Brivo: How cloud-first strategies reshape enterprise security

Reshaping enterprise security with a unified, cloud-first strategy, by John Szczygiel, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Brivo.

What if the greatest threat to your enterprise isn’t a future vulnerability, but the culminating weight of past decisions?

Across the industry, security leaders are grappling with “Security Debt” – a hidden liability born from years of “good enough” fixes, patchwork integrations and deferred maintenance.

This accumulation of risks from outdated physical security infrastructure is now coming due.

Mounting security debt is only exacerbated by the escalating complexity of enterprise security, with new threats from the physical and cyber realms becoming more advanced by the day.

To escape this cycle, organisations need a foundational shift towards cloud-native platforms and a unified security strategy, transforming a long-held cost centre into a true business asset.

Cloud-native security: A practical path to modernisation

Security debt didn’t pile up overnight, so overcoming it requires a strategic, phased approach. The path forward begins with a candid assessment of the current security posture to identify the most critical priorities.

This isn’t about planning a single, painful overhaul, but rather initiating a foundational shift in technology and mindset that delivers immediate value.

What’s required is a clear strategy to reduce existing debt and prevent its future accumulation – one that decisively breaks free from legacy solutions.

The most effective way to enact this change is by instituting a cloud-first mandate for all new security deployments and system upgrades.

The inevitable pivot to the cloud

Modern business runs on the cloud. The best tools for AI, data analytics, mobile integration and identity management are cloud-native. Why should physical security be the exception?

The answer is: It shouldn’t be.

A cloud-native physical security approach is uniquely equipped to dismantle the very issues that create security debt, offering tangible solutions to the challenges modern enterprises face.

• Eliminate obsolescence – cloud-native SaaS solutions are the best for continuous evolution. They include software and hardware updates in the subscription, so maintenance isn’t deferred. Plus, their computing infrastructure quickly adopts new technologies, bringing constant product improvements
• Go global, manage local – for a global enterprise, the cloud shrinks the world to a single interface where policies can be set, reporting is normalised and situational awareness is enhanced. A cloud-native unified platform brings standardised security where you need it, even if that is outside the footprint of your corporate network
• Expand without constraints – an essential characteristic of cloud solutions is that they offer rapid elasticity. This means, for example, that the number of controlled access points can be increased on demand without limits and without the need to pause for infrastructure enhancements
• Stay compliant and secure – despite common myths, properly architected cloud-native systems are exceptionally cyber-secure. The leading cloud providers invest billions in global cybersecurity and infrastructure resilience to defend against sophisticated threats. Before investing in any technology, it’s critical to investigate their compliance with industry regulations and validate their security certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2)
• Control total cost – when a total cost of ownership analysis is done, the subscription model is almost always more cost-effective. The true TCO for on-premises systems extends far beyond the initial purchase to include server refreshes, power consumption, cooling, software licenses and endless maintenance hours. In the shadows of hidden costs, security debt thrives – through overlooked updates and hardware that ages into obsolescence

By shifting from an unpredictable capital expenditure model to a predictable operating expenditure subscription, you’ll gain budget clarity.

This allows your organisation to reallocate resources from “keeping the lights on” to funding strategic initiatives.

And that strategic shift is just the beginning. Enterprise businesses of all shapes and sizes have made notable improvements in the way their businesses are run by modernising their physical security infrastructure.

Unified security in action: Driving business value

It’s common for systems to operate in silos, each one independently managing an area of the business and collecting data for its own use.

This forces staff to toggle between views, run redundant reports and suffer from alert fatigue. Ultimately, it creates dangerous blind spots in the overall security picture.

Physical security is stronger when you evolve beyond a single solution for a single purpose. An integrated approach breaks down these silos, ensuring all systems work together cohesively.

The ultimate goal is to transform security from a reactive cost centre into a strategic, intelligence-generating asset for your business.

That is the power of unification. One login, one interface, one place to see your entire security ecosystem from anywhere in the world.

The benefits are obvious, in a single dashboard you can see an access event, the corresponding video feed and the alert status on one screen for faster, more accurate decision-making.

But the real magic happens behind the scenes. By unifying systems like access control, video intelligence, visitor management and intrusion detection, you create a single, rich stream of correlated data.

This is the fuel for purpose-built AI, giving it the complete, contextualised datasets required to uncover meaningful patterns and anomalies that siloed systems are blind to.

Unified security in action: Driving business value

This transformation of security into an operationally strategic, intelligence-generating asset is not just theoretical.

Across industries, organisations are already leveraging unified processes and data to drive tangible business outcomes, creating new efficiencies and unlocking value far beyond the security operations centre.

HOTWORX is an excellent example of a company that has made its security systems mission-critical to its business model.

The international fitness franchise built its 24/7 access model by integrating its business tools with cloud-based access control and video surveillance.

The resulting solution is foundational to its success – strategically integrated, scalable and critical to both brand and profitability.

A US-based quick service restaurant uses its security data to optimise logistics and reduce operational costs, with its unified physical security stack enabling a transition to dark deliveries.

Similarly, retail stores – from luxury brands to budget-friendly chains – are reaping the benefits of cloud-based unified solutions.

For them, access control, video surveillance and point-of-sale (POS) systems are often connected to reduce shrink in both the front and back of house.

Your security ecosystem is complex – but managing it doesn’t have to be

The modern enterprise journey is a transformation from the reactive struggle against security debt to the proactive control of an intelligent, unified ecosystem.

This is made possible by a cloud-native foundation. By embracing this model, organisations don’t just secure their assets – they transform their security infrastructure into a nimble driver of tangible business value and a lasting competitive advantage.

Discover how the Brivo Security Suite can help you pay down your security debt and build a simple, unified security posture.

To find out more information, please visit: Brivo Security Suite – Brivo