Video surveillance continues to evolve from a stand-alone security function — viewed as an after-the-fact, evidence collection tool — into a fully integrated, intelligence-driven component of unified security solutions. In 2025, that evolution accelerated as organizations moved decisively away from siloed technologies and toward platforms capable of delivering measurable business value, presenting opportunity and growth for manufacturers and integrators.

Alex Castaneda-Ballard, corporate vice president of sales, North America video security and access control, Motorola Solutions, Chicago, says a key theme across 2025 was the integration of video security solutions to better understand and respond to security events. “Bringing together video security, access control, environmental sensors and other systems into one cohesive view allowed security operators to define and automate workflows that helped them escalate and focus on the most critical events,” he says. This convergence is reshaping not only how security teams respond to incidents, but how organizations extract insight from their physical environments.

As integration deepens, interoperability has emerged as both a priority and a pressure point for the industry. From this perspective, Leo Levit, chairman, ONVIF, San Ramon, Calif., has observed a growing recognition that multi-vendor deployments require standardized approaches to ensure systems can communicate effectively. “The awareness of open systems and avoiding vendor lock-in is definitely growing,” he says. That shift reflects a more mature market, one in which end users and integrators alike are demanding scalability and long-term architectural freedom.

At the same time, these technology and architectural shifts are fundamentally changing how video surveillance is valued inside organizations. “Security systems are rapidly shifting from cost centers to revenue drivers thanks to new, intelligent technologies, impacting company bottom lines for the better,” says Ian Siemer, vice president, product and marketing, OpenEye, Liberty Lake, Wash. “This transition redefines ‘return on investment,’ transforming physical security from a static cost center into a dynamic engine for actionable business insight and strategic value.”

Together, these forces set the stage for a video surveillance market that is not only healthy, but increasingly strategic as it heads into 2026.

The 2025 Story: Healthy, but Disciplined

Overwhelmingly, security experts agree that 2025 was a positive year for video surveillance, offering incremental growth and a qualitative shift in how video is perceived, deployed and utilized. SDM’s 2026 Industry Forecast respondents bear this out, with 95% describing the video surveillance market in 2025 as “good to excellent,” the same as last year. Eighty-three percent described the video analytics/artificial intelligence market in the same manner, a 4 percentage point increase over the previous year.

The strong performance was driven by the increasing value of video as a strategic tool, says Fredrik Nilsson, vice president, Americas, Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass. “This momentum reflects the convergence of several key technology trends, including more advanced analytics that enhance security and extend into new use cases to deliver operational efficiency and business intelligence; high-quality video becoming practical at scale through improved compression that reduces storage and bandwidth requirements; and more capable camera technologies, such as remote PTRZ, which shorten installation time and lower total cost of ownership,” he says. “In parallel, adoption of scalable cloud-based solutions continued to accelerate, alongside heightened demand for platforms with robust, built-in cybersecurity.”

Less reticence toward the cloud and more interest in AI also opened myriad opportunities for video surveillance in 2025. Service solutions (software-as-a-service, security-as-a-service, video-as-a-service, etc.) are quickly becoming the norm, and almost everyone is eager to look at these as viable, long-term options. “Partners are really understanding, more and more, the value of a versatile deployment and an adaptable deployment with hybrid models,” says Anastasie Najem, product marketing manager, Genetec, Montreal.

Scott Brothers, chief operating officer, Oncam, Boca Raton, Fla., posits the shift is so major, security is now viewed as a genuine technology industry, rather than an archaic security industry. “You can base that on the fact that we are now cloud connected,” he says. “When you combine the Internet of Things with the cloud, with AI, with the kinds of companies that are now entering the market or investing in the market, as opposed to just the big players that have always been around, it’s fair to say that some of the big seven technology businesses in the world are now looking at companies in this space.”

Because of these shifts, video has extended well beyond basic monitoring. “It has become critical for enterprise security platforms,” says Ravinder Kumar, director, product management, video, Honeywell Building Automation, Atlanta. “Data that is collected and analyzed from video is being used to improve situational awareness, quicken incident response and reduce nuisance alarms.”

Gerard Figols, chief operating officer, i-PRO, Houston, argues video has extended even further — beyond security altogether, while remaining a security-centered product. “Video is used for many other applications where video can generate data, can generate insights that might be helpful for the end users or the customers to use this data for many purposes,” he says. As end users increasingly seek out business partnerships from security companies, this becomes a critical benefit for integrators to keep in their toolbelt.

Kristen Plitt, vice president of marketing, IDIS Americas, Coppell, Texas, calls 2025 a “reset year” for video surveillance. “Customers invested, but with far more discipline and intention,” she says. “The conversation moved away from simply adding cameras and toward how video delivers measurable outcomes: improving safety, reducing loss, supporting compliance and increasing operational efficiency.”

Of course, the year came with challenges. Although they turned out to have little impact on the market, tariffs were of great concern at the beginning of the year and continued to influence decision-making. “They change week to week, so it’s hard to figure out what prices you should be charging,” says Dean Drako, founder and CEO, Brivo (formerly Eagle Eye Networks, prior to the companies’ recent merger), Bethesda, Md.

Global economic headwinds have impacted budgets for hardware and cloud storage costs, and manufacturers have had to strategize how to reduce the pressures of supply chain workflows. Privacy and compliance risks also presented challenges, particularly with facial recognition, that slowed the pace of adoption, says Mike Poe, director of product management, 3xLOGIC, Fishers, Ind.

Throughout the year, end users were more particular about their security selections, hence why Ryan Bailey, CEO, Knight Watch (a security integrator offering solutions across video surveillance, access control, fire alarm, HVAC controls, building automation and weapons detection), Kalamazoo, Mich., refers to the 2025 market as healthy, but more disciplined. “Demand remained strong, particularly with our enterprise clients; but, overall, customers were more intentional about how and why they were investing. This was less about expansion for expansion’s sake and more about strategic modernization,” he says.

A major shift in 2025 that security experts agree is going to have a very notable impact on 2026 is the breakdown of traditional silos in the market. “Historically, the industry has been very fragmented; you had your camera company, your access control company, and your sensor company all operating independently,” says Abraham Alvarez, vice president of product, Verkada, San Mateo, Calif. “In 2025, we saw a massive push toward bringing these layers together into a unified view with more powerful integrations. When you integrate video with things like environmental sensors or workplace management, you enable use cases that simply weren’t possible before.”

Anticipate a Growing, Dynamic Landscape

With the steady growth of the market in 2025, security experts overwhelmingly agree that 2026 will pan out to be another year of upward trajectory. The Security Industry Association’s 2026 Security Megatrends report frames video — as it becomes embedded in operations, not just security — as a shift toward visual intelligence and enterprise-wide value creation. “This matches what we are seeing in the field,” says Dan Kostecki, vice president of sales – North America, IQSIGHT (formerly Bosch Security Systems), Fairport, N.Y. “From a market-sizing lens, several forecasts still project steady multi-year growth driven by cloud and analytics adoption.”

A portion of the growth will come from the percentage of people that are still switching from legacy standalone video management systems (VMS) or network video recorders (NVR) to unified cloud. Brian Lohse, general manager, commercial business unit, Alarm.com, Tysons, Va., believes that percentage has only reached the tip of the iceberg. “My expectation is that we’ll still continue to see more and more folks make that switch,” he says. He also expects to see growth in remote video monitoring (RVM) and mobile video, or ‘video anywhere,’ the benefits of which are becoming increasingly apparent to end users.

SDM’s Industry Forecast respondents also reflected this thinking, with 71% expecting revenues to increase both in video analytics/AI and video surveillance in general. Further, 72% currently offer remote video monitoring — up 9 percentage points over last year — with 65% of those who don’t indicating that they plan to offer it in the next two years.

Jeremy White, founder and CEO, Pro-Vigil, San Antonio, Texas, a company specializing in RVM, says the benefits of this technology are already being realized. “From what I’m hearing, others in the market grew too,” he says. “That tells me remote video monitoring is becoming a go-to option, even when the industries behind it are having a tougher year. It’s a practical, ROI-driven investment when it’s done correctly, and, in a tight environment, that matters.”

Integrators foresee customers having higher expectations and wanting quicker solutions. “The market is maturing, and customers are becoming more educated,” Bailey says. “That favors integrators who can think in platforms, not just parts.”

Brian Kozlosky, founder and president, 2 Krew Security & Surveillance (a security integrator specializing in turn-key integrated security and surveillance solutions across commercial and residential sectors), Kittanning, Pa., says we live in a world of instant gratification, and that this is bleeding into end users’ expectations for seamless solutions. “My expectations are to continue following and making sure that the manufacturers are building unified systems, because those are the companies I’m going to be doing business with,” Kozlosky says. “I don’t want somebody that sells a product that I have to have launched six applications for in order to just lock my building and secure my premises.”

White expects the insurance-driven requirement model to spread. “If underwriters can reduce losses and payouts by recommending a solution that’s proven to deter and prevent crime, it benefits everyone. Customers protect assets and avoid premium pressure, and underwriters reduce exposure,” he says.

Overall, the video market is set to be dynamic in 2026 — because where opportunity lives, challenges follow. Integrators expect to come head-to-head with cybersecurity requirements, data privacy concerns, workforce shortages, increasing commoditization, scalability, unification, network and bandwidth, and client education about available technologies, especially AI.

“Technology is advancing quickly, but the expectations around responsibility and reliability are rising just as fast,” Bailey says.

Kozlosky supports this claim, noting that integrators have a real responsibility to ensure clients are reasonably informed about AI: “I think the end consumers are getting educated enough to be dangerous. The challenges that we run into, a lot of times, is we either have a customer that is not educated and has absolutely no understanding of what we’re doing or why we’re doing it, [or] one who believes that they are a CEO of an integration company and they’re going to tell me how we’re going to do the solution for them. It’s a balancing act. If you want, as an integrator, to be ahead of the game, you have to adopt the current technologies. You have to understand them. You have to be able to educate your consumers … enough so that you can sell the product, but not enough that they go and install it themselves.”

This ties into integrators’ concerns about scaling effectively. “Demand is strong, but if a provider hasn’t invested early in the right people and the right technology, scaling becomes very difficult in this industry,” White says. “A lot of companies will find they outgrow their foundation faster than they expected.”

Not working with the right people, i.e. decision makers, can also present myriad challenges for integrators. “Years ago, we didn’t talk to IT people because our stuff didn’t live on their networks,” Kozlosky says. “In today’s world, we have to work with an IT individual because we’re living in the same space. We’re sleeping in the same bunks. The challenges really are getting the right people on the team, articulating what needs to be done and realizing that it’s now not just the security guy comes in, pulls his own cable, does his own thing and gets out.”

Overwhelmingly, experts agree that AI, cloud and, perhaps most importantly, cybersecurity and data protection, are going to be the biggest challenges in the video market.

One of the most difficult points to navigate, in terms of privacy, is the fact that it’s very regionalized. “In all of the regions, there are different policies, there are different regulations. We need to be aware of that. We need to really educate ourselves and understand how it’s going on all over the world,” Genetec’s Najem says. “We need to provide options and flexibility to provide technology that really is aligned with those regulations: privacy, analytics, filters, masks, things that are very important as we serve those different verticals. This is where integrators have a lot of value and expertise to add to educate their customers and help them choose the right solution for them.”

Differentiation is also difficult with the rise of AI and cloud. “Partners are going to need to basically transition and grow into telling new value stories that have quite a bit more depth to get customers to switch because everybody is going to have a cloud-based system with remote access,” Lohse says. “That’s going to require some real work and storytelling that perhaps wasn’t the case in the past.”

Foundational Tech Trends

In speaking with manufacturers and integrators, a number of key trends emerged as being undeniably influential for the video market going forward, such as:

1. Unification. “Traditionally, video was a standalone product, and access was a standalone product, and intrusion was a standalone product. … Increasingly, we’re seeing partners use a unified, integrated system as a bundle and sell it as a triple play, where it’s not really three different product categories anymore; it’s one sale,” Lohse says.
2. The Edge. “We’ve found that running massive video models exclusively in the cloud on a generic stream doesn’t actually yield the best results. The real magic happens when you run smaller, specialized models directly on the camera itself and then combine those results with our larger cloud models,” Verkada’s Alvarez says. “This hybrid approach helps to achieve the most accurate and reliable outcomes for customers.”
3. AV1 Video Compression. “Similar to the impact of H.264 and the shift from analog to IP, AV1 could accelerate both the adoption of IP systems and the expansion of their use cases, making high-quality video more practical at scale,” Axis Communications’ Nilsson says. “In doing so, it reshapes the competitive landscape and opens the door to new innovations and applications across the industry.”
4. Agentic Workflows. “Instead of object detection, systems start behaving more like an intelligent assistant that can describe scenes, answer questions and escalate what matters. That capability aligns with where industry trend reporting is heading — AI is reshaping workflows, analytics and SOC operations and not just adding features,” IQSIGHT’s Kostecki says.
5. Video Authenticity. “The security industry operates on the assumption that the video content we produce is authentic and can be used as evidence, whether for investigations or in courts of law,” ONVIF’s Levit says. “Tools that generate or alter content have become so advanced that you cannot, with the naked eye, see whether footage is faked. These tools are widely accessible and are often free of charge, which makes it very easy to fake security video.”
6. Automation. “That’s how you scale video monitoring the right way,” White says. “For us, it also means continuing to strengthen the platforms that support uptime and camera health, AI-powered monitoring and giving customers an on-demand portal that helps them make better physical security decisions.”

Clearly, technology has been the driving force behind the growth of video surveillance. Across the industry as a whole, AI is most frequently referred to as a “buzzword,” given how often it comes up at industry conferences, makes headlines and is integrated into new products and services. However, AI is quickly shifting from “nice to have” to “must have” as end users learn more about the technology and its capabilities.

“AI analytics advances and products that solve everyday problems like anti-loitering, perimeter protection and proactive notifications before an issue requires escalation are hugely popular,” 3xLOGIC’s Poe says. It doesn’t end at everyday problems; AI is also contributing to proactive solutions in video surveillance, which is exactly what customers are looking for.

To this point, Kostecki says, “AI is pushing video from detect and review to understand and act. That is driving adoption because it improves speed, accuracy and scale, especially for teams that are stretched thin.”

The true benefits of AI will come when it is implemented with discipline. “The impact on our operations and on the services we deliver is undeniable,” White says. “Simply put, you can’t scale and protect sites effectively without that combination, and I see it powering the market well into the future.”

AI is solving problems at such a rapid pace that today’s problems will not be next year’s problems, Kozlosky says. “That’s the key behind a lot of the AI, being proactive,” he adds. “People want to know before things happen so they can save somebody’s life. I see the technology going that route.”

The cloud is undergoing a similar story, with different benefits for end users. Though cloud is not yet a “must have,” and many security experts agree that hybrid solutions are the safest, most viable option, we’re seeing cloud walk down a strikingly similar path to AI in terms of development and adoption.

In fact, i-PRO’s Figols says AI and the cloud are growing in parallel. “Cybersecurity is the basis that is giving confidence that these systems can keep interconnecting,” he says. “Otherwise, the data is not going to be trusted, and the data cannot connect to the cloud.”

Overall, AI is set to become the foundation of technology trends going forward, as clients ask for it and security companies integrate it. As a closing piece of advice, Najem says, “Even before AI, we need to look at the foundations: architecture, platforms, the way we’re deploying solutions, really putting solid foundations in place before adding layers of technology on top of that. That will become very chaotic and difficult to piece together as organizations are growing their tech stack. It’s that there are so many technologies out there. Organizations are using so many tools, so many platforms, so many different technologies that it can become very difficult to make sure that you have a comprehensive, cohesive tech stack.”

How Integrators Become Business Partners

In the coming year, security integrators will face numerous challenges, such as commoditization, separating outcome-driven solutions from offerings that don’t actually deliver in practice, keeping pace with technology and thoughtfulness when configuring solutions and approaching customers.

Keeping up with evolving technology is critical, especially with where the market is headed in terms of demand for AI and hybrid, if not fully cloud-enabled, solutions. “[Integrators] need to make sure that they keep learning about the latest technology. Otherwise, they will be left behind, and someone else will learn and will take their position,” Figols says. “They need to connect different pieces — the edge device, the platform, the applications — and then build an ecosystem that works and is useful for their end users.”

There are a few solutions for this: hiring tech-minded people and tirelessly seeking opportunities for further education, training and certifications. Taking these steps will help integrators stand out among competition. “Integrators who get fluent in AI-enabled outcomes, and who partner closely with manufacturers, will win more complex, higher-value projects because they will be selling solutions, not boxes,” Kostecki says.

Nilsson agrees that education and certification will be critical to maintaining practical knowledge and ensuring solutions are deployed effectively. “Integrators who invest in training and achieve recognized certifications can gain a competitive edge, strengthen relationships with customers and position themselves as trusted advisors,” he says. “These capabilities are increasingly essential for driving long-term business growth and should be a key part of any integrator’s future strategy.”

Integrators will also have to navigate cutting through the hype of interoperability. “Many companies claim to have ‘open’ systems, but, in practice, the data remains trapped in silos and is difficult to manage,” Alvarez says. “When data sharing is blocked by proprietary silos, it prevents the integrator from delivering the unified experience the customer is actually paying for. Solving this requires robust tools that bridge the gap between old and new.”

Each of these challenges provides an equal amount of opportunity. Take the versatility of unified solutions, for example; integrators can be more strategic when approaching their clients and position themselves as long-term advisors instead of transactional vendors.

“It’s about being smart when you approach your client that, say, has that grocery store. Instead of you saying, ‘Well, we just need to watch the cart line out front to make sure nobody’s stealing carts,’ we take that same camera that watches the entrance door and now we use it to paint a heat map, and I can tell you, ‘When your customers walk in that door, the majority of them make a right hand turn,’” Kozlosky says. “If I see that happening, I can say, ‘If you want to sell a product, put it on that end shelf and it’s going to sell more than likely greater than the product on the left side because all your people come in and make a right turn.’ It’s about presenting that information to the customer and making sure they understand how this product can help and benefit them.”

Brivo’s Drako says that pricing could be a real challenge when it comes to offering these special, partner-oriented services. “There need to be some fees associated with that love and care,” he says.

IDIS Americas’ Plitt says integrators will also face increasing responsibility around cybersecurity, AI deployment and long-term system support. “At the same time, this creates major opportunities for managed services, standardization across multi-site deployments and value-based selling tied to real customer outcomes,” she says.

Alarm.com’s Lohse believes configuration and proposals will be challenges for integrators to navigate as well. “It’s no longer the case that you put up a camera and tell it to record and that’s it. Somebody’s going to have to be really thoughtful about the rules they’re configuring, at what times they’re active, on what days. … That’s going to require more time, and it’s a unique skillset. It’s going to require working closely with the customer to understand how people move around their space at various days and times,” he says.

On the proposal side, many salespeople send clunky documents that are nothing more than lists of products and costs. “I think there’s a huge opportunity and real requirement to upgrade the proposals that we’re providing customers to do true storytelling,” Lohse adds. “The proposal should understand who the customer is so it’s not just a standard template that every single person gets. That’s a new skill set in terms of building a ‘proposal for tomorrow.’ Some folks are going to really win on their ability to differentiate the proposals.”

All in all, differentiation and having a leg up against competition will require integrators to be intentional, have their pulse on the market and, possibly, start to develop new skills to keep pace with the evolving landscape.

Optimism Surrounds 2026

Despite the certain-to-be dynamic state of the market in 2026, security companies, and especially integrators, widely express optimism thanks to the major technological and unification trends shaping the industry. “Customers are moving away from buying devices and toward investing in outcomes,” Knight Watch’s Bailey says. “That shift creates more meaningful partnerships, and that’s where real innovation happens.”

The market is poised to respond favorably to these trends. “The pace of adoption is lining up well with the new vertical industries we’ve identified for expansion, and 2026 is shaping up to be a strong year for the video industry,” White says.

For Kozlosky, 2026 is a year of endless opportunity for people like himself, who have their thumb on the pulse of technological advancements and capabilities. “When I see technology developing, and then I see people adopting that technology, that gets me excited because I know that I’m going to see more [technology become] mainstream,” he says. “That means that more people are going to get educated, and then they’re going to want these solutions that we’ve been trying to sell.”