Security practitioners need solutions and products with open/common interconnection interfaces for systems that will be deployed in the borders. Further to Capability Gap No 2.CGF.11: Absence of security solution standardisation and certification, an approach is required to interconnect (with minimum effort) solutions from different vendors and ensure interworking between different subsystems (e.g., common video analytics from surveillance cameras and seamless or minimum effort interworking with deployed radars and other sensors installed along the borders). It should be highlighted that interoperability will be a key component to drive the growth of security industry. The creation of a standardised ecosystem where solutions from different providers can communicate and work together will be beneficial for the end users. As a result, this will almost certainly lead to more advanced security solutions with more functionalities supported by stronger pricing and performance competition.

The delivery of products developed around end user needs will be also beneficial for solution providers since their solution roadmap will be driven by their potential customers. It should be highlighted that the digital transformation of physical security is still in its infancy compared to other industries. The value proposition of digital transformation goes beyond the traditional Return of Investment (ROI) metrics. A combined view of returns should also measure the added value that will be created from developing solutions using advanced analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML). The focused development of security solution using beyond State of the Art (SOTA) technologies will foster the required conditions for an ecosystem with more advanced and more suitable security products, that will lead to faster adoption of security products by public authorities who are the end users.

Again, the military equivalent, the Multilateral Interoperability Programme (MIP) established to support solution providers to exchange information should serve as a good example. MIP produces a set of specifications which when implemented by the stakeholders, provide the required interoperability capability. Also, MIP provides a venue for system level interoperability testing. The result is the development of interoperable solutions, which have undergone testing to ensure their interoperability. The outcome of these activities is an ecosystem of interoperable solutions.