While most industries in South Africa are currently facing economic and financial strain, the security technology market is poised for growth.

Speaking at Securex 2024, Elvey Group sales and marketing director Tasha Smith said the current market value is R5.84-billion, driven by video surveillance which is growing at 9.3% per year. She said there is greater value in the commercial sector, but the residential sector has most of the business focus.

“There is big confidence in the growth of the security sector in South Africa.”

Tasha Smith

It is anticipated that the growth will continue, reaching over R8.8-billion by 2028.

“Video surveillance creates the most value, produces the most sales and drives the only real need. This also presents an opportunity for innovation, and it will be important to ensure that video surveillance technology is up to date to remain relevant.”

“External worries for South Africans are increasingly about load shedding (78%) and the pressured economy (80%). These challenges mean that security companies need to offer solutions that are independent of the power grid, such as products that are solar-powered and battery-run,” Smith explained.

“We have some of the most sophisticated security systems in the world because we have very sophisticated criminals.”

Tasha Smith

She said the demand is driven by the need for safety, increasing crime levels, technological advancements, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), lack of public funds and to a lesser degree, cybersecurity.

“At this stage, physical threats are more important than cyber ones. A hybrid approach is predicted with a blend of on-premise and cloud-based solutions. Current challenges for adopting cloud solutions are the cost to upgrade, security and a more customised approach,” said Smith.

Over the next three years, at least 48% of the industry will adapt to new technologies such as AI, 13% will look to cloud-based systems, and 5% will offer more remote-based solutions.