Exclusive: Genetec dives into the latest State of Physical Security Report

Genetec has released its 2026 State of Physical Security Report, pointing to a decisive shift in how organisations perceive physical security, with teams increasingly regarded as strategic partners rather than operational overhead.

The report is based on a global survey of 7,368 physical security professionals, including end users, channel partners, manufacturers and consultants.

End users accounted for 37.5% of respondents, while channel partners made up the largest group at 42.5%. Geographically, responses were led by the US and Canada, which represented 26% of participants, followed by Europe at 21% and Asia-Pacific at 29%.

According to the findings, physical security is increasingly viewed as an enterprise function that supports resilience, efficiency and business value, rather than solely protecting people and assets.

"Well, I mean, this is a really central part of the report this year, and one of the things that we noticed is that this idea of physical security as a strategic function has been in the works for quite a while, but now we're seeing it take on a broader, more mainstream appeal," said Andrew Elvish, Vice-President of Marketing at Genetec. "That shift is being clearly reflected in the survey results."

A key driver behind this change is the growing convergence between physical security and enterprise IT. More than 60% of respondents reported running either unified or integrated physical security systems, combining technologies such as video surveillance, access control and analytics onto a single platform. In contrast, just 29% said they still operate fully separate systems.

This convergence is also influencing technology investment decisions. Sixty per cent of respondents cited integration with new technologies as the primary motivation for replacing legacy systems, while 51% said gaining access to new capabilities was a key factor. Among channel partners and manufacturers, 91% said demand to add new technologies to existing systems either increased or remained steady throughout 2025.

"Physical security as a strategic function has really come to be through the combination of IT and physical security coming closer and closer together," said Elvish. "People started realising they had this extensive network of IoT devices running on a unified platform, and that opened the door to smarter use cases."

Despite this momentum, the report warns against technology-led decision-making driven by hype rather than outcomes. Elvish said boards are increasingly pushing for emerging technologies without clearly defined objectives.

"There's nothing worse than acquiring tech for the sake of acquiring tech," he said, pointing to past waves of video analytics adoption that failed to deliver sufficient return on investment.

Artificial intelligence is now the most prominent example. Interest in AI among end users has doubled year on year, making it one of the top technology priorities for 2026 and pushing video surveillance modernisation out of the top two priorities for the first time. On average, 21% of end users reported deploying AI or large language models in their physical security environments, rising to 34% among organisations with more than 100,000 employees.

Elvish said the strongest AI use cases today focus on improving operational efficiency rather than replacing human decision-making. "Searching through vast amounts of video data is something computers do far better than people," he said, noting that AI-powered investigations can reduce search times from several hours to minutes.

However, the report also highlights cultural barriers that limit the value organisations extract from their systems. Only 25% of end users said they actively share physical security data with other departments, despite growing evidence of its business value. Among those that do, IT was the most common recipient, followed by HR and facilities.

Cybersecurity emerged as another major concern. Forty-four per cent of respondents reported an increase in physical or cybersecurity incidents in 2025, rising to 50% among large organisations with more than 10,000 employees. At the same time, adoption of cybersecurity tools within physical security environments rose to 44%, up from 32% in the previous survey.

"The biggest mistake organisations make is not prioritising cybersecurity in physical security deployments," said Elvish, adding that low-cost devices often introduce significant cyber risk. He also stressed the importance of transparency, noting that vendors who claim to have no vulnerabilities should raise red flags.

Staffing pressures are further shaping investment strategies. The report found that labour challenges are expected to persist across all regions, with automation increasingly used to offset resource constraints. Vendor stability is also becoming a deciding factor, with 73% of end users now prioritising long-term trust and reliability when selecting security technology.

Elvish said the message for security leaders is clear. "Stop following the flavour of the day," he said. "The most important question is what business outcome you actually want to achieve with the investment."