Interface Security Systems, a leading managed service provider delivering business security, managed network, UCaaS and business intelligence solutions to distributed enterprises, today shared its top predictions for the physical security industry.

The end of traditional burglar alarms is near  

Businesses of all sizes will move away from traditional contact- or motion-based burglar alarms in favor of video-verified alarms to avoid the unnecessary disturbance and costs involved with false alarms. We will also find that AI-based video verified alarms are about to take modern alarm monitoring operations to an entirely different level of accuracy and efficiency. AI-based deep learning algorithms integrated with cameras can now detect people (human motion) and cars while filtering out all other motion like shadows and trees as well as animals and wind. This is about to become a game-changer for live monitoring operations as operators can now rely on AI-based motion detection to alert them to people in areas where they should not be. With so many camera feeds to be monitored, AI-based analytics effectively act as a second set of eyes that never sleep and never miss an event. This guarantees that live monitoring operators are not wasting their attention on false alarms.

ORC will drive the growth of interactive audio and video monitoring

The recently published 2021 NRF Retail Security Survey revealed that almost 7 in 10 (69%) retail loss prevention and asset protection professionals said the pandemic has resulted in an increase in overall risk for their organization. As the uncertainty of the health crisis continues to hang over the retail industry, loss prevention and security professionals are reporting that organized retail crime (ORC) and, in some places, opportunistic looting is on the rise. As organized retail crime gangs continue to exhibit high levels of aggression and violence, businesses will increasingly turn to interactive audio and video monitoring providers as an extension of their own in-house teams. With live video and two-way audio capabilities, trained security staff can see, hear and communicate with store employees 24/7. This solution enhances personnel safety and ensures retail premises remain secure.

Businesses will turn their security cameras into powerful business intelligence tools to enhance customer experience and maximize sales

Since budgets are likely to remain tight in 2022 there will be greater demand for demonstrable results from any kind of technology investment. Forward-thinking businesses will maximize the ROI from their security investments by extracting operational insights from the data generated by their security cameras and monitoring solutions. Large, distributed enterprises will increasingly leverage their use of video to go beyond traditional security applications and use video analytics for business intelligence, as well as for health and safety compliance. When a business truly understands the behaviors of its customers by collecting key insights, it can then tailor every customer touchpoint to maximize customer satisfaction, increase sales revenue and improve operational efficiency. Video analytics can help retailers optimize store layout, make critical decisions on merchandising, correlate customer footfall to online campaigns, identify staffing bottlenecks, test new store designs, or compare the effectiveness of in-store campaigns.