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Rewind to the early 1980s and you would have found the computer industry in a similar state. Large, well-established outfits including Wang, Data-General and DEC dominated the landscape, boasting a faithful retinue of installers and integrators. Who could have guessed that a few short years later they would have been blown away by unknown upstarts with a radically different paradigm? The PC was considered a toy when it first appeared, but has since revolutionised an entire industry.

To understand why it is that industries change we really need to look inside our own. Our snug little sector appears stable in its well-defined constituent parts – intrusion detection, access control, CCTV, fire protection, alarm management and manned guarding, etc. Sure, there are interesting developments from time to time, like digital CCTV and IP-based systems, but they're really little more than incremental extensions of what we do today. Often, they're a simple digital bolt-on to an existing product.

Not revolutionary, then, but innovative.

We're not in a vacuum!
Security, though, does not exist in a vacuum. Although most company directors prefer not to think about security, and many security managers are indeed happy to work independently of the mainstream of company operations, the era of security as an optional add-on to the organisation is rapidly coming to an end. And how.

Increased awareness of the major threats, changes in working practices and new legislation are among the many factors currently transforming the workplace landscape. As organisations become more flexible and responsive, so security must be integrated with general building operations and building services. Companies that fail to adapt to these changes face extinction.

Security interacts with many other organisational services, both as a supplier and user of information. For example, access control use data is particularly important to facilities planners for future systems investment and modification. CCTV cameras can record workplace incidents to reduce employee risks and counter fraudulent claims for work-related accidents. Intrusion sensors will confirm that offices are empty for energy-saving procedures. Fire systems can link with PA systems, vocally guiding occupants to the nearest exit in the event of an alarm.

The list of external interactions is long and is still growing, but integration and interoperation with other systems outside of the security sector remains difficult. Our industry has spawned hundreds of different systems architectures and protocols. Installed independently and as stand-alone set-ups, all of them will work fine going solo. However, try to tie them in with the corporate nervous system and problems will appear faster than you can say, well, 'integration'.

As companies begin to embrace new ways of working, with home working, hot desking and frequent departmental reorganisations, systems must adapt smoothly in real time without costly and time-consuming reconfiguration. Most current security systems assume a static or slowly changing work environment. System modifications are viewed as the exclusive (and often very profitable) responsibility of the original installer, who's probably the only person who fully understands how the system works.

However, most – if not all – end users are sick and tired of being locked-in to proprietary systems and suppliers. They know through IT experience that open, standards-based products are cheaper and more flexible than their closed competitors.

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ automation shows the way
Other building systems like heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and energy management are already changing. At the recent inaugural BuilConn conference held in Dallas, dealers and integrators of building management systems were delighted to meet general agreement from systems suppliers that fewer control systems offering greater integration is the way to go.

From a list of dozens of different systems management protocols offered just a few years ago, the choice has seemingly narrowed to just two: BACnet and LonWorks.

Although there's overlap in their applicability, new software developments built on the Java-based Niagara or XML-based Web Services platforms can handle integration and interoperability in their stride. Competing manufacturers spoke on the same platform about how their products could work together.

Professional associations which should be hot beds of progressive initiative are mostly just clubs where incumbent industry players try to ensure that any progress is ‘managed’ such that their geriatric products remain marketable

Reports from 'plug fests' confirmed that systems designed by groups who were unaware of each other could be hooked together with little or no trouble to create interoperable systems that deliver greater value for the end user. These are simply the first signals of a tidal wave of change that will wash over the security industry from without.

As knowledge of these capabilities grows, demand for such open and flexible systems will increase. Worryingly, the security industry as a whole doesn't seem to be too aware of these developments. At conferences and meetings which I attend to discuss and analyse these trends, representation from the security industry is either low or non-existent. When pushed to explain why, representatives who are there often mumble something about "the risks" being "too great", and that "security of the system must be paramount".

Let me tell you that this is fatuous nonsense from an industry that's mired in the past and rapidly losing its way.

From products to services
The security industry's structure is as much a barrier to change as is the technology. Look in the sector's trade press or visit shows like IFSEC. We're all hooked on products, yet customers don't buy products. They buy peace of mind and improved efficiency. Companies spend huge amounts of money to grow their market share, yet almost nothing is spent on growing and developing 'the industry'.

In a similar vein, professional associations which should be hot beds of progressive initiative are mostly just clubs where incumbent industry players try to ensure that any progress is 'managed' such that their geriatric products remain marketable.

Meantime, dealers and installers move rapidly from job to job, trying to maximise margins on individual installations. Follow-up and support are poor relations unless the reluctant customer can be persuaded to pay. Our industry is purely set up to concentrate on the initial sell of the products, yet everyone knows discerning clients out there really desire security as a service.

Until recently, this was easy to say and much harder to accomplish. The costs of integrating security into each company's operations were prohibitive. As a result, most of today's installations are little more than variations on a standard theme. Security solutions are mostly stand-alone, resembling each other in form and function if not detail.

For their part, manufacturers look at their competitors' products for inspiration rather than with a view to in-depth research on market needs. Pressure from accountants keeps costs and functionality to a minimum in each market niche. However, new technology (like Web Services and wireless networking) is re-writing the rules. Security can now be delivered where and when it's needed by flexible, interoperable, service-based systems.

The challenge that lies ahead
Clear-sighted individuals in smaller companies and lone voices in larger ones can see the way ahead, but most of the larger outfits have long been run by accountants who can't see past the profit and loss section of the balance sheets.

Economists recognise the security industry as one that's mature. One that's near the top of its 'S' curve, whereby markets are increasingly divided between a few large players with products, services and prices of minimal distinction. In short, the situation resembles that of the computer industry just before the entry of the PC.

The combination of Web Services technology and service-based delivery will break like a slow tsunami. Sclerotic companies will see their profits evaporate as new, nimbler competitors arise from nowhere to steal their current customers. For as long as the security industry persists in its self-congratulatory naval gazing, it will suffer badly from the seismic changes that are set to radically alter its markets and structures.