The boundary between security installer and IT professional has been blurring for years. A recent analysis published by Security Electronics & Networks puts it plainly: over the next five years, networking, IT, and cybersecurity capability will shift from a differentiator to a baseline expectation for anyone installing and maintaining modern security systems. For facilities managers, IT managers, and building owners, this shift has direct implications for how you select and retain your security integrator.
Why Networking Has Become Central to Physical Security
Modern electronic security systems — IP cameras, network video recorders, access control panels, intercoms, and building management system (BMS) gateways — are no longer standalone devices connected by coax and dry-contact wiring. They are networked endpoints. They run embedded operating systems, receive firmware updates over the wire, authenticate via RADIUS or Active Directory, and in many deployments traverse the same switching fabric as business IT systems. A camera that drops off a VLAN, a PoE switch misconfigured for the wrong spanning-tree priority, or a controller that cannot resolve its NTP server will produce failures that look identical to a hardware fault to anyone without networking fundamentals.
The consequences for building operators are concrete. An access control system that loses communication with its head-end server may fail-secure (locking everyone out) or fail-open (allowing unchallenged access), depending on how door hardware is configured. An NVR that loses its default gateway stops writing footage to disk without any obvious front-panel indication. These are networking problems, not security product problems — and resolving them requires someone who can read a switch port log, interpret DHCP lease tables, and trace a packet path, not just swap a camera head.
What the Skill Gap Looks Like in Practice
The SEN article frames this as an industry-wide challenge: security installers who built their careers on coaxial cable, RS-485 bus wiring, and relay logic are being asked to configure managed switches, set up VLANs, harden device credentials, and interpret network monitoring dashboards. The skills are learnable, but they require deliberate investment — structured training, not on-the-job osmosis.
For clients, the skill gap surfaces in several recognisable ways:
- Undocumented IP addressing. Security devices added to a network without a recorded IP scheme, making future troubleshooting a guessing exercise.
- Flat network topologies. Security traffic placed on the corporate LAN without VLAN segmentation, creating both performance and cybersecurity exposure.
- Static credentials. Camera and controller web interfaces left on manufacturer default usernames and passwords because changing them was not part of the installer’s workflow.
- No network monitoring. Devices that silently go offline for hours or days before a user notices footage is missing or a door is behaving unexpectedly.
- Firmware lag. Devices running firmware versions years behind current releases because no one on the installing team owns the update process.
Each of these is a governance and operational risk, not merely a technical inconvenience. Insurers and, increasingly, regulators are beginning to treat unsecured networked devices as a liability exposure.
Operational Implications for Building and Facilities Managers
If your security integrator cannot demonstrate networking competence, the risk lands with you. When procuring or renewing a security services contract, it is reasonable to ask your integrator directly:
- Can you provide a network topology diagram of installed security devices, including IP addresses, VLANs, and switch port assignments?
- How do you manage firmware currency across the installed base?
- Do you segment security device traffic from the corporate network, and if so, how?
- What network monitoring is in place to detect device outages before end-users report them?
- Who holds the device credentials, and what is the process for rotating them?
These are not gotcha questions. A competent integrator should answer them without hesitation and with documented evidence. If the answers are vague or the documentation does not exist, that is actionable information about your current risk posture.
For IT managers specifically, the expectation that security systems live in a separate world managed by a separate trades-based team is increasingly untenable. Networked security devices need to be part of your asset register, your patch management thinking, and your incident response scope. Integrators who understand this and can work alongside your IT team — rather than around them — materially reduce your exposure.
The Mallen Perspective
This is not a future trend for Mallen Services — it is how we have operated from the outset. Our work spans electronic security, intercom and network infrastructure, and BMS integration, which means networking competence is not an add-on: it is embedded in every project and service engagement. We maintain network topology documentation for the systems we install, segment security VLANs from client IT infrastructure as standard practice, and use tools such as Zabbix for proactive device monitoring rather than waiting for a fault call.
For clients who are uncertain about the current state of their installed security network — whether devices are documented, segmented, monitored, and on current firmware — the Mallen site audit is a structured starting point. It produces a baseline register of installed devices, network topology, and identified gaps, giving building owners and facilities managers the information they need to make informed decisions about remediation and ongoing maintenance.
The SEN article is correct that the industry is changing fast. The practical question for anyone responsible for a building’s security infrastructure is not whether your integrator will eventually need these skills — it is whether they have them now.
Original source: https://sen.news/security-installers-must-lean-in-on-networking/