AI tops emerging trends for 2024

YARMOUTH, Maine – It’s a new year, and a new security industry as the latest Security Systems News (SSN) News Poll revealed that AI is the most popular trend heading into 2024, according to our readers.

The February news poll opened by asking our readers what 2024 security trends had most piqued their interest. Unsurprisingly 58.33% of responses said they were most interested in seeing how artificial intelligence (AI) will be changed or legislated. 25% are closely watching advances in the biometric security field, and the remaining 16.67% are most concerned about the rise of high-profile ransomware incidents.

“We're confronted with an exciting opportunity to re-shape our industry by attracting progressive talent from broader IT/Intelligent offerings and digital outcomes providers,” one SSN user wrote. “It won't be a comfortable transition for many- but at this time next year, we'll all be better for it.”

Next, we asked users, looking back, what was the most newsworthy event in the security industry in 2023. Again, an unsurprising 41.67% of responses said that the rise of AI was the biggest news maker, followed closely by ransomware incidents at 33.33%. 8.33% believe that the ongoing convergence of cyber and physical security was a high-priority topic in 2023, and 16.67% said it was corporate news like lawsuits and acquisitions.

“Lots of money out there in PE, and security acquisitions seem to be on the rise again from the pandemic lull,” an SSN reader wrote.

For the third question readers were asked whether the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine continue to affect the security industry in 2024. One-third of responses believe that they will continue to be a source of concern, while 16.67% don’t think they’ve affected the industry in any appreciable way. The remaining 50% of responses said that they weren’t sure.

For our final question we asked users to chime in and tell us about what was their most notable 2023 moment. The following are some of their responses:

• “Not a singular event, but excited to see the industry finally pivot in a meaningful way and accelerate towards cloud adoption as a delivery model.”
• “The questions asked directs the dialogue. I’m more concerned with using technology to improve lives. There needs to be a balance between safety and maintaining privacy.”
• “More AI options arriving”
• “We sold our company to Pye-Barker in late October.”

That’s it for the February News Poll, join us later to participate in the March News Poll and let your voice be part of the conversation.