This year’s Global Security Exchange (GSX) has come and gone. We’re back from Orlando, after having seen some of the latest developments and trends in security technology.
GSX 2024, hosted by ASIS International, was held from Sept. 23-25 this year. It’s the security industry’s biggest and longest-running trade show, bringing together more than 16,000 security professionals from across the security industry. The show was well-attended this year, despite the fact that Hurricane Helene thinned out attendance on the last day of the show.
Circadian Risk had a booth at this year’s conference, but we were able to get out a bit and see some of the trends and new developments in the physical security industry.
What did we see at GSX?
This year’s conference saw a continued interest in AI and robotics, as well as in staples like Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) and the (Global Security Operations Center) GSOC.
The new GSOC: Back in the day, the GSOC was really just a room where security officers watched cameras, managed access control, and hung out between patrols. That started changing a few years ago, when GSOCs became more focused on managing threat intelligence, becoming less reactive and more proactive. The business model around GSOCs is also changing; many guard companies offer a GSOC function to their clients. However, we’re now seeing vendors that offer outsourced GSOCs. These new GSOCs function as intelligence operation centers, allowing businesses to understand what is going on at any given point in time around a facility.
A focus on ESRM: ESRM was a hot topic at GSX this year. Several presentations (including ours) focused on enterprise security risk management, and making better decisions about security before an incident. It’s been a couple of years since ASIS launched its ESRM guideline, and it’s excellent to see widespread adoption of proactive risk management.
Robots with a human touch: Robotics are becoming more human. We’ve seen Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD)’s, RADDOG, but RAD and other robotics companies want people to interact with their devices. Machines are able to approach humans and interact, with a remote GSOC operator able to communicate directly with individuals. It’s an attempt to create robots that act more like a security officer and less like a rolling information kiosk
Creative problem solving: This year we saw some pretty impressive new technologies that have been developed to solve long-standing stubborn problems. For example, cameras don’t work well in fog and other low-visibility situations. One company is attempting to fix that by using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to continually evaluate and augment cameras. It’s awesome to see people using new technology to improve everyday issues.
AI: AI isn’t new, but it has definitely shown up more at GSX. We see AI in physical security for many reasons, including robotics, cameras, access control, video analytics, and our latest announcement for Circadian Risk, using AI in our Risk Analysis Solution. AI can be a huge benefit to security and we see many companies moving in this direction.
New guard companies: For a long time, there have been only a few large guard companies. Now we’re seeing a new wave of smaller regional guard companies enter the field and start growing. It will be interesting to see how they do in a market that’s only had a few large players in it for so long.
Miss us at GSX? It’s not too late.
All in all, GSX 2024 was a fantastic event that saw an interest in security and safety from many different kinds of companies of all sizes. GSX 2025 has been announced as being in New Orleans next year. We’re looking forward to next year, but in the meantime, if you missed us at GSX, please get in touch.
Book a meeting with us today to talk to an expert about your security needs.
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