According to the latest data from ANIE Sicurezza - an association that brings together key Italian operators in the sectors of fire protection systems, burglar alarms, CCTV, access control and building automation - 2019 closed with roughly 4% growth for the sector, slightly down on the previous year’s +7%. The annual trend however is the result of two very different half-year periods, the first characterised by decidedly positive results, the second seeing various segments in decline. The dip in the security market thus began prior to COVID-19, though in annual terms the industry appears to have grown.

The health emergency has become part of this situation in recent months and while, on the one hand, it might create opportunities for the sector, considering the high demand for enabling technologies (from thermal cameras to access control integrated with temperature control and mask identification systems), on the other, it needs to be carefully evaluated, also in terms of its potential risks - an opinion shared by the sector’s main associations.

Although the health crisis has not impacted security as much as it has other markets, recovery is nevertheless complicated, having to do with a lack of liquidity on the part of potential customers as well as a lowering of prices and entry onto the market of inexpert, unreliable manufacturers, something that needs to be contained.

But while it is essential to consider the risks relating to the rapid spread of unprofessional offers and an audience inexperienced in making a selection, the experiences of recent months have also allowed for significant progress to be made.

Greater awareness of the costs of having no security, the country’s step up in terms of digitalisation, new risk perception, and an increasing focus on cyber and GDPR-compliant solutions are all elements that might encourage the diffusion of a greater security culture and, particularly, the right regard for its professionals.

The "extreme” situation in which we have found ourselves is concrete proof of how the ability to both make decisions in an emergency context and effectively customise already engineered security technologies cannot be improvised, and is the responsibility of certified professionals whose role needs to be reiterated and highlighted. It is they who are the essential “human factor” with which to properly optimise resources for the creation of efficient systems.

It is with this awareness that the journey towards SICUREZZA 2021 begins. The exhibition will take place in a little over a year’s time and will allow visitors to understand how current evolution has changed the sector and its professionals, which challenges have been won, and which still lie ahead.

An increase in contexts that require new security standards, greater investment drive in security around the world, and the need for updated professionals all makes for a promising scenario, but it also requires companies and operators to be increasingly informed so as to operate effectively by exploiting current development drivers.

The exhibition will give room to new solutions and new safety-related applications - in great demand in the current emergency - but will, above all, offer trade visitors the opportunity to undertake certified training. Updating and discussion may therefore become powerful added value that will allow each professional profile to affirm their competitiveness on the market.