Securitas

Through 2020, Securitas generated approximately SEK 107 billion in revenue, with roughly 80% coming from traditional manned guarding — placing security officers at client sites on hourly or shift-based contracts. Manned guarding was a low-margin (4-5% operating margin), labor-intensive business subject to wage inflation, high turnover (60-80% annually in some markets), and commoditization. Clients increasingly viewed security guards as interchangeable, creating intense price competition with local and regional guarding firms. Securitas' security solutions and electronic security (cameras, access control, alarm monitoring) represented less than 20% of revenue and were sold as separate product lines by different sales teams.

Starting in 2021, Securitas launched its "Security as a Service" bundling strategy:

• Integrated security solutions: Developed bundled offerings combining manned guarding, electronic security (cameras, access control), and remote monitoring under unified contracts. A typical bundle replaced 3 guards + standalone alarm system with 1 guard + AI-powered cameras + Securitas Operations Center (SOC) remote monitoring — delivering equivalent or better security at 20-30% lower client cost while improving Securitas' margin.
• Technology acquisitions: Acquired Stanley Security (electronic security division of Stanley Black & Decker) for $3.2 billion in 2022, adding 10,000+ electronic security professionals and a $1.7 billion electronic security revenue base. This acquisition provided the technology scale needed to bundle credibly.
• SOC infrastructure: Built and expanded Security Operations Centers in key markets, providing 24/7 remote monitoring that could be layered onto any manned guarding contract as a value-added bundle.
• Pricing restructuring: Shifted from per-guard-hour pricing to outcome-based security pricing (cost-per-protected-site or cost-per-secured-event), which enabled Securitas to substitute technology for labor without reducing client contract value.

• Revenue growth: Total revenue reached SEK 119 billion (~$11.4 billion) in 2023, with security solutions and electronic security growing to approximately 30% of revenue, up from less than 20% in 2020.
• Margin improvement: Operating margin improved as technology-augmented contracts carried 8-12% margins versus 4-5% for pure guarding, with the mix shift driving group-level margin expansion.
• Contract value per client: Bundled security clients generated 40-60% higher annual contract value than guarding-only clients, as technology and monitoring components added revenue at higher margins.
• Client retention: Bundled clients showed 95%+ retention versus approximately 85% for guarding-only clients, as the integrated technology created higher switching costs.
• Technology revenue growth: Electronic security and solutions revenue grew at double-digit rates, compounding with each manned guarding contract that converted to a bundled arrangement.
• Timeframe: 2021-2023 (ongoing, accelerated by Stanley Security acquisition).

• Stanley Security acquisition ($3.2B) provided immediate scale in electronic security, eliminating years of organic buildout time
• Securitas' installed base of 150,000+ client sites provided a massive launchpad for technology upselling — each guarding client was a bundling prospect
• AI and computer vision advances made remote monitoring economically viable, enabling the guard-to-technology substitution that powered the bundled margin improvement
• Client demand for integrated security (driven by physical security convergence with cybersecurity) created a structural tailwind for bundled solutions