The security industry is no stranger to buzzwords, particularly in the integration space. Over the years, terms such as “smart buildings,” “unified systems,” and, most recently, “single pane of glass” have become the phrase-du-jour throughout the industry. Add to that the term “AI” and the much over-used phrase, “consultative selling,” it is easy to get lost in terminology that means different things to different people — or nothing at all.

Here, we take a closer look at what these common terms really mean in the world of security integration, and what security integrators need to understand now and moving forward in order to best serve their end user customers, most of whom don’t care what you call it. They just want systems to work in a way they have been promised and are increasingly coming to expect.

“Access control systems are collecting and generating more useful data than most organizations know what to do with, and now customers are starting to actually use and analyze that data,” says Leo Levit, board of directors chair, ONVIF, San Ramon, Calif. “This includes information such as occupancy patterns, credential activity, anomalies or time-stamped events that correlate with other security or business systems. Access control is a growing part of many different conversations within an organization, spanning areas such as space utilization, compliance and operational efficiency that would have been mainly IT discussions a few years ago. Integrators are fielding more complex requests as a result.”

Adding to this complexity is the fact that access control systems have historically had a much longer lifespan than, for example, video surveillance systems. It is not uncommon to see still-working access control systems that were installed 10, 15 or even more than 20 years ago. But, as new and enticing technologies have come along, those same end users have potentially added on other features and systems.

“Market momentum is being driven by mobile credentials, cloud deployments and the shift towards ‘as-a-service’ models, alongside a growing need for interoperability,” explains Bret Holbrook, senior vice president, access control and identity management, dormakaba North America, Indianapolis. “Very rarely is there a true green field opportunity with no existing infrastructure, so systems must work together across legacy, current and future environments.”

At the same time, end user customers are more educated than ever, relying on the internet as well as their own experiences in their daily lives, such as smart devices in the home market, to inform their expectations of what integration at the workplace should look like. And the larger the customer, the more complex it becomes.

“Here’s a data point to start,” says Steve Van Till, president, Brivo, Bethesda, Md. “In the first year we were selling Brivo Suite, which is access plus video, 20% of customers chose more than one product. A 20% uptake is a very strong signal that people want both together. But the groundswell is actually bigger than that, and we haven’t yet seen everyone switching over. There is application fatigue with larger customers. We might see 10 – 30 different software products in a GSOC. One of the clearest indications that these things require a lot of integration work is that, if you bring together three to five of these, it is a huge thing for them.”

Jonathan Dupont, vice president of North American sales, AMAG Technology, Torrance Calif., calls this “information overload.” He says, “We have a more educated customer and integrator base than we have ever had thanks to the internet. But it is really easy to misconstrue information or apply something to something else and think it is universal. Information becomes paralysis by analysis. … It is important to take a deep breath and simplify that process. Everyone is getting pulled in 50 different directions, and most departments are shrinking. You have to go back to basics and keep it there.”

‘One Pane of Glass’

Enter the much-touted phrase these days, “one pane of glass,” which is designed to simplify the situation, but comes with its own set of challenges and expectations.

“Customers are looking for interoperability, useful data and freedom of choice,” says Daniel Gundlach, vice president North America, physical access control, HID, Austin, Texas. “The ‘one pane of glass’ idea still has appeal, but the market is moving away from the assumption that one monolithic system will do everything. Customers want rich ecosystems where systems can exchange data quickly, reliably and securely through APIs and partner integrations.”

Going along with this is yet another common phrase, “open architecture,” which is what allows these systems to talk to one another on the back end. “End users do not want to be locked into a single path,” Gundlach says. “They want infrastructure that gives them options over time, including the ability to migrate systems, add new capabilities and preserve hardware investments where possible.”

Holbrook adds, “Customers are increasingly looking for solutions that deliver a unified, seamless experience across their environment. The ability to bring systems together into a more connected ecosystem — often described as a ‘single pane of glass’ — helps reduce complexity. There is also a growing expectation that access control solutions extend beyond security to support broader business outcomes. Organizations expect guidance on how to solve the total problem, not just delivery of a single point solution. … At the same time, many organizations are still working with legacy systems, which can make the integration more complex. Without interoperability, systems can become siloed, creating operational inefficiencies and increasing risk.”

One of the biggest challenges for both integrators and their customers is the rapid pace of changing technology, Holbrook adds. “The rapid evolution of technology makes it difficult for integrators to stay fully trained and confident across a wide range of solutions,” he says. “There is also a broader challenge around data and ensuring it is accurate, accessible and able to move between systems in a way that supports the creation of meaningful insights.”

Another challenge to the pane of glass idea is that it is very often the access control system that drives it, due to the complexity of the data involved. “I am not saying anything demeaning about video, but it is more straightforward and easier to mix and match,” Van Till explains. “It doesn’t have thousands or even millions of users that all need individual management. Because the access control applications are usually more complicated, they tend to be the apex application with video being folded in.”

The problem with this is that they might have been designed and installed before these integrations were even thought of. “The big problem integrators have always had with vendor A and vendor B is they are at their mercy whether they have built an integration between their two products,” Van Till says.

Add to that the increasing desire to integrate non-security systems, and it is even more complicated.

“I was just at an end user conference in Charleston, and access control was on everyone’s minds,” says Marc-Andre Bergeron, director of product for access control portfolio, Genetec, Montreal. “The thing that came out of those conversations is that it is no longer seen as a security solution. It is a business solution. When you are talking about integration to other subsystems, it is at the heart of what access control is meant to do.”

Genetec director of sales and enablement, North America, Alex Halliday, adds, “For both our partners and end users, the integration discussion used to be, ‘Can you connect these systems together?’ Now, it is no longer just about that. It is, ‘Here is what I want the outcome to be,’ and the expectation is that this will all work together when connected.”

The AI Conversation

The biggest change to technology possibilities — not to mention the biggest buzzword of them all — is the emergence of artificial intelligence. While this is making some of these outcomes easier to achieve than before, it is also changing at lightning speed, making it hard for integrators to know when to jump in with a solution.

For years, security systems have generated tons of data, but it was difficult to use in meaningful ways. AI is helping with that — but, at the same time, creating sometimes unrealistic expectations.

“Data from intrusion, video, access, etc. — none of it was correlated, and it needed separate investigations,” Dupont says. “With the rise of AI, we are seeing end users have a lot more expectations around what they can do and how to manage it. Staffs are smaller, but expectations are the same. Everyone needs all the information to be readily accessible.”

This is one factor that is propelling integration from a nice-to-have to a must-have. “AI only works as well as the data it has to operate on,” Van Till explains. “Whether it is learning patterns or spotting an anomaly, each separate system only has one slice of the pie. When you combine them together, you are amplifying the effectiveness of the AI solution. Customers who understand that are looking for things like incident management that stitches together anything that happened at a door or observed by a camera.”

AI is helping security systems, including access control, move from reactive to proactive, Holbrook says. “Organizations are evaluating how AI can support products directly and improve the experience they deliver, particularly through predictive capabilities and the ability to turn data into action,” he says. “AI is helping solve the challenge of communication between hardware and software by improving how systems connect, without requiring significant coding that has historically been needed.”

But, it is not without speed bumps, Bergeron adds. “AI runs on a foundation that is data. If it is not clean, the engine won’t be able to make sense of it. Legacy access control systems weren’t built for that data. So that is one big technical challenge. There is also a human aspect. If you put all of those departments in the same room, no one can answer what AI can actually do for you. Obviously, there is a hype scale with AI and a lot of overpromising of capabilities.”

The lack of clear understanding on what “AI” is can lead to confusion. Conversely, it can also simplify things for the end user. “AI is becoming part of the conversation but often in practical ways,” Gundlach says. “Customers may talk about AI in terms of analytics or prediction, but they also want simpler workflows, easier system management and better automation behind the scenes. The underlying goal is reducing complexity.”

Another factor with AI, and integration in general, is the issue of cybersecurity. “The biggest challenge is planning for innovation without losing sight of fundamentals,” Gundlach says. “AI is getting a lot of attention, but cybersecurity still has to remain a priority. Access control systems are increasingly connected to networks, identity systems and business applications, which means they must be treated as part of the broader cybersecurity environment.”

For integrators, all of this places the burden squarely on their shoulders and can lead to hesitancy to act.

“Right now, the biggest challenge is it is such a fast-moving target that you don’t know when to jump on it,” Van Till says. “The difference between now and three months ago is tremendous. The risk or reluctance people have is that ‘this is going so fast, I will wait until it settles out.’ Or they invested in tools three months ago, and they still work, but they are only half as good.”

While he acknowledges this pain point, Van Till compares the AI race to the early days of networking, when there was an actual card in a PC that was very expensive. “Today, it is a free feature; but people who started doing that in the ’80s and ’90s got immediate benefit in terms of resources, even though the costs eventually dropped. If you start using AI right now, you will get benefits immediately and it is less of a leap than people think it is.”

Consultative Selling Today

Whether as part of the AI conversation or when discussing an integration with video or HR, security integrators today are bombarded with the advice to make it a “consultative sale.” But what does that really mean?

“Consultative selling is a little bit like cloud and AI and analytics; it’s a buzzword,” Dupont says. “Personally, I think consultative selling starts with understanding the desired outcome rather than just presenting a solution. ‘Where do you need a reader? What business problem are you solving with this technology?’ It’s taking the conversation from problem to process to outcome. If you are not going in with outcome-driven solutions, you are setting yourself and the customer up for failure from day one.”

Another common term for the integrator/customer relationship is “trusted advisor,” Holbrook adds. “The speed of new technology can make it difficult for customers to stay informed, so integrators play a critical role in helping end users understand the options available and how they fit into a broader solution. This starts with understanding that there is rarely a blank-slate deployment. Most environments include legacy systems, so planning must account for how new technologies will integrate with existing infrastructure while supporting future expansion.”

A critical part of this equation is a strong partnership between the integrator and manufacturer, Dupont says: “It’s a shared responsibility between the integrator and manufacturer to help educate the end user about how to implement the solution in their environment. Always start with that process-driven conversation rather than a device-driven one. Your day one is not always utopia. It seldom is. Instead, create for them a clear picture of what that journey to utopia looks like for them. And, again, it is a joint conversation. Nobody knows what the system does better than the manufacturer, but nobody knows how it integrates better than the integrator.”

Initial conversations should focus on standards and interoperability, Holbrook says. “When organizations prioritize interoperable systems from the start, they are better positioned to scale, adapt and introduce new technologies over time without needing to re-architect their entire security environment.”

This is a critical step, Levit stresses. “Integrators who can sit down with a customer early and help them think through what they actually need the system to do tend to end up with better project outcomes and longer relationships. Once a customer has drafted an RFP based on one vendor’s architecture, the options can narrow pretty quickly.

“This is also where the interoperability conversation comes in,” Levit adds. “Does this vendor’s system simply ‘support integration,’ or does it conform to recognized standards for interoperability? That distinction matters when it comes time to add a new system or switch out a component. It could also impact other operational considerations such as interoperability between security systems and other business platforms and data sharing ability to other stakeholders. A good exercise would be to do a projection of the total cost of ownership, including the potential evolution of the system. This is exactly where the discussion about interoperability should take place as well.”

Holbrook agrees, adding, “Consultative selling today means moving beyond individual products and focusing on the full ecosystem lifecycle of a solution. Customers expect partners who can help them think holistically about their security and operational challenges, not just deliver hardware. In practice, that means asking and answering questions such as: ‘How will this solution integrate with your existing systems?’ ‘What does expansion look like over the next five to 10 years?’ ‘What standards are important to ensuring long-term flexibility?’”

Gundlach says, “The best integrators will act as orchestrators, bringing the right partners together and guiding the customer through a practical roadmap.” This means staying ahead of the customer and investing in training around things such as mobile credentials, cloud, APIs, cybersecurity and the emerging AI workflows, he adds.

“Consultative selling means knowing more than the customer and helping them make decisions that will hold up over time,” Gundlach says. “In the past, integrators were often the gatekeepers of product information. That is no longer the case. Customers can research technologies, compare vendors and form opinions before the first sales conversation. The integrator’s value now comes from translating that information into a realistic plan.”