By Eric Joseph, Global Director of Business Development & Strategy

The conversation around Cloud in the security industry has been the topic of discussion for more than a decade and a half and while some people are still asking, or trying to answer, Why Cloud, the conversation has changed and there is no longer a need for such a debate.

Not because cloud has fully “won,” and not because every organization has already migrated. In fact, adoption is happening far slower than many manufacturers, analysts, and investors predicted. The industry moves at the industry speed, and is, and will likely always be, the steady turtle, not the dashing hare. But the direction is no longer really in question as cloud adoption is occurring and picking up speed every year. 

The conversation has shifted from Why Cloud? to something much more practical:

When does cloud make sense for your organization, and how do you get there the right way?

The Industry Is Moving, Just at Its Own Pace

Cloud-based security management systems are no longer hypothetical. Tens of thousands of organizations are already using them, and most others are evaluating their timeline for migration.

The reality is simple: physical security is tied to infrastructure that moves slowly and budgets that take time to replenish.

Unlike many traditional IT systems, security environments are connected to doors, readers, locks, cameras, and field hardware with lifecycles that often stretch 7–15 years. That alone changes the pace of adoption.  Costs to do a full migration out of cycle can be financially prohibitive, especially if they extend across a corporate enterprise.

And honestly, that’s okay.

The industry is moving to the cloud at the speed operational environments and security department budgets allow, not necessarily at the speed marketing decks predicted.

Small and Mid-Sized Organizations Are Leading the Way

For many smaller and mid-sized deployments, especially under a few hundred readers, cloud is becoming the obvious choice.

In commercial office environments, K-12, higher education, state and local government, and distributed enterprise environments, cloud often makes immediate operational and financial sense.

Especially for organizations moving into new buildings or replacing aging infrastructure, the decision becomes easier:

  • Reduced infrastructure overhead
  • Simplified updates and maintenance
  • Anywhere access
  • Modern interfaces
  • Improved cybersecurity posture
  • Easier scalability across multiple locations

In these environments, legacy infrastructure is often the biggest thing slowing adoption, not resistance to cloud itself.  Organizations moving into new facilities is a significant driver for making this move.

Enterprise Customers Are Taking a Different Route

Enterprise organizations are approaching cloud differently.

Enterprise organizations have numerous sites, with thousands of end points, and multiple integrations, all of which require careful consideration as part of the cloud migration.

When enterprise users do decide to make the move to cloud, they have another decision to make.  While smaller customers are often comfortable with manufacturer-hosted environments, larger organizations are also considering security platforms deployed within their own AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud environments.

That approach allows enterprise teams to:

  • Maintain tighter control over data
  • Align with broader IT and cybersecurity standards
  • Leverage existing cloud provider relationships
  • Integrate security into larger business ecosystems

This isn’t hesitation. It’s intentionality.

Different organizations are carefully evaluating different paths to the same destination.

Regulated Markets Still Have Real Concerns

There are still environments where full cloud adoption remains more complicated.

Airports, utilities, critical infrastructure, and highly regulated environments continue to move cautiously due to concerns around compliance, latency, resiliency, and data sovereignty.

Video also remains nuanced.

For some organizations, hybrid approaches that combine on-premises recording with cloud management or cloud storage continue to make the most sense, depending on bandwidth, retention requirements, and operational needs.

But even in these environments, cloud is increasingly part of the strategy.

The Real Challenge Isn’t the Cloud, It’s the Edge

One of the biggest misconceptions in the industry regarding the timeline to cloud migration is treating cloud as purely a software conversation.

Physical security doesn’t live entirely in the cloud. It lives at the edge:

  • Control panels
  • Readers
  • Wireless locks
  • Sensors
  • Cameras
  • Biometric devices
  • I/O infrastructure

And much of that hardware was never originally designed for cloud-native operation.  A significant amount is proprietary in nature and tethered to on-premise solutions. 

That’s where the real complexity begins.

Modern cloud platforms are dynamic, integration-driven, and continuously evolving. Physical hardware is lifecycle-driven, proprietary, and expected to remain operational for years and sometimes decades.

Bridging those two worlds is where successful cloud strategies are won or lost.

The Questions We Should Actually Be Asking

The industry doesn’t need another generic “cloud vs. on-premise” debate.

The more important questions today are:

Who are you getting your Cloud from?

The provider of the cloud security solution is critically important.  Long-term provider viability matters. So do certifications like SOC 2 Type II and ISO standards. Organizations need to deeply understand and fully vet their provider organizationally, as much as the functionality of their product, as they are who owns the data, who manages it, and who has access.

What’s your migration strategy?

Moving from on-premise to cloud isn’t just about flipping a switch. Migration costs, operational impact, historical data retention, and hardware upgrade strategies all matter.  These migrations can take months to plan, and working with experts who have completed them before is critical to success.

Cloud Adoption Is Becoming More Practical and More Mature

A lot of the traditional barriers are steadily disappearing.

Migration tools are improving. Feature sets are catching up, and in some areas surpassing, traditional on-premise systems.  Integration toolkits are becoming more robust, incorporating a variety of technology components, APIs, webhooks, SCIM, and cloud-native connectors. AI capabilities are being introduced faster in cloud-native environments.

Technologies from outside of the security industry, like MQTT, and more standardized IoT communication models will only accelerate this shift further by simplifying endpoint connectivity and interoperability.

And that’s probably the most important takeaway.

Cloud isn’t some future vision anymore. It’s a strategic direction the industry is actively moving toward, just with more realism, more complexity, and more operational nuance than early conversations suggested.

The question was never really just Why Cloud?

Now it’s about building the right path to get there and the time to do it.

Eric Joseph is Global Director of Business Development and Strategy at Minuteman Security & Life Safety. Prior to Minuteman, he spent more than two decades in enterprise access control and security leadership, most recently as Vice President of Strategic Sales at LenelS2, where he led large-scale, integrated security initiatives across complex environments.

About Minuteman Security

Minuteman Security & Life Safety is a national systems integrator dedicated to protecting people, property, and mission-critical operations. Founded in 1988, Minuteman has grown into one of the largest security and life safety providers in North America, recognized as the 2025 SDM Systems Integrator of the Year. With expertise across video surveillance, access control, cybersecurity, and emergency communications, Minuteman partners with organizations in healthcare, education, critical infrastructure, and enterprise markets.