What will be the biggest surprise for security in the year ahead?

The surveillance industry generates a significant volume of video and data, a volume that keeps increasing year after year with more cameras, higher resolution, and longer retention times. Therefore, efficient compression is of utmost importance to reduce storage and bandwidth requirements. In 2026, the industry will begin to realise that there are already solutions capable of accomplishing this goal. AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) has become the new standard for video compression in consumer markets, offering 30-50% better compression efficiency than H.264 (AVC) with the same visual quality, and at the same time have a much more attractive licensing scheme than H.265 (HEVC). For the surveillance industry, where video is recorded 24/7 from potentially thousands of cameras, this means a significant reduction in storage, bandwidth, and network infrastructure costs — all while maintaining (or even improving) video quality.

Many “beyond security” innovations likely will not involve major hardware overhauls. Existing access control and video surveillance systems will instead be geared towards extracting more value from what businesses already have installed. Of businesses that utilise cameras, 4 in 10 currently do not use them for anything apart from security. As industries look to lower costs and increase the operational value of AI with human oversight, security companies will move toward deploying more software-based capabilities on top of existing security system infrastructure, rather than costly and time-intensive equipment replacements. As one example, current surveillance cameras deployed in warehousing and manufacturing areas can be adapted to meet non-security demands, such as monitoring for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) violations with compliance trend metrics by work zones and shifts. This will help customers drive a safer workforce in line with OSHA regulatory assurance without the need for major investments in new system hardware.

I think the biggest surprise won’t be a new technology; it’ll be how quickly expectations shift around what security is for. For a long time, we have explained security in the language of protection, risk, and compliance. Those things still matter, but what is becoming increasingly visible is the operational role security already plays, often without being fully acknowledged. Security systems are informing how buildings are used, how people move, how resources are allocated, and how confidently organisations make decisions day to day. What’s surprising isn’t the capability, it’s the pace at which the conversation is changing. Security leaders are no longer speaking only to other security professionals. We are being asked to engage IT, operations, finance, HR, executives and more – and to articulate value in terms they recognise. In the year ahead, the real shift won’t be about adding more. It’ll be about recognising that security has quietly become part of how organisations think, plan, and perform.

The biggest surprise may be how quickly security shifts from being viewed as a cost center to a driver of business intelligence. In 2026, leaders will expect their security systems to deliver not only protection but also insights that optimise operations. At BCD, we see this as an exciting opportunity to help customers unlock new value from the platforms they already trust.

In 2026, communication and networking systems will stop being the bottleneck — and start being the backbone. Where complexity once slowed teams down, improved interoperability and easier deployment will let teams build secure, scalable networks faster. Cybersecurity will feel like part of the infrastructure — not an afterthought. And real-time diagnostics and predictive tools will make issues visible before they become problems. The biggest surprise? How simple it will feel. Integration and convergence are key to progress in security, and bridging the gap between layers of security will redefine expectations for what modern security can achieve.

One of the biggest surprises in 2026 will be how quickly advanced security technology becomes accessible and mainstream. Historically, cutting-edge tools like heat mapping or sophisticated analytics were prohibitively expensive and available only to large organisations. Today, we’re seeing the same trend that happened with flat-screen TVs where technologies that were once high-cost and exclusive are now democratised and have become widely available.

AI, video analytics, and other advanced security solutions offer tremendous value, yet they are becoming more affordable and easier to implement across businesses of all sizes. The surprise will be how rapidly these capabilities move from niche, high-cost systems to standard tools for everyday security operations. As technology becomes more accessible, organisations will gain insights and efficiencies previously reserved for Fortune 1000 companies and this will fundamentally level the playing field. The pace of adoption and democratisation will be faster than many expect.

The biggest surprise I see happening across security businesses in 2026 is the new stakeholders appearing at the table, with marketing, operations, compliance and similar having a greater impact on a company’s video requirements and organisational direction than in previous years. Having direct feedback from stakeholders will ultimately help security companies tune their product more finely for the consumer, driving a more customer-oriented approach as they move forward. Additionally, I foresee businesses reorganising their budgets as they allocate money towards buying more intelligent systems. This is bound to have an impact on different sides of each company as the budget shifts to meet growing demands for more advanced security solutions.

I would love to see more closed ecosystems adopting open standards. The biggest surprise would be companies and ecosystems that currently work on proprietary platforms becoming more open and embracing the possibilities that standardisation offers. This shift would complement their existing strengths while enabling greater interoperability and flexibility for end users. The security industry has long been divided between proprietary and open approaches, but we are seeing increasing recognition that openness does not mean sacrificing innovation or competitive advantage. In fact, participating in open standards can accelerate innovation by allowing companies to focus on their unique value propositions rather than reinventing basic connectivity. We have seen many high-profile proprietary platforms become more open and I do believe we will see this continue in 2026.

Today’s security demands vary by industry, from keeping communities running with utilities to protecting passengers and managing crowd flow at large airports. Organisations are abandoning the one-size-fits-all approach, instead adopting unified, flexible security ecosystems that connect access control, video, sensors, and incident workflows. The biggest surprise for 2026 will be how quickly integrated platforms replace siloed point products, letting teams see a single operational picture across their sites and systems. That shift will cut response times, reduce training friction, and make scaling to new locations straightforward. Security teams will gain situational awareness through common dashboards, clear alerts, and coordinated action tools that route incidents to the right people. IT and physical security groups will work more closely, sharing telemetry and controls in real time. Expect calmer operations, faster decisions, and systems that fit each organisation’s needs rather than forcing organisations to fit the system.