Every industry is born in response to a requirement; to fill a market void. This void could be some form of service or even a product. The security industry perfectly fits this description. Over the years the security industry has witnessed a massive transformation. It has become more professional, responsive, skilled, and better managed.
This evolution has been a direct outcome of the increased threats to public and private sectors; threats that the law enforcement agencies are unable to provide for due to their limited numbers, resources, and other higher priority commitments. When one normally thinks of private security, the first thing that usually comes to our mind is security guards and bodyguards.. but the security industry is much more than this. From threat analysis for buildings and campuses to ensuring cybersecurity, the security industry covers it all.
Here is what you need to know about the security industry.
An Ever-Growing Industry
The security market in the United States of America was valued at USD 84.54 billion in 2018 and is expected to increase to USD 167 billion by 2025. This steep increase in its market value is driven by an increased number of terror threats, illegal activities, and scams across the world. While the concept of a security firm was once based on providing manpower in the form of security guards, it has now evolved into providing and setting up well-connected electronic security systems consisting of motion detectors, cameras, geofencing, and so on, that provide real-time monitoring and feedback. Security industries also provide cybersecurity to businesses and governments as the threat of hackers and loss of intellectual property is a major concern.
Indeed, the security industry is ever-growing and ever-evolving. With the rapid evolution of technology, new threats always loom on the horizon. Therefore, the security industries have to constantly adapt and evolve to keep up.
Encompasses Diverse Fields
The security industry caters to the requirements of various corporates, transportation industries, factories, research labs, shopping centers, construction sites, and public establishments. To be able to meet the needs of such a vast and varied clientele they have to be extremely flexible and adaptable. Based on the client’s requirement, they offer various kinds of services like security guards, mobile patrol, crowd control, parking management, safety escort, and cybersecurity. Out of these, cybersecurity has increasingly gained importance over time. As businesses go digital to improve their efficiency, and process flows and reach out to more customers, they also face a 24 X 7 threat of having their businesses compromised by viruses, malware, spyware, online breaches, intrusion, or deception. The security team of Perthsecurityservices.com.au suggests that while major corporations often have their cybersecurity and IT departments, small businesses find it difficult and inefficient to raise a department of their own. Such businesses can benefit by outsourcing their cybersecurity. This offers them the advantage of having access to experts in the field without having to invest in their training and purchase of equipment.
Must Adhere to Regulatory Legislations
To be able to provide services across such varied domains while maintaining optimum levels, security industry professionals must ensure standardization, codification, and consistency. This has to be ensured not just within a company, but across different companies as well. That said, security companies must adhere to various government legislations and are answerable to regulatory bodies. While this can vary from one country to another, most governments have well-defined policies and regulations, and specific regulatory bodies to ensure compliance. For instance in Australia, companies that offer security services must be registered with the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) and abide by their guidelines.
Extensive Training Regimen
The requirements for the security market are continuously evolving. To keep up with these dynamically evolving requirements, security industries incorporate extensive training regimes. These include courses for security guards, patrol officers, and also for cybersecurity professionals. Even at the management levels, the executives are expected to hold professional degrees that are oriented towards security. Such professional degrees include specializations in cybersecurity, network security, and management of security personnel. More often than not, the employees include ex-armed forces and police officers with extensive experience in both management of security personnel and field missions as well. Furthermore, depending on the nature of the task, security personnel also receive special training before being deployed. For instance, security personnel responsible for ensuring the security of an airport would receive specialized training that would be different from the training provided to the personnel who are responsible for the security of a factory.
The security industry is multifaceted. It provides security not only in the physical sense but also in the virtual world and data protection has become an important aspect of the security industry. The security industry caters to the needs of a market that is constantly evolving. As such, security professionals have to always be on their toes and undergo frequent training in order to stay up to date with the latest technologies.
