Study: Pandemic Is Accelerating Physical Security Upgrades

Physical security budgets are being driven by the coronavirus pandemic and are expected to increase next year.

Study: Pandemic Is Accelerating Physical Security Upgrades

Austin, Texas — Physical threats are increasing in frequency and becoming more unmanageable, putting unprecedented financial, reputational and liability pressures on organizations’ leadership and security teams, according to the “2021 State of Protective Intelligence Report: A Mandate for Proactive Protective Intelligence in the Era of Exponential Physical Security Threats,” a new study commissioned by the Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence.

As physical security operations budgets are expected to increase in 2021, driven and accelerated by COVID-19, the study showcases the collective perspectives of chief security officers, chief legal officers, chief compliance officers and physical security decision-makers — on their physical security operations, what keeps them up at night, challenges and opportunities they foresee in 2021, and the pressing need for physical security modernization through technology.

Business continuity is at the heart of physical security concerns and 69% of security, legal, compliance and physical security executives say their leadership would agree it will be impossible for their company to recover financially and reputation-wise were a fatality to occur as a result of missed physical threats. But the reality is they are already teetering on the brink of inadequately protecting many aspects of their businesses.

Alarmingly, 71% of respondents say in the past year the lack of unified protective intelligence has resulted in missed threats and physical harm to their company’s employees, customers and human assets.

“This study shows that every business leader should be sounding an alarm and looking to protective intelligence to truly transform their ability to proactively see around corners, to identify, assess and act on threats that can have irreparable human and business costs,” says Fred Burton, executive director of the Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence. “We are at a critical inflection point, and security leaders should act judiciously, be emboldened to adopt a proactive protective intelligence strategy and help radically transform physical security — and our world — for the better.”

“We heard resoundingly from physical security decision-makers that technology to advance the effectiveness of physical security and mitigate violent threats is necessary for the future of their company,” says Lukas Quanstrom, CEO of Ontic. “When physical threats go unmanaged, it increases corporate risk, irrevocably impacting business continuity given the potential for deep financial impact. Our research shows that security, legal, compliance and risk leaders unanimously agree the time is now to invest in physical security digital transformation, and Ontic is proud to help pave the way for a new standard in protective intelligence innovation.”

Among the biggest 2021 physical security challenges:

  • COVID-19 recovery, including managing permanent remote working and safety protocols (38% agree this will be a challenge)
  • Data protection and privacy (36%)
  • Reduced security headcount due to the economy (35%)
  • Physical security threats to remote workers (34%)
  • Threat data management (33%)
  • Physical security threats to C-suite and organization leadership (32%)

Other key findings from the survey include:

  • Keeping employees safe as they work remotely (43%), identifying potential threats to reduce their company’s liabilities (43%), effectively managing the volume of threat data (43%) and identifying threats to save their organization money (34%) are the top physical security concerns keeping security, legal and compliance executives up at night.
  • 71% of legal and compliance leaders rank increased potential for financial losses as a top 3 compliance, risk or regulation issue impacting physical security strategy.
  • 39% say COVID-19 has caused them to accelerate their timeline for physical security solutions modernization.
  • 84% agree their company would be able to better avoid crises if all members of the physical security team could view threat data in a single system-of-record platform.
  • 91% of respondents say — and 54% strongly agree — that physical security needs a technology-driven industry standard for actively identifying, investigating, assessing, monitoring and managing physical security threats.
  • A strong majority agree (90%) — and half strongly agree (51%) — that now is the best time to invest in physical security digital transformation, and 84% agree unmanaged physical threats increase risk, can be financially crippling and negatively impact business continuity.

A total of 300 respondents completed the survey, which was conducted between Oct. 13-30. These included chief security officers, chief legal officers, chief compliance officers, general counsels, corporate attorneys and physical security decision-makers at U.S. companies with more than 5,000 employees.


This article originally appeared in CS sister publication, Security Sales & Integration. It has been edited. 

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century

This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!

3 responses to “Study: Pandemic Is Accelerating Physical Security Upgrades”

  1. Dahua says:

    Teacher Safety
    Staff safety is equally important, and everyone has the right to feel safe and secure during working hours. CCTV cameras, alongside Remote Access Systems, give teachers peace of mind that the only individuals on-site are the people that should be, without concern about intruders and can concentrate on the needs of their students in the class.

    Equally, CCTV cameras provide teachers with protection against potential false threats of misconduct and can provide video evidence for liaison between teachers, students and their parents. With support for personal alarm systems and panic buttons, teachers can rest assured that should there be an incident in the classroom that leads to them feeling intimidated, threatened or at risk, help can be requested without leaving students unattended.

  2. Dahua says:

    Student Safety
    Once a child arrives at school, whether they walk, cycle, travel by bus or are dropped off, parents expect their safety to be a priority. However, as the number of students attending each school continues to increase, the likelihood of incidents, crime and violence sadly also rises. CCTV surveillance systems are excellent deterrents against incidents occurring during school hours, whether that is bullying, unauthorised access, or vandalism.CCTV camera price,

  3. Polo says:

    Security cameras can help to keep student safety at the forefront and can be used to identify bottleneck areas on the school premises. Are there certain corridors that are densely packed during the start of the day or when classes let out for break times? Are there doors to external areas that become jammed with a large number of students using it as an entry/exit point? Could a better travel system be implemented, such as one-way travel, staggered break times for year groups or dedicated entry points for certain year groups?cctv camera installation,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Our Newsletters
Campus Safety Conference promo