The Security Guys News Awards 2026 - Now Open for Submissions

Security Guys News is pleased to announce that entries are now open for the Security Guys News Awards 2026, our year-end industry awards program recognizing outstanding achievements across physical security, surveillance, access control and security technology.

The program is designed to identify the products, deployments, partnerships and operational initiatives that have made a measurable contribution to protecting people, property and critical infrastructure during 2026. Eligible achievements may include new product launches, major customer deployments, technology integrations, security program upgrades, strategic partnerships and advances in threat detection or incident response.

The Awards prioritize demonstrated industry impact over marketing visibility. Security Guys News will assess publicly announced achievements and submitted supporting information to identify solutions that address clearly defined security challenges, demonstrate meaningful technical or operational progress and show relevance to security professionals, integrators and end users.

Selected organizations will be recognized through dedicated editorial coverage, interviews, prominent placement on the Security Guys News platform and distribution across our professional security audience.

Judging Criteria and Methodology

This is the inaugural year of the Security Guys News Awards. Entries will be evaluated through an editorial review process based on the strength of the achievement submitted, rather than company size, advertising activity or the volume of supporting materials.

Each submission will be assessed against five principal criteria:

• Innovation: The degree to which the entry introduces a new capability, approach or application within the physical security market.
• Operational impact: Evidence that the development improves detection, verification, response, protection, efficiency or security outcomes.
• Deployment readiness: Whether the solution has progressed beyond a concept and has been launched, deployed, integrated or validated in a real operational environment.
• Scalability and relevance: The potential for the achievement to address security requirements across multiple sites, organizations or industry sectors.
• Evidence and clarity: The quality of the supporting information, including deployment details, customer outcomes, certifications, performance indicators and independently verifiable announcements.

Where relevant, the review will also consider interoperability, cybersecurity safeguards, privacy-by-design principles, false-alarm reduction, ease of integration and total operational value. Claims should be supported by specific evidence wherever possible. Product specifications alone may not demonstrate award-level impact unless they are accompanied by a clear use case, deployment milestone or meaningful improvement over existing approaches.

Participation begins with a structured entry questionnaire that takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Security Guys News may request additional information where clarification is required. Following the editorial assessment, shortlisted organizations will receive details of their recognition status and the remaining program timeline.

2026 Award Categories

The Security Guys News Awards 2026 will recognize achievements across 15 categories:

1. Video Surveillance Innovation
2. AI Video Analytics Solution
3. Facial Recognition and Biometric Security
4. Access Control Innovation
5. Perimeter Security and Intrusion Detection
6. Drone and Counter-Drone Security
7. Airport and Aviation Security
8. Critical Infrastructure Protection
9. Retail Security and Loss Prevention
10. Security Operations Center Technology
11. Command, Control and Incident Management
12. Mobile Credentials and Identity Management
13. Security Systems Integration and Interoperability
14. Robotics and Autonomous Security Systems
15. Physical Security Cybersecurity and Data Protection

Entries may be submitted in more than one category when the achievement has distinct relevance to multiple areas. Security Guys News may also recommend a different category where the editorial team determines that an entry is better aligned with another award definition.

Physical Security in Focus

The physical security market is moving rapidly from isolated devices toward connected, intelligence-led security environments. Video systems increasingly combine edge processing with AI-assisted detection. Access control platforms are incorporating mobile credentials, biometrics and identity-based policies. Drone detection is becoming part of the protection strategy for airports, public venues and critical infrastructure, while security operations centers are using integrated data to improve verification and coordinate response.

At the same time, buyers are placing greater emphasis on interoperability, cybersecurity, privacy, deployment reliability and measurable reductions in false alarms. The strongest developments are therefore not always the technologies with the most features. They are the solutions that help security teams identify relevant activity sooner, make better decisions and respond more effectively within real operational constraints.

These are the achievements that the Security Guys News Awards 2026 are intended to identify, evaluate and bring to wider industry attention.

Applications for the Security Guys News Awards 2026 are now open and close on October 1, 2026. Complete the short questionnaire to submit your organization’s 2026 achievement for consideration.