Security integration is entering a new phase—one where value is no longer in the box you sell, but how smartly that box is embedded, managed, and extended with artificial intelligence (AI). For CIOs, CISOs, and infrastructure leaders evaluating integrators, the question has shifted from “Which panel brands?” to “How well does that integrator think about AI as a business lever?”

Integrators must now juggle internal process automation, client consulting depth, and multivendor orchestration—or risk being commoditized. 

The real test: Can they vet AI technologies deeply, manage risk in deployment, and align outcomes with client KPIs? That’s the entry ticket for integrators hoping to partner in innovation rather than just support the status quo.

Below is an excerpt of coverage from a Security Business expert integrator panel featuring Shaun Castillo, President of Preferred Technologies, Christine Lanning, President of Integrated Security Technologies, and John Nemerofsky, COO of SAGE Integration. Read on to learn how leading integrators are navigating this transition: 

As reported by Paul Rothman in "The AI Transformation in Security Integration" on SecurityInfoWatch: 

“The most immediate and widespread impact of AI is transforming how security integrators run their own businesses internally. The time savings are substantial. Castillo shares a striking example: ‘We had a project manager use Microsoft Copilot to generate a schedule in about three minutes that traditionally would have taken about three hours.’

Nemerofsky describes how AI handles routine tasks: ‘If every Monday they need to have a purchasing report or a pricing report done, we don’t do that anymore.’ Instead, Nemerofsky has turned to AI-powered sales software called RapidFlare to take care of these tasks. ‘It continues to learn and take away the B tasks,’ he adds. 

Lanning says her engineers are using generative AI tools to assist with tasks ranging from crafting scope-of-work verbiage, to searching for comparative part numbers to replace obsolete components, to power calculations. And the benefits of generative AI extend across multiple departments: ‘Our accounting team loves it,’ she says. ‘They’ve been using it to help with collection letters, understanding legal terms, and creating collection processes and escalations.’

Castillo echoes this widespread internal adoption: ‘It is pervasive. We are using it across the board – from how to generate better cash flow forecasts, to automation workflows, to writing better emails, and building work documents.’” 

Continue reading “The AI Transformation in Security Integration” by Paul Rothman on SecurityInfoWatch. 

Why It Matters to You 

As enterprises increasingly rely on integrators to deliver security systems and intelligence, the integrator’s capability to absorb, critique, and orchestrate AI becomes a differentiator—not a nice add-on. The integrator you choose may now influence how well new AI features, workflows, or detection systems fit into your environment. 

If your integrator can’t vet, pilot, and manage AI across multiple vendors, you risk slow adoption, incompatibility, or worse—hidden failure modes. The mandate is clear: Demand integrators that look beyond hardware, understand your business, and can responsibly guide AI deployment. 

Next Steps 

• CIO/IT Leaders: Ask potential integrators for their AI vetting process, Proof of Concept (POC) approach, and examples of internal AI adoption. 
• Security/Procurement Teams: Include AI deployment criteria and vendor roadmap transparency in RFPs. 
• Operations/Engineering Teams: Require integrators to produce sandboxed AI testbeds before wide deployment. 
• Trainer/Human Resource Leads: Work with integrators to ensure staff certifications extend to networks, cybersecurity, cloud, and AI literacy. 
• Strategy/Risk Teams: Score candidate integrators on AI governance capabilities and innovation mindset—not just brand relationships.