“Security leaders shifting to unified platforms” reveals HID market trends study

The comprehensive study gathered responses from no fewer than 1,800 partners, end users and security and IT personnel worldwide. It reveals a significant transformation in terms of how businesses are approaching security, with mobile credentials and Artificial Intelligence emerging as key drivers of continuing innovation.

“The security industry is at a pivotal moment wherein the integration of modern technology with existing infrastructure is no longer optional,” explained Ramesh Songukrishnasamy, senior vice-president of engineering at HID.

Songukrishnasamy added: “The fact that 73% of security leaders now prioritise software-driven unified solutions shows that we’ve moved beyond traditional siloed approaches. Organisations are demanding platforms that can scale with their needs, while also providing actionable intelligence.”

Key findings

There has been a marked increase in mobile credentials and biometrics adoption, in turn signalling a shift away from traditional access methods

The rapid rise of mobile credentials, with 61% of security leaders identifying their proliferation as a top trend, signals a significant shift away from traditional access methods. Nearly two-thirds are either deploying or planning to deploy mobile solutions.

Concurrently, demand for biometric technologies such as fingerprint, iris and facial recognition is on the rise: circa 35% of respondents currently use biometric technology, while 13% plan to, duly indicating significant growth potential in this segment. 

Growing demand for unified security management solutions that streamline operations

As organisations diversify security technology, many security leaders (67%) are making moves to adopt software-driven security solutions, citing that unifying multiple data collection methodologies would be ‘somewhat’ or ‘very important’ (73%) to their organisation.

Strong preference for open platforms that facilitate seamless integration

Interoperability has become synonymous with progress across the security industry over the last few years. The trend continues as more than 50% of security professionals reported open solutions as being ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important to their organisations.

Strategic focus on converging platform solutions rather than standalone products

Nearly two-thirds of organisations and 73% of integrators and consultants report a shift towards software-driven security solutions that bridge physical and digital functions such as video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection into a more unified platform. 

Significant channel transformation driven by digital innovation

The security channel is undergoing significant transformation driven by digital innovation. While 77% of channel partners believe they are adapting well to these changes, growing end user demand for Artificial Intelligence, cloud solutions, Internet of Things integration and advanced analytics is reshaping service expectations.

In order to thrive, the channel must continuously evolve and adapt to meet the evolving needs of the market and keep pace with digital transformation within the security sector as a whole. 

Accelerated adoption of Artificial Intelligence agents to enhance security operations

Artificial Intelligence agents are being rapidly adopted to enhance security operations. Use cases are proliferating across access control, identity management, video and security management platforms. Key benefits cited include improved efficiency and speed of security processes (50%) and enhanced real-time data analysis capabilities (47%). 

Continued emphasis on sustainability in security decision-making (budget permitting)

Sustainability is still a key factor in security decision-making, with 75% of security leaders now factoring this into their solution selection process. However, sustainability is not the most critical factor when selecting new solutions as security and cost-effectiveness are still the highest priority for 80% of integrators and consultants.

*Read ‘The Industry Report: 2025 State of Security and Identity’ in full