Security Megatrends: The Annual Vision for the Security Industry

SIA Security Megatrends

About the Security Megatrends Report

Leveraging insights from independent research, surveys, focus groups and top sessions at the Securing New Ground (SNG) conference, Security Megatrends, an annual publication of the Security Industry Association (SIA), provides analysis on 10 top trends affecting security industry businesses and practitioners in the year to come. Released in December each year, the Security Megatrends report presents a forecast for the security industry’s future and breaks down the top trends that will impact you and your organization in the coming year.

In each report, you’ll find key insights on:

  • The top 10 trends and driving forces in the security industry for the year ahead
  • Foundational trends that have become common concerns all business leaders must manage as they operate within the security industry
  • Executive takeaways and perspectives from Securing New Ground
  • Analysis of Megatrend movement over time
  • Statistics and responses from SIA’s annual Megatrends research
  • And more!

Download the Latest Report

Security Megatrends: The 2026 Vision for the Security Industry

The 2026 Megatrends report revealed that there is no macro-trend larger or more impactful to the security industry than the new layer of disruption artificial intelligence (AI) introduces in a previously software- and hardware-dominant industry. The report raises the potential implications not only to all systems, but to sectors like alarm monitoring and security operation centers (SOCs).

Another key trend is what the report calls “The Value Chain Replaces the Channel Model,” which challenges the industry to reassess how security systems and services are delivered. Notably, this Megatrend calls for a clear focus on end-user security, risk and operational outcomes, in place of a model that rewarded transactions rather than customer value creation.

The 2026 Security Megatrends are:

  1. Software Eats the World. Will AI Eat Software?
  2. The Security Hardware Layer Is Reinvented
  3. Security Solutions Lose Their Boundaries
  4. The Value Chain Replaces the Channel Model
  5. Posthuman Automation of Security
  6. End-to-End Solutions and One-Logo Approaches
  7. The Unification of the Security Experience Layer
  8. SOCS and Monitoring Will Be Disrupted and Automated
  9. Correcting the Systemic Undervaluation of Security
  10. Security Technology Refresh Cycles Accelerate

You’ll Also Find KEY INSIGHTS ON:

  • Foundational trends for business leaders to manage as they operate within the security industry
  • What hardware requires to elevate its value and deliver better outcomes
  • The converged enterprise tech stack
  • The value chain model
  • What practitioners need from AI
  • How trends may play out over the next year

And more!

Download the Report

Past Editions

Past editions of SIA’s Security Megatrends report are available here: