Every year, ISC East gives us a glimpse into what’s driving change in the security industry. This year, the shift was unmistakable: hardware faded into the background, and software intelligence took center stage. Two years ago, the show floor was crowded with massive hardware booths. This year, many of those same vendors looked quite different. The industry has officially moved into its next era.

Across conversations with integrators, panel discussions, and demos of emerging technologies, three themes stood out as the forces that will shape security in 2026 and beyond.

1. AI is becoming the new “layer” of security

The biggest story this year was the intelligence now layered across every device. AI is evolving from a feature to the unifying layer that connects cameras, sensors, access control, and analytics into a coordinated defense system.

This is where the industry’s innovation is happening. Instead of product announcements touting “better cameras,” the real conversation is now about behavior detection, threat scoring, identity analytics, and predictive protection.

As security shifts from reactive to predictive, the work behind the scenes shifts accordingly. Technicians now need to ensure that devices are installed, networked, calibrated, and feeding clean data into these AI platforms. This change is already driving increased demand on the Field Nation marketplace for skilled professionals who can support these integrated, intelligence-driven environments.

2. The service model is expanding beyond installs

Integrators are shifting from project-driven work to Security-as-a-Service. Updated compliance requirements—such as the 2027 building code mandating that classroom and office doors in schools be lockable from the inside without a key or tool to enable faster lockdowns—are creating recurring needs for inspections, documentation, configuration, and ongoing maintenance.

Weekly door checks, photo verification, sensor health monitoring, and cloud access logs are now part of the contract, not an add-on. Even traditional security companies are building managed service practices because clients want continuous reliability, not just new hardware.

This shift creates a long-term service ecosystem, increasing demand for skilled technicians across multiple disciplines.

3. Robotics is growing quickly and creating new service needs

While the robotics category isn’t fully mature, it made a noticeable impact at ISC East due to its rapid evolution. Drones, autonomous patrol units, dog-like robots, and mobile surveillance platforms are all moving from concept toward real deployment, even if the market still lacks a dominant player or standardized service model.

What stood out most is that every robotics vendor is grappling with the same challenge:

How do we deploy, maintain, and support these systems efficiently at scale? The technology is advancing quickly, but scaling requires boots-on-the-ground support with technicians who can handle installation, updates, troubleshooting, and repairs. This gap creates an opportunity for companies built for distributed field service work.

What these trends mean for field service delivery

The biggest difference between this year and years past is the mindset. The industry is thinking holistically now. AI, compliance, layered security, and managed services are converging to redefine not just how systems operate, but how they’re deployed and maintained.

Field Nation is seeing these changes play out across the marketplace, increasing demand for skilled, independent technicians, complex projects, as well as compliant and documented workflows. And if ISC East made anything clear, it’s that the pace of change isn’t slowing down.

Contact us to learn how your business can meet these new demands by leveraging Field Nation.