Why the ESA Industry Research Center Starts with Listening
BY Scott R. Elkins, Executive Chairman, Zeus Fire and Security, ESA Board of Directors and ESA Industry Research Center Advisory Council
Good research begins with good questions.
For the electronic security industry, those questions can’t be developed in a boardroom or by economists alone. They have to come from the people running businesses every day: the integrators, dealers, manufacturers, consultants, and industry partners who experience changing market conditions firsthand.
That’s why listening is at the foundation of the ESA Industry Research Center.
The purpose of the ESA Industry Research Center is to provide meaningful, data-driven insights that help security businesses make more informed decisions. But those insights are only valuable if they reflect the realities the industry is actually facing. Understanding those realities starts by asking the people who know them best.
Every day, security professionals make decisions about hiring, pricing, recurring revenue, technology investments, AI adoption, customer demand, and business growth. They navigate labor shortages, changing economic conditions, evolving customer expectations, and new technologies that continue to reshape the industry. The questions they’re asking today should shape the research that informs tomorrow’s decisions.
That philosophy is reflected in the development of the new ESA Industry Performance Index (IPI), which will provide an ongoing measure of the industry’s overall health. Rather than relying on anecdotes or isolated statistics, the IPI combines multiple indicators, including business activity, workforce trends, revenue health, and technology adoption, to provide a more complete picture of where the industry is headed.
Just as important, the ESA Industry Research Center is designed to evolve alongside the industry.
Markets change. Customer priorities shift. New technologies emerge. The challenges facing companies today may not be the same ones they’ll face a year from now. That means research cannot remain static. It must continue to ask new questions, gather new perspectives, and focus on the topics that matter most to security professionals.
Listening also creates better context.
Economic data can reveal what is happening across the industry, but member feedback helps explain why those trends exist and where businesses need additional insight. Together, those perspectives create research that is both statistically meaningful and practically useful. The result isn’t simply more data, it’s more relevant intelligence that organizations can use to benchmark performance, identify opportunities, and plan for the future.
This collaborative approach also strengthens the industry as a whole. When companies contribute their perspectives, they help create a more accurate picture of market conditions for everyone. Individual experiences become part of a larger story, giving business leaders access to insights that no single organization could develop on its own.
That’s why ESA is inviting members and industry stakeholders to participate in a new survey focused on the future of the ESA Industry Research Center and its content. The survey will help identify the topics the electronic and life safety industry want to learn more about, the economic trends they want tracked, and the business questions they need answered.
The feedback will help guide future research, ensuring the ESA Industry Research Center continues delivering intelligence that is timely, practical, and aligned with the industry’s evolving needs.
The strongest research isn’t created for an industry; it is created with it.
As the ESA Industry Research Center continues to grow, member participation will remain one of its most valuable resources. Every survey response, every piece of feedback, and every shared perspective contributes to a stronger understanding of where the electronic security and life safety industry stands today and where it is headed tomorrow.
Because the best industry intelligence doesn’t begin with data.
It begins by listening.
Take a few minutes to complete our survey and help shape the future of the ESA Industry Research Center. Your voice today will help guide the insights our industry relies on tomorrow.
