-   The scenario: COVID-19 and security, the opportunities and risks

-   The exhibition: SICUREZZA, a platform for discussion in an evolving context

Milan, 3 August 2020 – A time of transition, rich in opportunity but not without its risks. The “new normal” that is emerging in light of the COVID-19 emergency, as experienced by the security sector, is a complex context that requires companies and professionals to carefully analyse today’s scenarios as well as those that may arise in coming months, in order to be able to meet new demands in an effective way.

SICUREZZA, the European exhibition of reference for security and fire protection systems that will take place at Fiera Milano from 17 to 19 November 2021, is gearing up to consider sector development during its next edition, positioning itself as a platform for discussion and innovation with which to assess the challenges posed by current scenarios and understand their reach and consequences.

THE SCENARIO: SECURITY, THE OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS

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.

THE EXHIBITION: A PLATFORM FOR DISCUSSION IN AN EVOLVING CONTEXT

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.

SICUREZZA - which will once again run simultaneously with Smart Building Expo, the exhibition dedicated to technological integration, enriching and completing the exhibition proposal - is therefore ready to confirm its benchmark role in the sector. The event will serve as a very vivid expression of that “security culture” for which the world feels such a need today, in order to look to a “newly normal” future with greater peace of mind.

SICUREZZA will take place at Fiera Milano from 17 to 19 November 2021.