Omdia: Half of leading CSOs already using video surveillance for people safety and facility safety applications

LONDON, 30 June, 2023 – New research from Omdia has found that 51% of leading CSOs are already using video surveillance systems for facility safety applications. This response rate increased to 89% when CSOs were asked whether they expect to be using video surveillance for this application in three years’ time. 49% of respondents stated that people safety functionality is currently supported by their video surveillance system.

Omdia has partnered with the ISMA to provide this unique insight into the opinions of currently practicing CSOs. ISMA is a global not-for-profit organization that brings together senior security executives to share knowledge, best practices, and experiences in the field of corporate security management. The report provides insight from 163 ISMA members. 

Niall Jenkins, Principal Consultant at Omdia, commented, “Video surveillance is an increasingly flexible solution for CSOs. It can be used to support facility safety with applications such as video fire alarms. It can also be used in people safety applications, for example, providing virtual guarding to protect remote employees. According to the research, operational management, such as the monitoring of staff activity, and operational efficiency for process optimization, are other functionalities that will be important use-cases for video surveillance in the future.” 

The report also explored which features or functionality respondents would most like included in their future security solutions. 72% of CSOs stated that integration across security systems was one of their top three priorities. Artificial intelligence was the second most common response with 56% of respondents. At the other end of the scale, frictionless interaction, including haptics and audio control, as well as wireless networking, were the least common responses. Given the broad impact of cybersecurity, it also ranked relatively low with only 17% of respondents stating it was a top priority. This could be due to IT leaders having primary responsibility for cyber protection. 

The findings are part of an Omdia research report titled “Chief Security Officer (CSO) Insights” which covers the following topics across three chapters: 

• Physical security budgets
• Security priorities, drivers & decision makers
• Physical security technology

Click here to read the first, second and third chapters of the report.