THE BUSINESS OF SECURITY SAVE THE DATEOCTOBER 20-21, 2026 | NYC 2026 SCOTT DUNNSIA Chair of the Board Megatrends Advisors HOW WE DEFINED AND RESEARCHEDTHE 2026 SIA SECURITY MEGATRENDS TARA DUNNINGVice President, Converging Technology,Wescoo DEVIN LOVEVice President, Global SoftwarePlatforms, Allegion Each year at Securing New Ground (SNG), senior-level industry leaders and financialpartners gather, trends are discussed, connections are formed and ideas are sharedopenly. In advance of SNG, as part of our annual membership survey, SIA askedhundreds of executives from SIA member companies what factors were shapingtheir business decisions and what trends they were watching. We then spoke with STEVE VAN TILLPresident and CEO, BrivoERIC YUNAGEVP, Products and Services, Convergint STAFF DON ERICKSONSIA CEOderickson@securityindustry.org GEOFF KOHLSIA Senior Director of MarketingAuthor and Editor, 2026 SECURITYMEGATRENDS Report Securing New Ground, our annual executive conference, serves as the rallying pointfor the Security Megatrends project. gkohl@securityindustry.org In advance of the event, numerous discussions are held with core advisors aboutthe trends, which remain relevant, what has changed and what new trends areaffecting the industry’s direction. This group of SIA Security Megatrends advisorsprovides hours of focused feedback on the megatrends via in-depth conversationsand collaborative editing. The value of insights from these leaders and luminariescannot be overstated (thank you, Steve Van Till, Tara Dunning, Eric Yunag and DevinLove). I also want to thank so many individual SIA members who I engaged with KARA KLEINAssociate Director of Marketing andMedia Relations kklein@securityindustry.org KEVIN MURPHYSIA Senior Director of Member Serviceskmurphy@securityindustry.org Copyright 2025 Security IndustryAssociation. Reproduction prohibitedwithout prior permission. Security Industry Association8455 Colesville Road securityindustry.org In addition to the member survey research and the focused conversations, theselection of these trends relies on the speakers, panel and audience membersof SNG, because the conference is the ultimate proving ground for deep-divediscussions on what we can do as an industry to pave a successful future. A specialsession during the 2026 SNG conference from Steve, Tara, Devin and Eric provided Geoff KohlEditor, 2026 Security Megatrends reportSr. Director of Marketing, SIA 2026 1SOFTWARE EATS THE WORLD.WILL AI EAT SOFTWARE?page 82THE SECURITY HARDWARELAYER IS REINVENTEDpage 103SECURITY SOLUTIONS LOSETHEIR BOUNDARIESpage 124THE VALUE CHAIN REPLACESTHE CHANNEL MODELpage 145POSTHUMAN AUTOMATION OFSECURITYpage 166END-TO-END SOLUTIONS ANDONE-LOGO APPROACHESpage 187THE UNIFICATION OF THESECURITY EXPERIENCE LAYERpage 208SECURITY OPERATIONSCENTERS (SOCS) ANDMONITORING WILL BEDISRUPTED AND AUTOMATEDpage 229CORRECTING THE SYSTEMICUNDERVALUATION OFSECURITYpage 2410SECURITY TECHNOLOGYREFRESH CYCLES ACCELERATEpage 26 Building a BetterFuture—Together! Thank you for engaging with thisyear’s Security Megatrends report.We are proud to produce this reportas a benefit for all Security IndustryAssociationmembers and as aresource to help guide the security Among the trends shaping our future, the shift from thetraditional channel model to the value chain (Megatrend 3 inthis year’s list) is the most transformative. The channel wasbuilt for transactions; the value chain is built for collaborationand outcomes. When our industry aligns around the needsand outcomes of the end-user security practitioner, every Together, we will build a future where security deliversmeasurable business value and empowers every professionalto excel. The future is bright—and built together. Scott DunnChair, SIA Board of Directors FOUNDATIONALTRENDS EXECUTIVE TAKEAWAYS These trends, some previously long recog-nized as Security Megatrends, are now somuch part of the fabric of the world thatthey are viewed no longer as future-look-ing megatrends, but instead as common “Right now in security, data is a wholenew business emerging on top of the ‘old’business of security. The right pieces cometogether to deliver it as a business model.Data doesn’t do anything in and of itself —Tim Palmquist,vice president, Americas, Milestone Systems,on how data is the new oil “Ideally those level1, 2, 3 alarms andincidents are beingmanaged by thesystems so wecan do a better jobmanaging biggerincidents andpaying attention to “The security databy itself can bevaluable, but whatbecomes more sois when you bring itinto other data fromthe organization orexternal data and —Hans Kahler,chief operating officer,Eagle Eye Networks, on opportunityto build new business models that —Sobie Velasquez,vice president,physical security technology, MorganStanley, on what AI promises corporate “Technology for technology’s sake isn’t thepoint. We’re moving to be more businessenablers and advisors—taking these shinynew objects and app