The AI pitch in physical security has gotten loud. Genetec wants Saudi organizations to turn the volume down and ask a simpler question first: what problem is this actually solving?
The enterprise security software maker is urging companies across the Kingdom to focus on “practical and responsible” applications of artificial intelligence, rather than deploying it for its own sake. The argument lands at a moment when Saudi security teams are drowning in data — video feeds, alarms, sensor streams and incident logs multiplying as the country’s infrastructure buildout accelerates.
The mood, according to Genetec’s own numbers, is equal parts enthusiasm and unease. In the company’s 2026 State of Physical Security report — drawn from more than 7,300 security professionals worldwide — AI ranked alongside access control and video surveillance as a top priority for the year. Yet 70% of end-user respondents said they were worried about how AI systems are designed and implemented. That gap between appetite and trust is exactly where Genetec is planting its flag.
Saudi Arabia stands out in the data. The Kingdom’s respondents reported the sharpest budget growth in the region, with 43% saying physical security spending rose in 2025 — nearly double the EMEA average of 24%. It also posted the highest rate of cloud-based physical security in EMEA, at 13% versus a regional average of 7%. In other words, Saudi buyers are spending faster and moving to the cloud sooner than their peers, which makes the question of how to adopt AI more urgent, not less.
“AI has the potential to support security teams in meaningful ways, but its value depends on how responsibly and practically it is applied,” said Mohamad Saad, Country Manager for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at Genetec. “The priority should not be adopting AI for its own sake. It should be about using AI to solve real operational challenges, improve response times and support better decision-making while keeping people in control.”
Where the payoff is real
Genetec’s clearest use cases are unglamorous by design. In live monitoring, automation can filter out nuisance alarms and push the events that matter to the top. In investigations, it can sift through mountains of video and metadata to shorten the hunt for relevant evidence. The company also leans on its familiar argument for open, connected platforms: when video, access control, sensors and communications share data, operators get a fuller picture instead of a pile of disconnected tools.
The subtext is a note of caution the industry could use more of. Physical security systems handle sensitive data, and Genetec insists privacy, transparency and accountability have to be designed in from the start — with humans, not algorithms, making the final call. It is a self-interested message from a vendor whose platform thrives on that kind of trust. It is also, on the evidence of its own survey, what most buyers say they actually want.
