Stanley Security has published its annual report looking at security industry trends, challenges and opportunities to look out for in the coming year.
The 2021 Industry Trends Report is based on a survey of business decision makers to learn more about organisations’ perceptions about, interest in and adoption of security technology. This year’s survey included 2,404 respondents across Benelux, France, the Nordics, United Kingdom and United States. Respondents represented organisations of all sizes.
Collating and analysing the data from the survey, Stanley Security has identified several trends that it considers will be increasingly important factors in organisations’ security considerations in 2021.
Top of this list is the use of security to mitigate health and safety risks, which is a direct response to the global pandemic. It has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way organisations leverage security solutions to help them ensure the health of their people and visitors. From health questionnaires and temperature screening to contact tracing and controlling people flow, security solutions are now serving as organisations’ first line of defence against health and safety risks. Although these have been implemented in direct response to Covid-19 workplace safety, it will no doubt have a lasting impact on the way organisations view and use security for the foreseeable future.
The pandemic has also led many organisations to deploy threshold management solutions – such as health questionnaires, temperature and face mask screening systems and wellness-based credential activation – that automate processes, enforce policies and integrate with other security and business systems. The balance of the focus has moved from visitor management to managing any individual crossing an organisation’s threshold, but without significantly impacting throughput and operations.
Health and safety protocols – and the new social distancing norm – has accelerated a long overdue transition to touchless and mobile-first security solutions which will no doubt gain in popularity even more in 2021. These include touchless doors, mobile credentials or NFC-powered access control, automated screening systems and more.
The rise of cloud solutions and the XaaS delivery model is a clear trend that has emerged, as more organisations have come to realise that cloud solutions are a lot more resilient than an on-premises service, leading to the accelerated adoption of both cloud-hosted solutions as well as remote services. This is creating more demand for the as-a-service (XaaS) delivery model, which offers cost predictability – particularly important for small to medium-sized businesses. Controlling costs is especially critical as businesses recover from the impact of Covid-19.
Further trends highlighted in the report include the increased demand for outsourcing of security management; leveraging security data to help improve processes, increase efficiencies and make more informed business decisions; and an increased demand for flexible, scalable and integrated solutions that enable organisations to quickly adapt to changes in circumstance.
Commenting on the report, Dan Hindley, Stanley Security UK Commercial Director, said: “Security solutions are more critical than ever to a business’ operations. As organisations continue to face an unpredictable future, we’ll see an increased demand for systems that can help them mitigate risks and future-proof their operations. Additionally, there is a pressing need to manage these systems remotely so that they can have 24-hour coverage – increasing the need for services, such as remote guarding and remote video verification to take over the duties of physical security guards.”
Download the report here
