Access control trends moving the market forward

Across the board, manufactures and security integrators reported a strong 2024. If they didn’t share that their organization experienced growth, they indicated that their performance was steady in the access control market. In SDM’s 2025 Industry Forecast, 86 percent of respondents indicated that their perception of the access control market was “good to excellent.”

So what’s benefiting the market? For one, Angelo Faenza, head of digital access solutions, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Americas, New Haven, Conn., points to end users’ increased awareness of and experience with the technology available to them. “The best news is that we’ve seen end users become more sophisticated and informed about these solutions,” he says. “They’ve done more research than I’ve ever seen in my career. They’ve done their homework. And we’ve also been a resource for them as partners. While we never sell directly to an end user, we do spend time helping them learn about the technology and the options that are available.”

This is a trend that’s become increasingly relevant over the past few years as end users get familiar with FaceID, wallet-based credentials, and a general relationship to using mobile apps for traditionally sensitive transactions like banking and paying bills. Users are aware that the industry has moved past physical key cards.

“What’s interesting to me is that we in this industry understand what security and access control are, but traditionally most of our friends and colleagues have no idea what it is or what to look for,” Faenza continues. “But in the last few years, many people I know are asking, ‘Hey, my daughter’s going to college, my son’s going to college, what do we look for when it comes to security on campus and in their dorm?’ Nobody really asked that question 10 years ago. It’s a really good sign for our industry that parents and other people are thinking about it.”