Anyone who attended last month’s ISC West show in Las Vegas probably noticed a few key trends. Cloud was more prevalent than ever, both for access control and video, with several vendors introducing new cloud-based solutions, new ways of deploying and using cloud and a variety of options to help security dealers and integrators transition to this model.

But perhaps the biggest talking point this year was artificial intelligence, or AI. Of all the booths I visited, perhaps two didn’t mention AI at all. Many led with it. Some cautioned about it. But nearly everyone acknowledged its meteoric impact on the security industry.

In her keynote speech on generative AI to the Women In Security Forum, Futurist Crystal Washington said: “Right now we are living in a Renaissance in history. Books are going to be written about this period of major, major shift. … The beautiful thing about living in times of Renaissance is you have an oversized ability to influence outcomes because everyone is looking for the leader, asking ‘What do we do?’

“So I want to encourage you to take all this information with the things you already know and influence the future of your industry [and] your company. Don’t just sit back and wait for people to make decisions, because no one is qualified to make these decisions. Because there are no experts on [generative] AI. It’s 18 months old. … But … you are the people that understand what we need to do to ensure that this technology is working for the betterment of our organizations, for our clients, for our customers, and for our teams.”

This prescient advice could be the motto for many of this year’s top SDM 100 companies, who by and large reported a banner year in 2023. This success was in part due to external circumstances — but also in large measure in spite of them, with many companies commenting on inflation, high interest rates and labor shortages as top challenges.

Even so, as a group, their numbers were up impressively across the board, with total RMR increasing 7 percentage points over last year, to $714 million, the highest number since 2016. Total annual revenue increased 8 percentage points to its second highest amount in a decade, also behind 2016. Residential and non-residential sales revenues increased by 33 and 10 percentage points, respectively. Profits were also up by 6 percentage points. And even total annual subscribers, which had been slowly declining over the past several years, bumped up by 2 percentage points.

But what really stuck out from the comments was the role that technology — particularly cloud and video — played in that success. Many commented on the increased interest in video monitoring, AI, cloud-based services and integration, as well as the opportunities these technologies present.

No. 15, Zeus Fire and Security LLC wrote, “We continue to invest in use cases for advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, particularly related to video systems. Many of our customers are seeking support for operational challenges where insights from live video can improve efficiency or enhance controls. We expect this will unlock new markets, ways of engaging with our customers, and future revenue streams.”

Speaking specifically about AI, No. 67, Custom Alarm wrote: “[Another] thing we think is making the biggest impact is AI — how to leverage it and when to use it and when not to use and how to learn how to optimize it and incorporate it into our work both in the office and out on job sites. We are in the early stages of learning about it and have a steep learning curve [for] how we can educate our staff on it as well as where are areas that we can leverage AI in place of some human functions creating more efficiencies in our business.”

This is exactly the approach recommended by Washington in her keynote.

“Most of us were taught you have to master your domain. … You need to be the expert on whatever it is that you do. ... In the 1980s, if you wanted to be very techy as a normal person, all you had to do was be able to use a fax machine and program your VCR ... Right now, if I were to download all the information, all the technology, everything you need to know today, by tomorrow it would be outdated. So here’s a truth for you: You will never be caught up again. … But no one else will either.”

Without a doubt, the top 100 security dealers realize this fact. And No. 50, Prosegur Security Integration, summed up the technology philosophy that seems to be shared by many: “The security industry is on the cusp of a dynamic transformation, with technology, integration, and adaptability at its core. We are committed to staying at the forefront of these developments, leveraging innovation to provide our clients with the highest level of security services and support. Our goal is to continuously evolve to meet the evolving needs and challenges of the modern security landscape.” //