny
“Now the question is: what did this stop?” said Justin Nagy, CEO of Netwatch, describing a shift away from judging security primarily by surveillance coverage.
According to Nagy, customers increasingly want to know whether a solution can reduce guard hours, losses, false dispatches and insurance-related costs. Video monitoring is being evaluated not only for what it records, but also for its ability to support intervention before damage occurs.
Kumar Sokka, CEO of Acre Security, sees a similar emphasis on outcomes. Customers want systems that reduce complexity, remain reliable under pressure and show value beyond the security department, he said.
Greg Colaluca, CEO of Intellicene, said the growing use of analytics has also exposed operational challenges. More alerts do not necessarily mean better protection, particularly when security operators are already dealing with large volumes of information.
The emphasis is shifting toward filtering unnecessary alerts, verifying threats quickly and equipping responders with useful context.
Budget constraints are influencing procurement. Colaluca cited hardware pricing and availability, tariff uncertainty and supply chain requirements as factors making large system replacements difficult to justify. Cybersecurity reviews are also becoming a more prominent part of purchasing decisions, with IT and compliance teams involved earlier.
Growth opportunities span critical sectors
The executives identified a range of active sectors, although priorities differ by supplier.
Sokka pointed to data centers, healthcare, education, critical infrastructure and large commercial enterprises, where operators must manage access across multiple facilities and user groups without disrupting operations.
Colaluca highlighted gaming and hospitality, where concealed-weapon threats are a concern in crowded venues; retail, where operators want to coordinate investigations across stores; and transportation, utilities and data centers, where large, distributed estates require reliable security oversight.
He also cited demand in healthcare and higher education for measures addressing workplace violence and security in open-access environments.
For Verint, financial services illustrates how customers are approaching technology upgrades. Banks must oversee branches, ATMs and offices consistently, but may be unable to modernize all sites simultaneously.
“Modernization also has to be practical,” said Matt Tengwall, Senior Vice President and General Global Manager, Verint Fraud and Security Solutions.
Integration moves beyond a shared dashboard
Suppliers agree that convergence between video surveillance, access control and identity systems has progressed beyond a desire to view everything on a single screen.
“Putting several systems on one screen isn't convergence,” Sokka said. Cameras, access events, identities and analytics must inform one another to improve awareness and response.
The practical requirement is to connect events with enough context for operators to act. An access alert can be paired with live video, credential details and location information, allowing personnel to establish what happened without searching separate systems.
Tengwall gave the example of a valid credential being used to open a restricted door. Access data alone cannot establish whether an unauthorized person followed the cardholder inside. Video adds context that can guide an investigation.
Sokka said this capability is particularly important for multi-site enterprises and high-security facilities, where staff must oversee more doors, users and events than they can continuously monitor.
Colaluca argued that integration must extend to the response team. A control room may have video and access information, but the officer sent to investigate may receive only a brief radio description.
Linking incident details, images and response procedures to personnel in the field can help close that gap.
AI shifts from detection to response
AI investment is increasingly focused on identifying the events that warrant attention and helping teams act on them.
Netwatch uses AI to help identify activity that may require attention and reduce nuisance alarms, followed by review from trained intervention specialists. Depending on the circumstances, staff may deliver a live audio warning, contact the customer or escalate to law enforcement.
“AI brings speed and scale to the process, while people bring judgment,” Nagy said.
Verint sees a related opportunity on the investigation side. Intelligent search, including natural-language queries, can help investigators locate relevant footage without manually reviewing hours of recordings.
Tengwall described a multi-branch banking investigation in which search tools identify video for review, browser-based access makes it available to authorized investigators and controlled cloud sharing supports collaboration. Automated checks can also flag equipment failures before they compromise an investigation.
Colaluca expects AI to progress further into decision support by correlating events, proposing response procedures and preparing incident records. He envisages more routine alarm triage being handled by AI under human oversight.
However, he said privacy, auditability and the explanation of AI recommendations are becoming important customer concerns.
Hybrid cloud gains ground
Rather than abandoning existing infrastructure, buyers are looking for ways to modernize incrementally.
Sokka said organizations increasingly want flexibility across cloud, on-premise and hybrid systems, allowing each site to adopt capabilities suited to its needs.
Colaluca noted that large installations may retain video and critical control functions on-site because of bandwidth, cost, regulatory or network-isolation requirements, while using cloud services for centralized management and analytics.
For Tengwall, hybrid cloud and open integration allow financial institutions to add capabilities without replacing every existing system at once.
The implication for integrators is a greater emphasis on interoperability, cybersecurity and migration planning rather than equipment replacement alone.
Identity and automation shape the next phase
Although video remains central to detection and investigation, executives expect access control and identity technologies to take on a larger role.
Sokka pointed to automated access permissions that can change when an employee's role, location or employment status changes, reducing the risk of credentials remaining active after they are no longer needed.
He also raised the emerging challenge of “Physical AI,” including robots, autonomous equipment and software agents capable of operating doors or machinery. As those systems take actions in the physical world, organizations must decide what authority they should hold and how that authority is recorded and controlled.
Nagy expects video to remain the primary driver of innovation, with access and identity adding context. Colaluca also sees video continuing to attract investment, while identity becomes more important to linking physical and cybersecurity.
For integrators, the opportunity increasingly lies in making existing technologies work together, automating routine tasks without losing accountability and demonstrating that a connected security environment produces better decisions, not merely more data.