Genetec: Physical security is ‘speeding towards the cloud’

The adoption of cloud for physical security is accelerating after a decade of gradual progress, the Genetec Global Press Summit 2024 heard.

Presenting Genetec’s State of Physical Security 2024 report, Andrew Elvish, Vice President Marketing, Genetec, told the event at Genetec’s DCXC suite, Washington DC, that the 2023 survey showed 44% of end users indicating that over a quarter of their physical security environment is cloud or hybrid-cloud compared with 24% in the 2022 survey.

The stats support the launch of Genetec ‘s Security Center SaaS concept – offered as a massively scalable, open and unified software as a service solution (SaaS).

Combining access control, video management, forensic search, intrusion monitoring, automation, and many other advanced security capabilities, Genetec Security Center SaaS is said to usher in a new chapter in the technology evolution of the physical security industry.

Despite the move to the cloud, hybrid architectures blending on-premises and cloud-based solutions will suit most organizations. This move to hybrid systems is already underway, said Elvish.

“Cloud-based video surveillance systems were initially adopted fastest by both small and larger organizations that had distributed sites and a small number of cameras, such as fast-food restaurants and retail bank chains.

“Results from 2023 indicated that this is changing. A greater number of large enterprise organizations that have over 100,000 employees are now adopting cloud-based video surveillance systems.”.

Elvish identified the move to the cloud as hybrid.

“In our 2022 survey, respondents reported that 58% of their physical security system was on-premises and 42% was cloud or hybrid-cloud. In our 2023 survey, those numbers jumped to 33% of respondents stating that their physical security systems were on-premises and 67% were cloud or hybrid-cloud. These results indicate that end users don’t want to be locked in and are seeking options when leveraging cloud technology to optimize their infrastructure,” he said.