As 2025 ends, Freddy Kuo, chairman of Luminys, shares his reflections on the security industry this year, highlighting the sector’s most unexpected trend and its biggest transformation.
He plans to release his detailed forecasts for 2026 in an upcoming post later this month.
According to Kuo, this year brought a return to basics and a reset. After extensive promotion of artificial intelligence and automation, buyers turned their attention to solutions delivering stable, quantifiable performance. They sought systems that operate reliably in everyday scenarios, minimize failure points and tie directly to key performance indicator (KPI) improvements rather than flashy proofs of concept.
That pivot spurred stronger demand for intelligent video platforms that improve uptime, curb false alarms and offer actionable context to field teams. The market signaled that AI must produce concrete business value over mere novelty.
Kuo says he was most surprised by how fast AI expectations matured. Clients now ask for root-cause clarity and reliable accuracy instead of feature lists: they want to understand why results shift, verify that analytics hold up in low-light conditions and see how systems adjust when the environment changes.
Vendors have shifted from rule-based automation to reasoning-focused engines that maintain the full situational picture. This move places new demands on platforms: they must explain each step in their logic and preserve context at every phase.
He views the broad use of video data in wider business operations as the key development. Video no longer sits solely within security teams. Departments in operations, facilities, quality control and the supply chain now rely on video analytics to confirm workflows, catch early deviations and track metrics tied to throughput and efficiency.
This cross-team reliance is redefining how organizations regard security footage. It’s shifted from an incident response tool to a source of performance metrics driving operational excellence.
