Mary Gates, GMR Security: 2025 Reflections and 2026 Predictions
Written by Mary Gates | Published on January 9, 2026 for Security Sales & Integration
We continue looking back at the biggest developments in the security industry in 2025 and ahead to what could change in 2026 and beyond with Mary Gates, chief executive officer of GMR Security Consulting Group.
Mary Gates 2025 Security Industry Reflections and 2026 Predictions
Read on to check out Mary Gates’ 2025 security industry reflections and 2026 predictions. We’ll have many more predictions from others among the brightest minds in the security industry throughout the month!
Security Sales & Integration: What kind of year has 2025 been for the physical security industry?
Mary Gates: 2025 has been a year of acceleration and recalibration for the physical security industry. Threats didn’t arrive one at a time, they overlapped. Security teams faced faster decision cycles, higher expectations and more pressure to prove value beyond traditional protection.
What stood out most was the industry’s shift from reacting to isolated incidents toward managing sustained disruption. Physical security increasingly became a strategic business function, tied directly to resilience, continuity and executive decision-making rather than just infrastructure and response.
SSI: What has been the most surprising development in the security industry this year?
Gates: The most surprising development has been how quickly organizations recognized that technology alone isn’t enough. While artificial intelligence, analytics and cloud platforms advanced rapidly, many teams realized their biggest gaps were alignment, communication and integration across silos.
In many cases, perceived risk outpaced actual risk, driven by real-time information overload and fragmented systems. That realization pushed leaders to focus less on adding tools and more on making sense of the tools they already have.
SSI: What has been the most important change we’ve seen this year in security?
Gates: The most important change in 2025 was the growing convergence of physical security, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management. Organizations began treating these functions as one ecosystem rather than separate disciplines.
This shift changed expectations for integrators and security partners, moving them from installers of equipment to advisors who understand operations, compliance and business impact. That evolution will continue to define the industry going forward.
SSI: What technology category represents 2026’s ripest growth opportunity for dealers, installers and integrators?
Gates: Hybrid-ready, AI-enabled security platforms represent the strongest growth opportunity heading into 2026. Customers want flexibility, on-prem, cloud, or hybrid, paired with intelligence that reduces noise and improves decision speed.
The real opportunity is designing systems that help organizations interpret risk, prioritize response, and adapt as conditions change. Integrators who can architect flexible, future-proof deployments will be best positioned to grow.
This aligns with the broader industry shift toward hybrid cloud models and AI-driven threat detection.
SSI: Which emerging technologies are overplayed, and which will truly transform integration?
Gates: Some AI claims are overplayed, particularly when analytics are marketed as “set it and forget it.” Without proper configuration, governance and training, AI can create as many problems as it solves.
What will truly transform integration is practical AI paired with unified platforms, systems that reduce false alarms, provide actionable insights and integrate physical and digital data into a single operational view. Transformation will come from usability and trust, not hype.
SSI: What’s getting better about the security industry? What’s getting worse?
Gates: What’s getting better is the industry’s maturity. Conversations are more strategic and there’s greater awareness of compliance, data privacy and responsible technology use. Security leaders are increasingly being invited into executive discussions earlier.
What’s getting worse is complexity. More tools, more data, more regulations, without clear ownership, can overwhelm teams. Organizations that don’t simplify and integrate risk will be less effective, even with more technology in place.
SSI: What’s likely to catch dealers, installers and integrators off guard in 2026?
Gates: Regulatory pressure will catch many off guard, particularly around data handling, biometrics and AI transparency. Customers will increasingly ask not just what a system does, but how it works, where data lives and how it’s protected.
Integrators who aren’t prepared to speak confidently about compliance, cybersecurity and governance will find themselves at a disadvantage.
SSI: What’s the single most pressing challenge security professionals must tackle right now? How should they tackle it?
Gates: The most pressing challenge is keeping pace with decision speed. Threats evolve faster than traditional response models.
To tackle this, organizations must invest in integration between systems, teams and leadership and prioritize intelligence over volume. Training cross-functional teams and simplifying workflows will be just as important as deploying new technology.
SSI: Finish this sentence: 2026 will be remembered as the year that the security industry…
Gates: … fully embraced flexibility, intelligence and integration as the foundation of effective security, in addition to recognizing that resilience is no longer optional, but essential.