What PSA Integrators Are Seeing: FY2026 Staffing and Purchasing Trends
What are PSA owners and members seeing when it comes to staffing and purchasing activity?
Every quarter in FY2026, PSA owners and members shared insight into their businesses, from hiring plans to purchasing activity. Assessed together, those responses tell an interesting story about where the integration industry stands today and where many companies believe it's headed next.
Across 124 combined responses from owners and members, one theme remained consistent: confidence was strong, and it continued to build as the year progressed.
From plans to expand teams to expectations for increased purchasing, the survey results point to a network preparing for continued activity and growth. While every business has its own story, these results provide valuable context as you evaluate your own plans for the months ahead.
Hiring Confidence Continued to Grow
Staffing Plans
One thing stood out across every quarter: integrators continued to invest in people.
Hiring intentions started strong and only gained momentum. In Q1, 62% of respondents planned to hire more staff over the next three months. That number increased significantly to 79% in Q2 and remained above 75% throughout the rest of the year. By Q4, 83% of respondents said they planned to hire.
At the same time, very few respondents anticipated reducing staff. Just 4% expected to decrease headcount in Q1, and that figure fell to 0% by Q4.
That tells an encouraging story about how companies are preparing for the future. Even as market conditions shift, many integrators continue to see people as one of their most important investments.
If your business is growing, you're likely facing the same challenge as many others: finding and keeping qualified talent. Competition for skilled technicians, project managers and other experienced professionals isn't slowing down, making recruiting, onboarding and employee development just as important as winning new projects.
Purchasing Activity - Past Three Months
Purchasing Activity Varied Throughout the Year
Unlike hiring, purchasing activity naturally rises and falls as projects move through different stages.
The strongest results came in Q2, when 62% of respondents reported increased purchasing activity. That settled into the 50% range during the second half of the year, with 53% reporting an increase in Q3 and 50% reporting an increase in Q4. Meanwhile, about one in four respondents reported decreased purchasing during the back half of the year.
Unlike hiring, purchasing tends to ebb and flow. Purchasing can fluctuate for many reasons, including project timing, customer demand, inventory needs, supply chain availability and the size of major installations, contextualizing why some integrators experienced a surge in purchasing while others reported a slower pace.
The broader takeaway is that while purchasing remained active across the PSA Network, businesses weren't all experiencing the same pace at the same time. Comparing your purchasing trends alongside backlog, project schedules and customer demand can provide a much clearer picture of what's driving your business than looking at purchasing data alone.
Looking Ahead, Purchasing Expectations Reached a High Point
Purchasing Activity - Next Three Months
Perhaps the strongest signal from the survey wasn't what companies were doing but instead what they expected next.
In every quarter, at least two-thirds of respondents expected purchasing to increase during the next three months. Expectations rose from 68% in Q1 to 74% in Q2, remained strong at 71% in Q3 and reached a notable high of 94% in Q4.
No Q4 respondents expected purchasing to decrease.
When viewed alongside hiring plans, those numbers suggest many integrators were preparing for continued growth rather than bracing for a slowdown.
That presents an important question for every business: Is your team positioned to support anticipated growth?
As you plan for FY2027, you may need to consider how that could affect staffing, project capacity, operational processes and partner relationships. Preparing now can help your business respond more effectively when new opportunities arise.
What These Findings May Mean for Your Business
No two integration companies are identical, but the survey highlights several themes worth considering as you plan for FY2027.
Ask yourself:
Are staffing plans aligned with projected project volume and business goals?
Does your team have the training and certifications needed to support future opportunities?
What trends are you seeing in your sales pipeline and customer demand?
Are purchasing patterns changing because of growth, project timing or operational factors?
What resources, partnerships or education opportunities could help your team prepare for the next stage of growth?
If these questions prompt conversations within your business, you don’t have to navigate them alone. The PSA Network team is here to help you plan for what’s next, whether that’s strengthening your workforce through education and training, identifying new sales opportunities, improving operational performance or connecting you with trusted partners and peer insights. As you prepare for FY2027, reach out to the PSA team to explore the resources, programs and expertise available to help your business grow with confidence.
Building the Security Industry’s Pipeline
As demand for skilled professionals continues to grow, workforce development has become an industry-wide priority.
That's why PSA has partnered with the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST) and the Security Industry Association (SIA) to strengthen the industry's talent pipeline and support long-term workforce development. Together, these organizations are raising awareness of careers in the security and audiovisual industries, connect employers with emerging talent and provide resources that help companies recruit, develop and retain skilled professionals.
As part of this collaboration, PSA partnered with SIA to develop the Secure Your Future: Security Industry Careers Guide, a resource designed to introduce students, career changers and job seekers to the wide range of rewarding career opportunities available in the security industry.
Attracting new employees is only part of the equation. Keeping great people engaged and growing within your organization is just as important. Through education, leadership development, networking opportunities and professional training, PSA provides owners and members with resources that help build stronger teams, develop future leaders and create meaningful career paths. Combined with workforce initiatives alongside FAST and SIA, these efforts help members prepare for sustained growth while strengthening the industry for years to come.
Looking Ahead to FY2027
The FY2026 survey results paint an encouraging picture: hiring intentions strengthened, future purchasing expectations remained consistently positive and Q4 delivered the strongest overall outlook of the year.
Continued participation in the PSA Integrator Insights Survey will help create a more representative view of the opportunities and challenges integrators are experiencing. As more owners and members share their perspectives, the survey can become an even stronger resource for benchmarking business conditions, identifying emerging trends and supporting informed decision-making.
The PSA Network will continue to monitor these insights throughout FY2027 and share findings that help owners and members better understand what is happening across the network.
Together, these insights can help turn individual experiences into a clearer view of the opportunities shaping the future of the integration industry.