With all of the exciting technology in the video space, you would think customers would be lining up to buy the latest and greatest, but as with anything “new” there are always challenges and roadblocks. Here we take a look at three of the biggest: Speed of adoption, Cybersecurity and privacy concerns, and changing channel dynamics.

Adoption Rates. Whether cost, economic concerns or confusion around some of the new technologies, not everyone is onboard with some of the newest offerings, particularly when it comes to cloud and AI. According to a recent survey from Pro-Vigil just 7 percent of end users they surveyed are currently using AI in their physical security strategy.

Some customers are happy with what they have — even those with analog or even black and white cameras — and see no imminent reason to change. For those customers, many are only going to replace when something fails.

“Forever means different things to different people,” says Charles Nguyen, product marketing manager, Genetec, Montreal. “It is important for organizations to adapt and be able to change when they need to. In the case of cameras, you typically have a heterogenous environment. Standardization [on one provider or type of camera] is interesting in theory, but in reality there are economics and physical locations to consider. Still, devices fail. Mean time to failure changes and not having visibility is not acceptable anymore.”

Brad McMullen, president of products and solutions business, 3xLOGIC, Pacom and Sonitrol, Fishers, Ind., adds, “The reason people still have analog out there is it is still working. It is meeting their needs from a loss prevention standpoint.” While newer cameras and systems have capabilities far beyond this, it is often a matter of the customer being able to justify the cost of the upgrade.

“The power of cameras is getting so strong and analytics getting so good and accurate, there is a lot the technology can do,” he says. “The question is, is the customer willing to pay for it? With what we see with all the different analytics available, every customer’s use-case is different in terms of what they want and what they will pay for.”

It’s a challenge getting our arms around AI. That is a whole new level of complexity for integrators and dealers to talk about and sell.

Dean Drako, president and CEO, Eagle Eye Networks, Austin, Texas, agrees. “It’s budgets; It’s getting customers to understand [the benefits],” he says. But there is another factor at play as well, and that is the speed of change, particularly for AI. “One thing that was a little different in 2024 was AI is becoming a discussion topic with the customer and the integrator and it is a brand-new space. The customer is asking what can AI do for me? And the integrator needs to have answers. It is not easy because everything is moving so fast and changing every month. Some customers may be waiting for the waves to smooth out a bit in AI before making decisions.

“It’s a challenge getting our arms around AI,” Drako adds. “That is a whole new level of complexity for integrators and dealers to talk about and sell. There is a real opportunity for integrators to add a lot of value, but that will be a big challenge. Why is that? Because now you are developing a system that is actually proactive rather than sitting in a corner and recording. It’s very positive, but complicated.”

Josh Dice, president and CEO of Security Alarm Corp., Salem, Ill., has found this to be the case for his company. “Staying on top of the technology changes is always a challenge, but particularly so this year. So many companies are vying for ‘who is doing it better with AI?’ and so finding the right products and getting trained on that technology was a challenge.”

Tim Hobbs, director of video sales engineering, Owl Services, a Gaylord, Mich., says new technology does spike sales, but not always at big levels right away. Customers often want to try it out on a smaller scale before investing large dollars. “Every year customers budget to get the old out and put the newest technology in,” he says. “When there is a new widget in the market, you see a spike, due to the newness of that, but it does slow back down. Some of our national chains won’t buy thousands every time, but a couple hundred to make sure they like it, before slowly rolling it out. Every year they drive towards buying the best technology they can, but still at a pace they can make affordable.”

Other times, the technology itself isn’t quite ready for how the customer wants to actually use it, or they are not ready with the infrastructure to take the best advantage of it. Hobbs finds this to be the case with cloud. “Our cloud conversations today are really geared around data stored in the cloud and analytic engines, but not a ton of video yet. In the small retail space, very specific to the convenience store industry, their networks are not ready for cloud video recording.”

This isn’t just because they are small. “Convenience stores are not downsizing at all,” Hobbs says. “They are getting bigger every year with new formats, new platforms and store sizes. They never get any smaller. They sell more food, more beer, etc., and that takes more technology to cover that, but a lot of businesses don’t have the pipe to push that out of the store yet. I think we are a decade away from convenience industry recording video to the cloud for the whole store.”

Dice agrees. “Cloud recording is something we haven’t really latched onto here yet,” he says. “Some customers will record clips in the cloud and people like that a lot. But 24/7 video in the cloud is still a bit of a challenge.”

Cybersecurity & Privacy Concerns. Cybersecurity is no longer new or surprising for security integrators and dealers, or their customers. But each new technology or product has the potential to “break” the cybersecurity and this will be an ongoing concern for years to come. Privacy is also not new, but AI and analytics have brought it to the forefront both in practice and in some national, state and local laws as well.

“Despite the analytics and their capabilities there are still a lot of questions from end users about people recognition and privacy issues,” McMullen says. “That makes them very cautious. All these analytics you can turn off, but the technology has outpaced a lot of the data privacy laws and a lot of companies are still trying to determine what they are comfortable with.”

Christopher Zenaty, president, Turing AI, San Jose, Calif., agrees. “This often happens, particularly in certain states, with data privacy and compliance. Some states are more critical when it comes to biometric searching,” he says. “I am on the biometric committee for SIA. Illinois is one of the more difficult ones. There is a fine line there. Some law enforcement can use the analytics, but they don’t want to have everyone using the facial search. It is a slippery slope to be careful of how we are using [facial recognition].”

Many companies, Turing included, offer privacy cloaking features that can blur faces for privacy when doing analytic searches, but it is all about what the customer is comfortable with.

“As AI-enabled surveillance becomes more popular, we expect to see [more] concerns around personal privacy and data tracking emerge,” adds Evan Marty, director of product marketing, ADI | Snap One, Melville, N.Y.. “There are different laws and regulations on both the local and national levels that determine how things like facial recognition and biometric data are handled and who owns that sort of information.”

Misconceptions about cloud and cybersecurity are also tied in to AI adoption challenges, says Chuck O’Leary, vice president of sales, video systems and solutions – North America, Bosch Security and Safety Systems, Fairport, N.Y. “The security industry continues to lag behind other tech industries in cloud adoption. Dispelling antiquated notions about cloud implementation and security will be a key stepping stone to making the latest AI accessible. Emerging legal concerns around the application of AI for video surveillance will drive improved frameworks and best practices. Addressing bias and privacy challenges is key to deploying AI responsibility.”

Cybersecurity is an ongoing challenge. While it is improving in terms of the end user and integrator skills and knowledge, there are still hills to climb, Drako says.

“We are getting our act together a little bit better as an industry,” he says. “Camera companies know what the word is. That’s good. The old-school guys selling DVRs and NVRs from Asia still aren’t giving it much attention, but we are much better overall. Our biggest issue is with integrators who lack knowledge of networking or they outsource the install because it is in a remote location and the network is installed in an inappropriate or messed up way.”

There is still a lot of education required at the end user level as well, even amongst enterprise users, says Jon Adams, vice president of sales, DMP, Springfield, Mo. “We have a significant customer base within high security projects, government projects as well as retailers and financial institutions. In our conversations with them, cybersecurity is paramount. Helping bridge the gap between physical security, those departments and their needs, and cybersecurity means a lot of conversation and education needs to take place.

“Educating those responsible for the cybersecurity of their organizations on how we can utilize video cloud services to meet the need in a way that protects them, that’s a challenge,” he continues. “Not every company or entity has the same requirements, so it’s very hard to build a product that can fit everybody.”

Fredrick Nilsson, vice president, Americas, Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass., adds that with the rapid influx of new entrants, particularly in the AI space, one thing security integrators can do to help is make sure they are fully vetting these solutions. “Given the mission-critical nature of video surveillance and the heightened need for cybersecurity, it will be essential for customers to choose solid companies with proven track records. … Navigating this growing landscape will require careful evaluation to ensure that customers are selecting the partner with the right solutions that not only meet their current needs but are also future-proof in an increasingly complex landscape.”

Changing Channel Dynamics. The 2025 SIA Megatrends Report identified the top megatrend this year as “evolution of the channel.” According to the report, “Artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, technology upheaval, razor-thin margins, new competitors, direct-to-customer sales and delivery models and changing end-user requirements are converging to create the most challenging wave of change the channel has ever seen, felt primarily in the systems integration channel.”

This was echoed by many interviewed for this article, although each feels it a little differently.

“We’re seeing some shifts in how technology reaches the market, and that is challenging traditional business models,” says Tim Palmquist, vice president, Americas, Milestone Systems, Lake Oswego, Ore.. “What’s particularly notable is how new technologies are often knocking on the end customer’s door first, with the channel being more and more a secondary consideration. This is really disrupting the traditional ways of doing business. There is also the challenge of keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies. Integrators are having to learn and adapt quickly.”

Cloud comes with its own challenges for security dealers and integrators, McMullen says. “Customers are asking about cloud-hosting and looking to move to that and it feels like our end users are more ready to adopt it than some of our dealers and integrators,” he says. “Most of our dealers see benefits and understand it, but the recurring model can be different for a lot of our integrators. If you are an alarm dealer this is something you do every day. But if you are an integrator it is not so familiar.”

It’s not just cloud. Dice’s biggest challenge in 2024 was trying to get into the video monitoring space, he says. “Figuring out how to sell and install it have been a couple of challenges this year.”

And of course, there is the challenge faced by everyone in the industry throughout all levels of the channel: the people shortage. “Finding qualified associates to sell, install and service products that are becoming more sophisticated in their capabilities will continue to be a challenge for integrators,” O’Leary says.

Raminder Kumar, director of offering management, Honeywell Building Automation, Atlanta, sees a potential upside when it comes to AI and this issue. “Integrators will continue to experience challenges due to a skills shortage, which will create opportunities to solve this gap with AI, such as chatbot-based help, support, commissioning and installation guides,” he says.

“Integrators are facing some significant hurdles right now,” Palmquist adds. “They’re dealing with the challenge of mastering new technologies while competing against ever-larger consolidated companies, and that’s incrementally changing the competitive landscape. We’re also seeing this interesting shift where new technology developers are going straight to the end customer, bypassing the traditional channel model. But here’s the thing; there are real opportunities in all this change. The integrators who are going to thrive are the ones who embrace these new technologies and find innovative ways to add value for their customers. Those who try to persevere their legacy approach without adapting might struggle going forward.”

Tom Cook, executive vice president of sales, marketing and operations, North America, for Hanwha Vision, Teaneck, N.J., agrees. “The biggest challenge for integrators will be continuing to show their value as sales and distribution models change, especially as cloud systems become more popular. … What is the integrator’s value in a cloud model? If you’re dealing with a transparent license, there’s no ‘box’ or physical inventory anymore,” he says. “Looking at the actual ecosystem we have today, the big question is how will the model change for the integrators? They have to adapt and find new ways to add value or potentially risk losing their place in the ecosystem.”