Paving the Way to Smart Buildings

• By Emma Falck
• May 20, 2025

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, the convergence of on-prem, edge and cloud technologies are critical.

The physical security landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid digitalization of buildings and the evolving needs of modern organizations. As the buildings sector pivots towards smart, AI and data-driven operations, the integration of both edge and cloud technology has become crucial.

Hybrid security solutions, which seamlessly blend traditional on-site systems with cloud-based capabilities, are emerging as an optimal approach to futureproof physical security for smart buildings.

Embracing the Hybrid Advantage
Hybrid security solutions combine the reliability and control of on-prem systems with the flexibility, scalability, and advanced capabilities of cloud architectures. This approach allows organizations to leverage their existing investments in physical security infrastructure while enhancing them with the benefits of cloud-based technology.

The hybrid approach can be considered a game-changer for the physical security market. The reasons are clear: It allows organizations to safeguard their security investments; enhance operational efficiency, availability, and resilience; and shift from capital expenditures (CAPEX) to operating expenses (OPEX).

Additionally, it unlocks new services such as false-alarm detection and remote maintenance diagnostics, facilitating a smooth transition to smart building capabilities. Key advantages of hybrid security solutions include:

Protecting existing investments. Hybrid solutions enable a gradual migration to cloud-based security, avoiding the need for costly and disruptive "rip and replace" overhauls of on-prem systems. Organizations can leverage their existing infrastructure while incrementally adding cloud-powered features and capabilities like mobile access, visitor management, and unified multi-site identity management.

Enhancing maintenance and performance. Cloud-based components of hybrid solutions offer enhanced maintenance, remote diagnostics, and automatic updates, resulting in a reduced workload for security teams. The cloud also enables improved data visualization, cross-domain use cases and harmonized resource management. Additionally, automation of tasks, as well as unified alarm and work management, allows for customization of workflows to streamline operations.

Improving cybersecurity. Hybrid architectures enable security managers to remotely monitor, diagnose, and update systems. By using edge hardware that allows for native cloud connectivity, robust protection against cyber threats is ensured. Cloud-based security services also provide the latest patches and cybersecurity features.

his is particularly important as new regulations like the EU Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER) and the US Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) place increasing demands on organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity position. Therefore, security teams can comply with these new regulations more effectively by providing centralized visibility, remote management capabilities, and seamless integration of the latest security updates and protection.

Increasing sustainability. By migrating from on-prem to cloud-based infrastructure, organizations can more easily connect access control and video data with building automation, enabling occupancy-driven building management. This can reduce energy consumption by up to 65 percent.

Hybrid Security – The Heart of Smart Buildings
Hybrid security is not just about physical protection – it is about unlocking the full potential of smart buildings. For example, access management systems can leverage occupancy data to improve visitor management, reduce food waste in canteens, and optimize smart heating and cooling.

Intelligent video management platforms, powered by cloud-based analytics, can differentiate between humans and animals, automate license plate recognition, and support real-time identity checks – all while ensuring compliance with local regulations.

Moreover, these solutions enable remote monitoring and management, allowing security teams to oversee multiple sites from a centralized cloud-based platform anywhere, anytime and from any device. This streamlines incident response, enhances overall safety and reduces the workload for operators.

Ultimately, by seamlessly blending on-prem and cloud technologies, organizations can protect their investments, enhance operational efficiency, improve cybersecurity, and drive sustainability. This lays the foundation for a new era of intelligent, user-centric buildings.

Hybrid security is not in the future – it is here now. Forward-thinking organizations are already embracing this approach to stay ahead of the curve and deliver the secure, smart and sustainable buildings of tomorrow.

This article originally appeared in the May / June 2025 issue of Security Today.