Security systems integrators are taking on a much greater role in our connected world through their offerings of cybersecurity and added network services, as evidenced by the 21st annual Top Systems Integrators Report.
Security systems integrators lauded the state of the market in 2015, yet their revenue was down 1 percent overall and among those integrators with which a year-to-year comparison could be made, a significant number — 34 of 82 companies — reported decreased North American systems integration revenue.
Which suppliers do the largest systems integrators use? This Top Systems Integrators brand-usage report lists the top 15 manufacturers and top 12 distributors that earn the business of the largest systems integrators in the physical security channel.
A broader base of competition, margin erosion, and pressure on end user budgets all played their part on performance, but integrators experienced enough opportunities to counter those impediments to growth.
While there has been no shortage of market pressures and disruptive influences on the security business lately, systems integrators nonetheless performed well last year. As a group, the integrators encapsulated in SDM’s 2015 Top Systems Integrators Report didn’t show much growth — just 0.3 percent. But that had more to do with the structure of the report than with the companies’ individual accomplishments in 2014.
Revenue classified as North American systems integration revenue rose from $6.29 billion in 2012 to $7.36 billion in 2013 — even though seven fewer companies are included in the report. However, for comparison purposes, SDM measures the top 100 companies’ 2012 integration revenue ($6.25 billion) against the top 100’s 2013 integration revenue ($7.33 billion).
Six in 10 integrators were able to move ahead in 2012 and counted an increase in systems integration revenue; but one-third slipped back — showing that the security marketplace is not yet where it was pre-recession.
A 9 percent decrease in the 2012 revenue for SDM’s Top Systems Integrators is a deceiving number because individual company results did not recede to that extent.
For the second year in a row, systems integration revenue fell by 4 percent. Instead of paving their own straight road, integrators are facing sharp curves in adoption of new technology infrastructure and new service models.
Security systems integrators had expected to pull ahead in 2011, but instead they experienced a dismal first half of the year and a better-by-comparison but still “just average” second half. Following a 4.4 percent drop in 2010, systems integration revenue among the industry’s largest security companies fell yet again — by 3.6 percent in 2011 — leaving many wondering what it would take to get back up to speed. Integrators face sharp curves in the need to quickly adopt IP as the primary infrastructure for security systems, as well as to create business models that offer security as a service.
Do you think your security dealership or systems integration company may qualify to be ranked on the SDM 100 Report or the SDM Top Systems Integrators Report? Published annually by SDM Magazine, these reports provide an excellent opportunity to market your company to potential customers as one of the industry’s most well-recognized businesses, as well as to attract employees and impress potential investors.
The hotter the fire the harder the steel, some say. Tough times often forge resilient businesses with unexpected outcomes — demonstrated by the Top Systems Integrators who turned last year’s challenges into opportunities to retool their offerings. “We are most proud of our ability to getter better every year despite market conditions,” says No. 6 ranked Johnson Controls Inc.
In the security systems integration business, fewer than 20 firms operate globally or nationally. The majority of integrators are regional and local businesses, which depend on construction and spending
MidCo Inc., Burr Ridge, Ill, was founded in 1960 by Edwin F. Janik and Albina Janik as a small intercom and paging company. What started out as a two-man operation