What does the physical security industry need to know?
The physical security landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. With the backdrop of COVID-19 came new challenges and threats. Now, the sector is looking forward: to adapting physical security with the help of technology - but there are still barriers to success.
After talking to over 3,700 physical security professionals on current priorities, challenges and future endeavours; Genetec recently published a State of Physical Security report (2022).
With Pimloc’s knowledge of AI and video, we wanted to explore the report in more detail and share our insights on the data, video and technological implications that the physical security sector may face.
Supply chain shortages continue to be a challenge
The report found that 60% of end users had physical security projects delayed because of supply chain issues, with 46% having over 3 months of delays and 28% over 6 months.
The pandemic meant difficulties with port entry and political world issues caused significant delays - with many still trying to recover. Parts needed across particular industries like automobile and smartphone sectors fell in demand during COVID, but have since increased to numbers that almost supersede the pandemic.
All these issues have knock-on effects like unprecedented shortages, staffing and budgetary problems, and of course, supply chain issues.
In the report, 52% had faced staff shortages, 49% faced hiring difficulties, and 42% faced problems with employee morale. In fact, 50% of all respondents said that their physical security organisations had faced HR challenges in the last year. Other challenges included remote work (36%), layoffs (29%), and furloughs (21%).
Supply chain issues and staff shortages mean that a priority on operational efficiency is key. From a physical security perspective, this means looking towards automated processes to eliminate any issues for human error, and analytical tools to understand more about how to streamline operations. Technologies such as smart-video surveillance and AI video analytics help to carry out object detection, intruder alerts, and round-the-clock monitoring of spaces.
Video management is considered incredibly valuable
As businesses grow, a greater priority is put on the value of using data for physical security.
71% of respondents from the transport sector considered physical security and related data to be “mission-critical”. This means that physical security plays an integral part in protecting assets, staff and customer safety.
The value of video surveillance data from multiple physical security systems like security cameras can help optimise these efforts. This could include people counting, tracking and live alerts to ensure people are safe.
When it comes to physical security, some of the top areas of technology respondents to the report were looking to invest in 2023 included:
Access control (67%)
Video surveillance (59%)
Cybersecurity (43%)
Video analytics (52%)
Intrusion detection (47%)
Facial recognition (36%)
Security and operation analytics (36%)
Perimeter protection (40%)
License plate recognition (39%)
Incident management (39%)
It is clear to see that video continues to be strongly considered as a security asset - via access control systems, to boost efficiency, or to improve security weaknesses.
Through biometric analysis, object detection and tracking, and other forms of analytics, it helps build a fuller picture, understand user behaviours and patterns better, and predict and respond accordingly.
A hybrid approach to the cloud is the future
While most end-user respondents mainly store video footage on-premises, roughly ⅔ of respondents said their organisations looked to move to or store more of their physical security data in the cloud over the next two years.
The cloud provides a centralised space to store captured video data and other parts of the business, freeing companies from maintaining the infrastructure on-site to host these systems.
The concept is becoming more common, due to its increased efficiency and savings on costs. But there does seem to be some resistance in certain sectors.
Only 26% in the healthcare sector and 24% in local government seemed keen to host in the cloud. This is partly because of fears of data being breached and towards cybersecurity.
While traditional on-premises solutions may feel more comfortable for the industry, the cloud can be a useful tool. Compared to on-prem models which can be restrictive, cloud solutions offer scalability and flexibility to users. While concerns around cybersecurity are warranted, many cloud solutions today have robust systems of cybersecurity, encryption, hashing, and more - and their remote location can sometimes be more beneficial than an on-site system.
As the report suggests, the industry can gain a lot from the cloud to optimise the efficiency of operations and help manage large amounts of data without overburdening their systems.
There has been a major shift in how physical security is now being handled. There are clear benefits to leveraging multiple systems and adopting new modes of video surveillance and data analytics to facilitate physical security.
Efficiency is a growing priority, and physical security needs a way to effectively protect data, as well as learn from it.
As video surveillance and analytics become increasingly useful, captured visual data will only become an even larger source of information that needs to be compliant with privacy laws, and protect individuals’ data privacy.
Automated video redaction is a tool that does just that - protect privacy, without compromising the scalability and potential of visual data.