The CISO now owns physical security. Here's what that means for the channel

The CISO now owns physical security. Here’s what that means for the channel Physical security budgets have moved to CISOs, and partners must adapt to this important shift For years, selling physical security meant knowing one buyer. The director of physical security, or facilities, signed off on cameras, locks, and badge readers, and the conversation rarely left that room. That buyer is being moved aside. Physical security budgets are rising sharply. EY research found that nearly 80% of organizations increased spending in the last budget cycle, and more than a quarter have now shifted oversight to the CISO, a role built for network defense, not card readers and lockdown logic. The money is growing, and the person controlling it has changed. For Value-Added-Resellers (VARs), Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and integrators, that is the most important shift in this market, and the partners who haven’t adjusted their go-to-market are still pitching buyers who no longer control the budget. Here is what that looks like on the ground. A reseller who used to walk in with a door schedule now sits across from a CISO who wants to see NIST CSF mappings. An integrator arrives for a campus deployment and finds the cybersecurity team holds policy authority over systems they have never seen up close. Deals that should close stall, because no one in the room feels accountable for a physical incident. The handoff is happening faster than buying committees are used to. Four things will determine which partners own this shift - and which get left behind. Who actually owns the budget now? Map the buying committee before you pitch anything. In most organizations going through this shift, the CISO owns the budget and the risk, but the physical security or facilities lead still owns day-to-day operations. Both are in the