The Platform Over the Product: Why Genetec's Dominance Signals a New Era

MONTRÉAL, QC – August 26, 2026 – This week, Genetec Inc. announced what has become an annual ritual: independent analyst firms Omdia and Novaira Insights once again crowned the company the undisputed global leader in video management software (VMS). The press release was flush with impressive metrics—a staggering 20% growth in 2025, far outpacing the market's 13.3% expansion, while its closest competitors stagnated or shrank.

But to dismiss this as just another corporate victory lap is to miss the seismic shift happening beneath the surface of the multi-billion-dollar physical security industry. The numbers don't just tell a story of one company's success; they deliver a verdict on a technology paradigm that is rapidly becoming obsolete. The age of the siloed, proprietary security device is ending. The era of the open, unified software platform is here, and Genetec's sustained dominance is the primary evidence.

The Great Consolidation

For decades, procuring physical security systems was an exercise in compromise. An organization would buy cameras from one vendor, access control panels from another, and license plate readers from a third, all running on closed, proprietary software. The result was a clunky, inefficient patchwork of systems that rarely communicated well, creating operational headaches and security vulnerabilities. Integrating new technology was a nightmare, and switching vendors often meant a complete and costly rip-and-replace.

That model is officially broken. According to Omdia analyst Paul Bremner, the market is no longer growing evenly. “Buyers are consolidating around vendors that can deliver cloud, on-premises, and hybrid from a single open platform,” Bremner noted in a statement accompanying the findings. “And those vendors are taking share from ones that cannot.”

This is the core of the story. Genetec’s remarkable growth is a direct result of a long-term strategic bet on openness and unification. While competitors were focused on locking customers into their hardware ecosystems, the Montréal-based firm was building a software platform, Security Center, designed to be a neutral, central nervous system. It allows customers to connect best-in-class devices from hundreds of different manufacturers, preserving existing investments and providing true freedom of choice.

This philosophy extends to the cloud. With over half of all organizations expected to maintain some on-premises infrastructure, a hybrid approach is non-negotiable. Genetec’s successful 2024 launch of its Security Center SaaS platform—which quickly vaulted it into the top 10 for Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) globally—wasn't a pivot, but a natural extension of its strategy. It offers a bridge to the cloud, not a cliff, allowing organizations to migrate at their own pace. This flexibility is what today’s market is rewarding.

A Playbook for Sustained Leadership

Achieving the number one spot is one thing; holding it in the Americas for 15 consecutive years while posting the largest market share growth in the competitive EMEA region is another. This isn't luck; it's a playbook built on principles that many in the tech world are only now beginning to embrace.

First is a relentless focus on organic growth through R&D. While the security industry has seen a flurry of M&A activity—such as Honeywell’s acquisition of Carrier’s access solutions unit and Milestone Systems’ merger with Arcules to create a unified cloud platform—Genetec has largely grown from within. This has allowed it to maintain a coherent product vision and embed its core values, like cybersecurity and privacy-by-design, into every line of code.

“The world's most demanding organizations are choosing Genetec as they modernize their security,” said Christian Morin, the company's Vice President of Product Engineering. “They need a system of record built to IT standards, one that runs at enterprise scale and does not lock them in. They are choosing a platform they can build their future on.”

This alignment with IT standards is crucial. As physical security and cybersecurity converge, CIOs and IT departments are increasingly involved in procurement. They demand the same level of robustness, scalability, and cyber-resilience from their security platform that they expect from their core enterprise software. Genetec has been speaking their language for years, building a platform that looks and feels like a modern IT system, not a legacy hardware accessory.

The New Rules for Enterprise Security

For any organization planning to modernize its security infrastructure, the implications of this market shift are profound. The old procurement checklist is obsolete. The new one is defined by the very principles that have propelled Genetec to the top.

1. Demand Openness: The single most important factor for future-proofing a security investment is choosing a platform built on an open architecture. The ability to integrate new cameras, sensors, and analytics tools as they emerge—regardless of the manufacturer—is the ultimate defense against technological obsolescence and vendor lock-in.

2. Embrace the Hybrid Model: The path to the cloud is not a one-way street. A viable platform must offer a seamless experience across on-premises servers, private cloud, and public cloud deployments. This ensures operational continuity and allows for a phased, budget-friendly migration.

3. Prioritize Unification: Managing disparate systems for video, access control, communications, and alarms is inefficient and creates blind spots. A unified platform provides a single pane of glass, correlating events across systems to deliver true situational awareness and dramatically simplify operations. This is no longer a luxury; it is a baseline requirement for effective security at scale.

4. Scrutinize Cybersecurity: In a connected world, every security device is a potential entry point for a cyberattack. It is essential to choose a vendor that demonstrates a deep, transparent commitment to cybersecurity, from encrypted communications and data-at-rest to regular vulnerability testing and privacy-by-design features.

As the market continues to consolidate, the vendors who fail to meet these new standards will be left behind. The data from Omdia and Novaira Insights confirms it. Organizations are no longer just buying cameras or door readers; they are investing in an intelligent, unified platform that can adapt and grow with them for the next decade. The companies that understand this distinction are the ones that are winning.