When it comes to predicting business security system trends for 2019, “the economy and capital spending by business are the top two factors security dealers and security integrators think will have the greatest impact on sales of security systems by their companies in 2019, according to SDM’s 2019 Industry Forecast Study.”
It might not seem intuitive, but the housing market, the economy, and capital spending effect every sector and the business security industry is no exception. For the past decade, the economy was ranked as the #1 predictor of security sales, but this year, capital spending takes first place.
How Capital Spending Effects Commercial Security
Capital expenditure is defined as the money that businesses spend to manage their physical assets. If companies have more money to spend on their assets, one such way they may choose to do so is on a physical security system. While the security industry had a great 2018 with many security budgets increasing, economic forecasters are expecting a lower rate of economic growth this year due to the uncertainties caused by the trade war with China.
Despite the unease over the trade war, the economy is still strong and economic experts are anticipating a 7 percent increase in business spending this year, according to the Kiplinger report. Even when the economy is not doing well, security professionals still rank it as one of the top factors in how it will affect sales year over year. When the economy is thriving, spending increases and businesses will look for outlets to use this new disposable income and vice versa. When the economy is bad, businesses will pull back from spending and security is, unfortunately, one of the last measures added and one of the first to go when companies tighten their budget.
General Business Security Trends For 2019
Aside from the economy and how companies spend their money this year, here are general trends we expect to see in the security industry this year:
- The DIY security providers are the number 1 reported competitors for the industry
- Using cybersecurity to enhance physical security will continue to increase
- Biometrics will slowly begin to replace passwords
- Integrated Commercial Security Systems are on the rise
- Managed services and cloud-based storage will see a large increase
The last two points are particularly exciting for us at Sonitrol because our integrated security system is the best in the business. Read more about our system here.