As part of an online miniseries, Neil Voce, Business Development Director at Ambient System, discusses his industry predictions for 2026.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself, your job role and how long you have been at the company?
I’m Neil Voce, I’ve been Business Development Director at Ambient System since 2020.
We specialise in critical communications for infrastructure and transport, manufacturing voice alarm and intercom systems for evacuation and lockdown as well as for general announcements.
What are some of the key trends and predictions you think we will see in the security industry in 2026?
Being mostly involved in the voice alarm area of the industry we expect to see more secure VOIP communications to head off the increasing threat of AI deepfake voice messaging – leading to E2EE (end-to-end encryption) and protocols like secure RTP.
I expect the coming year to bring even closer collaboration between industry and the academic world. We’ve been working with universities and research teams for many years and this partnership has already produced practical innovations.
For example, we have developed algorithms that can adapt the playback speed of voice messages to the acoustic characteristics of the space – as well as tools that help us better understand and evaluate a building’s acoustic profile.
It’s a good example of how research can translate directly into safer real-world solutions.
If we widen the lens to the global geopolitical situation, I think technologies developed within the ‘Made in EU’ framework will only grow in importance.
Protecting critical infrastructure is becoming a fundamental priority in uncertain times. This is also reflected in the increasing number of European and national regulations being introduced – such as EN-54 for fire detection and voice alarm systems – which set the baseline for what “safe” needs to mean going forward.
In UK Martyn’s Law will bring new awareness of lockdown in the public space and this will then trend out from the legally protected buildings and events to a wider market.
What is one piece of advice you would give organisations and professionals as they head into 2026?
I think the biggest thing is recognising just how fast AI is changing – a pace that’s still increasing. So my advice would be to set your business up to adapt faster than AI does.
That means having flexible processes rather than rigid systems and helping people learn to work with new tools instead of relying on skills that can become outdated really quickly.
But I’d also say this: AI isn’t the end product. Good customer service and real human responsiveness still matter and sometimes they don’t fit neatly with automation.
The organisations that will do well in 2026 are the ones that use AI where it genuinely helps, but stay focused on meeting customer needs, whether that involves AI or not.
That’s what will carry them through to 2027.
Organisations should cultivate a culture of challenging their own ideas – testing them repeatedly and checking whether the assumptions still hold.
In a field as critical as voice alarm systems, this mindset is essential.
That’s why I want to emphasise the role of R&D teams, especially when it comes to system safety and redundancy.
In crisis situations there is no margin for error and the technology must deliver the highest possible level of reliability every single time.
