Asia Update: Next Chip revs up for automotive applications

Editor / Provider: Next Chip | Updated: 3/19/2013 | Article type: Hot Topics

As the DVR market diminishes over time and imaging signal processor (ISP) chips can efficiently reduce the board size and total cost in a camera, Next Chip will concentrate on developing ISPs for security cameras. Next Chip, a total turnkey solution provider, is expanding its portfolio of components which can be used for HD, HD-SDI, network, and analog cameras with improved WDR performance.

Customers, such as purchasing personnel, are also able to benefit from one - stop shopping for different cameras. It is easier and more convenient for them to make comparisons when everything is in one location. Young-Jun Yoo, Sales Department GM of Next Chip, said the company fared better in 2012 than in 2010 in terms of sales revenue. Before, ISPs were sold on their own, but they can now be sold with an additional image sensor, boosting the company's revenue.

As the first company to produce ISPs for HD-SDI cameras, the company sees good prospects for HD-SDI in the upcoming years. Network PTZ cameras will probably experience a delay in growth, as there is little new construction in the current economy. HD-SDI equipment allows the reuse of coaxial cables, making it a great alternative. However, the market appeal will be even greater if HD-SDI prices are lower.

The company will soon launch a second-generation HD-SDI ISP with better wide dynamic range, at 60 frames per second in HD quality, utilizing 3G-SDI. Generally known as the successor of HD-SDI, 3G-SDI increases bandwidth and allows higher resolution and frame rates through a single connection.

In a separate move to counter increasing competition, Next Chip is planning to target the automotive market by providing ISPs for mobile DVRs, black boxes, and onboard cameras. Preparations have already been made, as Next Chip is the first ISP maker in the Korean industry to be AECQ 100-certified, a certification for the automotive industry.

The company plans to release its third-generation ISP especially for automotive applications. The ISPs can incorporate motion detection through its intelligent sensor, so even when the car is moving, it will be able to make the correct calculations. The sensor can also be used in black boxes, which is essentially a one-channel DVR integrated with passenger safety and navigation. This has good growth potential in Europe, Russia, Turkey, Korea, and other countries in Asia. In China, the black box market is quite mature but in Europe, it is still in the early stages.

Next Chip sees great opportunities in the future, when video quality in the automotive industry upgrades from VGA to HD quality. Its target clients are Asian DVR providers and navigation software developers who produce black boxes.

As most rear-view cameras used in cars have VGA resolution, blind spots are a common problem. If the cars were to switch to fisheye cameras, image distortion would be a problem as well. Overcoming these imaging issues will provide ample opportunities for ISP providers.

Middle East making a comeback

Editor / Provider: John Shi & Jill Lai, a&s International | Updated: 3/12/2013 | Article type: Hot Topics

The Middle East has returned to many MNCs' and investors' radar once again, with business potential emanating from the United Arab Emirates to neighboring countries and northern Africa. This feature looks into the various growth markets and their opportunities for security solutions providers — carpe diem, seize the day, seize the region!

Long gone are the days of the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Infrastructure projects, financial hubs and recreational parks are once again being built in the Middle East. Among the hustle and bustle, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in particular the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, still boast the most momentum. According to IMS Research (an IHS company), the regional video surveillance equipment market in 2013 alone will exceed US$320 million.

Not surprisingly, most of the money goes into tourism-related industries. Beyond the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Kuwait and Iran are also growing by leaps and bounds, thanks largely to infrastructure projects. Qatar, for example, has seen a flurry of subway and light rail projects, as well as museums and hotels. “Qatar is growing at a fast pace and is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, thus driving continued security system investments among others,” said Hidenori Taguchi, Head of Marketing for B2B Products, MEA Professional Solutions, Sony Corporation.

"Many projects in this region are driven by new construction or new infrastructure initiatives, which are generally a mixture of government and commercial construction projects," said Tarek Ismail, Sales Director for the Middle East, Tyco Security Products. "Other dynamic vertical markets are the higher education market, being buoyed by some very large university projects, along with rapidly growing retail and aviation markets. For 2013, many customers are encouraged by the commitments Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has made for infrastructure projects."

Dubai the Hub
Business done in Dubai can radiate to the rest of the region, north and east Africa, as well as India and Pakistan. Dubai is recovering, said Ali Boussi, Regional Sales Manager of Business Automation and Security Systems. "Sales come not only from the UAE, but from all GCC members and northern Africa as well. People in Dubai and the UAE have a greater understanding and higher acceptance of new technology and products, in turn giving them more value considerations and propositions when compared to the other countries in the region. Moreover, the government is usually a pioneer in implementing security regulations on and measures in commercial buildings.Business models and requirements from MNCs often become benchmarks. "Our business strategy is to provide blanket coverage of quality products, combined with a proficient level of customer support," said Faisal Kan, Regional Operations Manager, IP Tec General Trading.

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the next star to watch. Its stable financial structure and abundant natural resources supported steady growth even during the global recession. "We forecast that the Saudi Arabian market will continue to see strong growth in 2013," said Oliver Philippou, Market Analyst in the Video Surveillance and Security Group of IMS. "This trend will continue through 2015 where it is predicted that Saudi Arabia will overtake the UAE to become the second largest market in the region, after Turkey. Saudi Arabia historically set conservative annual oil production forecasts, leaving surplus funding for social spending, including infrastructure and health care projects."

"Saudi Arabia's construction sector is expected to go through a period of accelerated growth during the next few years, with the value of projects estimated at $629 billion," said Paul Ramsay, International Sales Director for Norbain. "More than $500 billion of investment opportunities in energy, transportation, education, health care, and other vital economic sectors are among established projects, making the kingdom a leading investment hub for construction work. The kingdom is considered to be the region's top economy, with a growing large young population and highly competitive business environment and national initiatives in infrastructure development."

Turkey
After years of mounting difficulties which brought Turkey close to economic collapse, a tough recovery program was agreed with the International Monetary Fund in 2002, Philippou said. "The austerity measures imposed then meant that by the time the global financial crisis came round in 2008, Turkey was in a better position to weather the storm than many other countries. The level of public debt was already relatively low, and although the effects of the recession were still felt, by 2010 the Turkish economy had started to bounce back — to the extent that by the beginning of 2011, concerns were being raised over whether the boom was sustainable. Taking advantage of this economic prosperity, Turkey has some large infrastructure programs planned to support its economic growth. As traffic between the E.U. and Turkey is expected to increase substantially by 2020 (Global Construction 2020, with the potential membership of the E.U.), Turkey's transport network needs to be substantially upgraded to meet minimum standards. Traffic monitoring, government, railways and commercial sectors are all forecast to grow strongly in Turkey to 2016."

Kuwait & Iran
Aside from Qatar, Kuwait and Iran are two others that are forecast to grow the quickest. Kuwait is currently seeing some very large banking projects and an accelerated rate of transition to network video surveillance. Iran, with an already large analog install base, will be one of the few countries not to see a decline in its analog CCTV market. This, combined with some large city surveillance projects, will drive growth in these markets at CAGRs of 14 and 18 percent, respectively. However, it should be noted that these two markets are relatively small when compared to the others in the region, Philippou said.

Saudi Arabian supermarket chain minimizes shrinkage with surveillance and PA systems

Editor / Provider: Bosch Security Systems | Updated: 11/6/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Bosch president update from Essen 2012

Editor / Provider: Bosch Security Systems | Updated: 9/27/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

This year's security fair takes place at a time that is characterized by worldwide political and economic challenges. Security is an all-important factor here, meaning that our market is experiencing incredible dynamics in many regions and more subdued investment activity in others. In 2011, growth in the world market for security technology amounted to a little more than 3 percent. China, the ASEAN states, Russia and Latin America, in particular, made outstanding contributions toward this trend. In Europe, however, the financial crisis prevented several countries from achieving higher levels of growth.

Bosch Security Systems achieved sales of US$1.865 billion in 2011, which was 5 percent more than the previous year. In 2011, sales rose by 25 percent in China where we are now well-established with a total of 31 sales offices. One project in the region was to supply the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center with a communication and security system and a public address system. We are also enjoying success in the ASEAN states. For example, we were awarded the contract to install a public address and evacuation system and to expand the video surveillance system in Changi Airport in Singapore. Our Building Integration System (BIS) is used to integrate all the systems, including access control and building management. We also saw double-digit growth in Turkey, Russia, India and Latin America.

Despite the fact that the market conditions in Southern Europe were not favorable, we were able to maintain or even improve upon our market position. An important project for this region was the flexible and reliable voice alarm, public address and interpreting system we installed at the Palacongressi in Rimini, Italy's biggest congress center. The challenge here laid in the homogeneous integration of the audio system throughout the building and with the interpreting solution.

Global Progress
In 2012, the markets continued to develop on an uneven course overall. China, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the APAC region remain the main drivers for growth. As the fourth largest global market, Germany occupies a midfield position in terms of growth, whereas various countries in Southern Europe suffer under the financial crisis. In the first three quarters of 2012, we achieved a growth of 4 percent compared to last year – again with significant regional variations.

First, we are seeing a move away from proprietary, analog-based systems toward network-based systems which can offer unlimited scalability, efficient use of resources, remote verification and control and will enable services that will enhance security and safety. Second, we are seeing an influx of new competitors in the market, which is also driving forward the speed of innovation.

What will the significant growth factors be in the coming years? I think we can say that our innovations, product portfolio and strategic partnerships will be the major factors. We will need to implement global marketing, sales and support for our customers along the total value chain.

With a high level of expenditure in R&D, amounting to around 10 percent of sales, we are bringing new, innovative products, solutions and services to the market on a regular basis. For example, “Engineered Solutions and Software” was set up to handle complex projects and supports customers around the world with a consistent approach. The business unit handles the planning, tender preparation and implementation stages of the project – services that are in demand from a wide range of industries, such as airports, energy suppliers, transport and traffic companies. The projects are implemented on site using local partner companies.

This new offering has brought us particular success in Eastern Europe, India and the Arabian peninsula. As security technology is increasingly merging with other infrastructures, we are working closely with other Bosch divisions such as Drive and Control Technology and Bosch Thermotechnology, allowing the customer to rely across-the-board on our solution expertise from different divisions. In the project for the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, for example, Bosch Drive and Control Technology installed the stage technology, including electrical and hydraulic drives, while Bosch Security Systems supplied the entire fire detection, video surveillance, public address and evacuation system.

Growth Market
The future global market for security technology and services will continue to grow at above-average rates, as the fundamental need for security becomes intrinsically linked to the state of the economy. A reliable supply system with energy and telecommunication services and a secure transport infrastructure are essential conditions for international competition among countries. Added to that is the need to handle natural resources carefully and to use the available infrastructures very efficiently. Both conditions apply, given that there are more and more people living in our centers of population. For example, experts anticipate that the market for smart cities technologies will grow to almost $40 billion by 2016.

In the next few years, we expect average growth in the world market of around 4 percent. The demand in China, India, and Latin America in particular will contribute toward this growth. In Central and Western Europe as well as North America, growth will remain rather below average.

Video surveillance systems already make up the biggest market share today. This sector will grow at an above-average rate by around 6 percent per year over the next few years. With our resources in personnel and our worldwide presence, with our high commitment to R&D, and our resulting high levels of innovation, and thanks to the strength of the Bosch brand, we will also continue to grow in future. We will drive forward the networking of products and services and achieve our targets in the market. In this regard, we see ourselves in the tradition of the words spoken by our founder, Robert Bosch: “Anyone who stops getting better has stopped being good.”

Ingram Micro Expands in High-Growth MENA

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Ingram Micro | Updated: 8/16/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

Ingram Micro, the technology distributor and supply-chain services provider, announced it is broadening its geographic reach into the Middle East and North Africa with the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire certain IT businesses of Dubai-based Aptec Holdings Ltd. Aptec is a leading value-added distributor in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, with products and solutions covering data center, storage, security, networking, and software categories, including technical services.

The acquisition is expected to contribute more than $250 million in revenue to Ingram Micro on an annual basis and is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of 2012, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. Dr. Ali Baghdadi, founder and chief executive officer of Aptec, will lead the acquired operations reporting to Shailendra Gupta, senior executive VP and president, Ingram Micro Asia-Pacific. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Aptec fits well with our strategic objectives to continue to build our higher margin specialty businesses while broadening our geographic reach to capitalize on higher growth markets," said Alain Monie, president and CEO of Ingram Micro. "The Middle East and Africa are robust and growing markets with total IT spending projected to reach $80 billion by 20151. Aptec has been highly effective in growing their business and enhancing profitability in these emerging markets and we believe this combination will further accelerate these ongoing objectives. Aptec has a long-tenured, accomplished leadership team and we look forward to joining forces with them."

Founded in 1980, Aptec currently operates in 6 countries and provides products and services to key Middle East and North Africa countries including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey. The company's regional geographical coverage and extensive customer base are staffed by approximately 350 associates serving over 3,800 active resellers. Aptec's marketing programs, advanced logistics services, technical support, consultancy, high-level technical consulting and outsourcing services, financial services and product delivery and distribution capabilities have made the company one of the most prominent value-added distributors in the region.

"We are excited to join with Ingram Micro," said Baghdadi. "For more than 30 years Aptec has focused on building the company through innovation, value-added service and an unwavering commitment to our customers and vendor partners. The combined strength of Aptec in the Middle East and North Africa and the global leadership and strategic vendor and customer relationships of Ingram Micro provide an excellent opportunity for expanded reach into new services, products and geographies and we expect the union to offer even more value to our combined community."

Vivotek and Milestone Continue Strategic Channel Collaboration

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Vivotek | Updated: 8/1/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

VIVOTEK and Milestone Systems have collaborated extensively over the first half year of 2012 and will continue to invest in strategic channel cooperation.

Up to today, VIVOTEK has participated in seven sessions of Milestone Partner Open Platform (MPOP) Days, ranging from France to Russia and Spain to Denmark. VIVOTEK will be present for additional upcoming MPOP events, including Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia and India.

"VIVOTEK is well known for the comprehensive range of high-performance network cameras and MPOP is the perfect platform for us to demonstrate how various models seamlessly integrate into the Milestone platform - offering users numerous benefits and versatilities," said William Ku, Director of Brand Business at VIVOTEK.

Not only have VIVOTEK and Milestone Systems tightened their cooperation in channel marketing, they also actively join forces on the technical implementation front. A great number of recent surveillance projects around the globe have deployed solutions and products from both brands. Some of the recent installations where products from VIVOTEK and Milestone are deployed together include a shopping mall in Costa Rica, banks in Madagascar, retail chain stores in France and more.

"We‘ve enjoyed a strong engagement with Milestone for an extensive period of time and will continue to foster business communication and strengthen technical integrations so our cameras are much more prevalent in Milestone installations," Ku added.

"Milestone and VIVOTEK also presented a joint symposium during the Dubai Intersec show where we highlighted the importance of strong partner collaborations for wider choices through open platform technology: its flexibility expands and integrates to manage needs for both now and later," says Martin Friis-Mikkelsen, Head of Strategic Alliances at Milestone Systems.

A Thailand event in Bangkok was the latest in a series of such mutual commitments. The next MPOP days will take place in Australia in November, where VIVOTEK will be in attendance as well.

Promising Verticals Fuel Bullish Growth in Turkey

Editor / Provider: a&s Turkiye | Updated: 7/19/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

Vibrant Verticals
The pick-up in the construction sector accelerated growth in the private sector with new residential, retail and health care projects. There were also many security projects in finance and education.

However, the largest budgets this year came from the public sector. Projects at the fore were city surveillance, transportation projects (airports, undergrounds, tunnels, et cetera.) and public buildings.

Major Projects
The most attractive projects of 2011 were for Turk Telekom, Zorlu Center, Sabiha Goksen Airport, and the National Archives.

In addition to the large projects, there were also many medium scale projects, which were mostly integrated projects that include fire detection and extinguishing systems, video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection.

In 2011, an increased number of projects required IP-based HD video surveillance systems and card access systems, and demanded integration between the systems, said Bilgecanan Bilgis, Marketing Manager at Ateksis. “Antalya Airport, Medipol Hospital, Bursa Hilton and Hampton by Hilton, and Fenerbah?e Ulker Arena are projects in Turkey which we would like to be part of and concentrate on, and Malabo Congress Center Haydar Aliyev Center abroad.”

Levent Yildir?m, Director of Siemens Substructure and Cities Sector Building Technologies, said that Siemens surpassed their goals in 2011, citing numerous projects that are worth more than $100,000 in value: Buyaka Complex (shopping center, residence, office), Hilton Hotels, Erdemir, Sandoz, Magnesia Shopping Center, Tarsu Shopping Center, Habom (Aviation Maintenance Center), Marmara Park, Zorlu, Safir, Aliaga Prison, Bodrum Airport, Izmir Special Provincial Directorate of Administration KGM. He also stresses the contributed part of the accomplishment to foreign projects, most of which are located in neighboring countries like Iraq, Russia, Algeria, et cetera.

Gurani Kilic, Country Sales Director for Bosch Security Systems, mentions projects that were conducted in collaboration with their partners and are worth more than $500,000 in value: Sorgun, Soke, Didim Surveillance Cameras Projects, Highway Tunnels Projects, Turkiye, Kirazli – Olimpiyatkoy Subway Line Project, Istanbul, Antalya Airport Domestic and International Lines Terminal 2.Section, Antalya, Republic of Turkiye Central Bank, Bursa, BSH Factory, Istanbul, Bagc?lar Medipol Hospital, Istanbul, Hilton Hotel, Bursa, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Archaeology Museum, Hatay, Ma?ka Residence, Istanbul, European Residences, Istanbul, Terrcity Shopping Center, Antalya.

Bulent Cobanoglu, GM of Senkron Guvenlik, mentioned two important bank projects by Honeywell: Standardizing systems for the merged Fortis and Turkiye Ekonomi Bank, as well as a card access system for Garanti Bank that covered 50 management buildings.

2012 and Crystal Ball
Although 2012 will be a difficult year, the consensus is that growth in the security industry will continue despite the economic slowdown, said Tarkan Tuncel, GM of Kekova.

The recession prospect in the world economy in 2012 weakens the prospect for growth in Turkey, Kilic said. “In 2012, there is a 4-5 percent growth prospect in the general economy and 6-7 percent in the construction sector. We can say that the security systems sector will indirectly be affected by this conjuncture in 2012."

“In addition, the pick-up in Libya and the neighboring countries in the last quarter of the year is good news for our sector,” Kilic continued, saying that the continuation of public investments and the mega projects into 2012 suggests that the security industry will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.

Yusuf Ziya Oncel, Sales Manager at Pelco Turkey, predicts that 2012 will be a year when no one will be able to conduct aggressive enterprises, but that “we will keep a wary eye so that we can maintain our stability.” According to Oncel, the next 10 percent of growth will be achieved via digesting the growth that occurred in 2010 and 2011, while also stabilizing the total sales at the same levels.

Hidayet Yilmaz of NFS Guvenlik also agrees that the security market will continue growing in 2012, although at a slower pace. According to Yilmaz, the city transformation that will be carried out in 2012, especially in big cities, will have a positive impact on the market.

Cobanoglu shares the consensus. “If there is a crisis, we have to conduct business is different ways. We have to hold fairs and seminars to continue to educate the market. Otherwise, it is hard to hold on.”

In terms of products, industry experts agree that sales for IP-based systems and megapixel cameras will continue to grow. Yildiz has high hopes for network cameras and regularly expands their IP-based product groups. IR cameras and mobile DVR's also show similar potential.

Green buildings will play a key role for the security industry in 2012. Green buildings make extensive use of automation technologies to make them easily manageable, traceable and intelligent, and are great investments in terms of ROI. Especially big cities, green buildings will begin to flourish and; companies that operate and develop products in this field will be able to perform well even in bad economies, according to Kilic."

Additionally, Profilo Security Systems Sales Manager, Ertan Gedik predicts that the alarm system projects will increase for gas leak, fire and flood detection.

Lingering Problems
Although 2011 evaluations and 2012 predictions point to growth and development for the security industry, there are a few problems that need to be solved.

Products and companies must form and adhere to standards. “Although Turkey is among the few countries that will grow, compared to other nations in Europe and the Middle East, regulations and standards are still not what they should be,” Ozan Demirel, Region Manager, Controls and Security Systems, UTC Climatel said.

Cobanoglu believes that the lack of certification for security companies is a problem, saying that there is no selection process or evaluation even though there are more and more companies entering the market.

Cobanoglu continues to talk about another issue: there is no specialty customs for the security sector in Turkey. “Unfortunately, we still pay Special Consumption Tax (SCT). Video surveillance cameras are taxed as luxury items, following the footsteps of the digital camera found in everyone's pocket. However, these systems are not luxury — they are a necessity. Cancelling the SCT and lowering VAT would directly affect the end user and increase our sale, while also preventing illegal activities regarding security equipment, such as counterfeiting and bootlegging."

Turkey Alive and Kicking

Editor / Provider: a&s Turkiye | Updated: 7/19/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

According to IMS Research, Turkey is the No. 1 security market in the Middle East region, ahead of Saudi Arabia.

A key driver for growth was that Turkey's economy improved significantly in 2010, explained Gurani Kilic, Country Sales Director for Bosch Security Systems. “New constructions— real estate sectors—grew by nearly 10 percent. In 2011, Turkey's economy broke the world record with 11 percent growth in Q1; overall, Turkey saw 7.5 percent growth in 2011.”

Kilic says the security industry enjoyed an active year in 2011, citing increased investments in Turkic nations and the surrounding regions, despite the debt crisis in Europe and riots in Libya and North Africa.

New constructions play a key role in the security industry's substantial growth, agreed Bulent Cobanoglu, GM of Senkron Guvenlik. “Fire warning systems and intercom systems were heavily used in new buildings, and large quantities of perimeter security and video surveillance systems were put in place. The security industry, of course, benefited greatly from these installations.”

However, the sudden increase in the parity of dollar near the end of 2011 had a negative impact on the security industry. “2011 started off pretty well, but we had a rough time during the last quarter and had to adjust our expectations for November and December.” said Ali Yildiz, GM of Oncu Guvenlik.

Still, 2011 was a good year for the security industry. The electronic security market has for years sustained its constant growth except for the periods of severe crises and 2011 was therefore positive for the electronic security market, stresses Ismail Uzelli, Chairman of Board at Sensormatic.

UTC Fire & Security Turkey saw 50 percent growth in 2010 and 35 percent in 2011, which signals a healthy rebound for Turkey's security industry. Turkey is now the 6th largest market in the UTC Fire & Security EMEA organization, said Ozan Demirel, Region Manager, Controls and Security Systems, UTC Climate.

For Bosch Security Systems, Turkey was the strongest growing country office in EMEA in both 2010 and 2011, according to Kilic.

20% Growth
Overall, industry experts agree that the security industry grew by 20 percent in 2011, compared to 2010. The security industry has generally grown by around 20 percent annually, and 2011 was no exception, said Hasim Yalssn, GM of Bilmak.

Saruhan Acar, GM of Bilgi Elektronik, arrived at a similar conclusion after studying its own volume, customer portfolio and sales. Acar said the security industry grew by at least 20 to 25 percent in 2011. Excluding the last mile, revenue for security equipment reached$500 to $600 million when including actual installations.

“Turkey's vigorous economy has been growing at a rate that is not seen much in Europe,” Kilic said. For Bosch Security Systems Turkey, sales increased by 32.4 percent in 2011. Kilic said that sector capacity in Turkey reached $275 million in 2011.

Videofon Security Systems achieved a growth of 15 percent in 2011, said CEO K.Mehmet Kahramanoglu. Kahramanoglu said the overall capacity of the sector in 2011 was around $650 million and dissects this number into product groups: Video surveillance (50 percent), intrusion detection (20 percent), fire alarm (10 percent), access control (10 percent) and others (10 percent). 30 percent of total sales revenue is contributed to installation and services, Kahramanoglu added. Uzelli provided a break down with similar conclusions: Video surveillance (60 percent), intrusion detection (12 percent), fire alarm (8 percent), access control (5 percent) and others (15 percent).

Honeywell Turkey's Mustafa Altunta? broke the numbers down as well: $250-300 million for CCTV, $70-80 million for intrusion, and $40-50 million for access control. Altuntas said that with perimeter security and special/private security equipment included, the electronic security market reached nearly $400 million in revenue in 2011.

When it comes to the distribution of security products, video surveillance takes one lion share of the total revenue. Total sales of video surveillance products reached $150 million, with the total security market pegged at $450 to $500 million, said Yusuf Ziya Oncel, Sales Manager at Pelco Turkey.

Following the market shrinkage following the crisis, the current electronic security market is around $440 million, said Levent Yildirim, Director of Siemens Substructure and Cities Sector Building Technologies.

The numbers are largely in the same range, but there is still a lot of potential for growth, said Metin Kastro, GM of Pronet Security. “Approximately 140,000 to 150,000 residences and offices have subscription to communication centers. With 17 million houses and 2 million offices in Turkey, we still have a lot to achieve.”

Moving forward, Ekrem Ozkara, GM of Okisan, predicts 15 percent growth in 2012, citing the increasing high-level projects in Turkey and its neighboring countries.

Products Carrying Momentum
Sales for network cameras have continued to grow. On the video surveillance side, growth has been mainly driven by IP-based video surveillance systems, which has approximately doubled, Oncel said. Having 90 percent of their sales came from IP-based systems, Oncel predicts that the analog market will be completely replaced by IP by 2014.

Acar agreed that video surveillance took the spotlight in 2011, and noted that IP-based systems are preferred over analog, especially when it comes to public tenders.

On the other hand, ?obanoglu believes that IP-based systems' market share of 10 to 12 percent in the video surveillance market underlines two basic problems: Data storageand transmission. Data storage is expensive, Cobanoglu said, and better compression technologies need to be developed to overcome this problem. Transmission will also benefit from better compression, since current bandwidths are not practical for video surveillance. IP-based video surveillance will show more potential once these two problems are solved, Cobanoglu said.

Regardless, there is always a need for more detailed images. Altuntas points at megapixel cameras as one of the rising stars of 2011, emphasizing that cameras with 10 and higher megapixels are now more common.

Kilic said that, one of the most significant developments in the security industry in 2011 was increased demand for HD video surveillance systems and products. In 2010, Bosch launched a HD product line that was developed to meet the demand for HD video in the IP-based security systems market. In 2011, this product group significantly expanded with new product launches.

Ozkara mentioned that Mobile DVR were one of the most important developments in 2011. He said that many cities have announced mobile DVR projects since 2011, following new regulations. 800 to 1,000 mobile DVR projects have been launched for school buses and public buses, and Ozkara predicts that demand for this product group will accelerate in 2012.

Uzelli added that the servers and network switches emerged in 2011 as another development. Security companies have become significant server and switch vendors due to the increased demand for them in security projects, Uzelli said. He said that server and network switch sales is becoming a big chunk of revenue for security companies. On the other side, IT companies are trying to become security companies, Uzelli said, and will be continue to acquire big security players.

Uzelli continued to emphasize that biometric access control and integrated HD video surveillance systems are on the rise, and that “companies that offered customers total solutions with high brand value and appropriate pricing undertook significant projects.”

2012 Africa Cup of Nations Security Project

Editor / Provider: Magal Security Systems | Updated: 7/10/2012 | Article type: Security 50

The Africa Cup of Nations is the main International Football Association competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years.

The 2012 Games will be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

It was announced on May 31st 2011 that Magal S3 has signed a $35.5 Million Dollar contract for a turnkey project, to provide the fully integrated security system, covering multiple sites, for these games. Magal has been chosen as the main contractor to implement the security and safety solution for this prestigious and globally recognized event.

Magal S3 is a leading international provider of security, safety and site management solutions and products. Over the past forty years, Magal S3 has designed and installed thousands of customized installations for satisfied customers in over eighty countries around the world, including those situated in the most threatening environments. Magal S3 has leveraged its experience in the defense industry in Israel and abroad to develop a unique set of cutting-edge security and safety products.

Sporting Event Safety and Security Planning Considerations

Terrorism
Sporting events, particularly those with global appeal, are an obvious target for terrorists, as such attacks will attract the attention of the world to the particular terrorist cause.

The darkest day in sporting history was the at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich where terrorists took the Israeli national team hostage, eventually slaughtering eleven athletes and coaches and one German police officer after a 16-hour standoff.

Other major terrorist attacks at sporting events were the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Pakistan, the bomb explosions in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park in lieu of the 1996 Olympics, the

2002 car bomb that donated adjacent to the Bernabau Stadium in Barcelona, a terrorist bomb that severely damaged the Olympic stadium in Stockholm In 1997, and the murder of Colombian player Andrés Escobar, during the 1994 World Cup.

More recently and closer to home was the deadly terrorist attack during the 2010 African Cup of Nations. The Togolese National Football team was ambushed by terrorists as they travelled by bus from Congo-Brazzaville, where they had been training, to the neighboring Angolan province of Cabinda. Three people—the team's assistant coach, their spokesman and their Angolan driver—were killed. Another nine members of Togo's party were wounded including Togo's reserve goalkeeper.

Crowd Control
Crowd control and related issues have long been a topic of concern for sport facility managers as crowd related tragedies have plagued the industry over the years. The design and implementation of sound crowd control policies, limiting access to the sporting venues, crowd monitoring and gate control can help prevent these crowd related accidents.

Two main catastrophes that come to mind are the the Hillsborough disaster, a human crush that occurred on April 15th 1989 at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, England in a FA Cup semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 people and 766 being injured, and The Heysel Stadium disaster which occurred on the 29th of May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup. Thirty-nine fans died and 600 were injured.

Other major European Tragedies were the 1971 Ibrox Stadium disaster in Scotland when 66 people were killed and 140 are injured when barriers collapsed near the end of a match between Celtic and Rangers and the 1982 Luzhniki disaster that took place at Lenin stadium in Moscow were a deadly human crush took the lives of at least 67 fans.

Definitely not limited to the UK, or Europe, there have been many major crowd control related disasters in sporting events: Abidjan, Ivory Coast (30/3 2009) at a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi leaving 22 dead and 132 wounded, Ghana, West Africa (9/5/2001) as a stampede at a packed soccer match between two of Ghana's leading teams killed at least 100 people, Harare, Zimbabwe (8/7/2000) twelve people died after a stampede at a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Zimbabwe, Buenos Aires, Argentina (23/6/1968) 74 people are killed and over 150 injured following a first-division game between River Plate and Boca Juniors when fans trying to leave the stadium mistakenly head toward a closed exit and are crushed against the doors by other fans unaware of the closed passageway and the Ellis Park Stadium disaster (11/4/2001), the worst sporting accident in South African history as 43 people were crushed to death by a crowd stampede.

Hooliganism and Violence
Football hooliganism is unruly and destructive behavior—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation— by club fans, sometimes alcohol induced. Football hooliganism can range from shouts and small-scale fistfights and disturbances to huge riots where rival fans attack each other with deadly weapons. In some cases, stadium brawls have caused fans to flee in panic; some being injured when fences or walls collapsed. In the most extreme cases, hooligans, police, and bystanders have been killed, and riot police have intervened with tear gas, armored vehicles and water cannons.

Two tragedies associated with sport hooliganism are the 1967 Kayseri Ataturk Stadium disaster, resulting in 40 deaths and at least 300 injuries during the football match held on September 17, 1967 between the clubs of Kayserispor and Sivasspor at the Atatürk Stadium of Kayse i in Turkey. It was the worst sports-related violence to occur in Turkey. The other is the The 1964 Lima football riot of May 24, 1964, to-date, the worst riot in association football history. Violence erupted at a qualifying match for the Tokyo Olympics, leaving 318 fans dead and many more injured.

Not limited to soccer Hooliganism and violence is regularly reported at other sporting events like baseball, golf, cricket, Australian rules, Basketball, Football, Rugby and others.

Criminal Activity
Some of the most serious impacts of hosting sporting events arise from an increase in crime and adverse behavior. Studies have shown that during sporting events there is a rise in (1) opportunistic crimes of theft from visitors and from their vehicles, crime of sexual nature, common assault, robbery, traffic infringements, drunkenness and disorderly behavior and (2) organized criminal activities to target visitors.

Authorities must take great lengths to make sure such sporting events are safe, that crowds remain in check, and that any threat of criminal activity is thwarted. Video surveillance is an invaluable tool in helping to ensure the safety of the fans, players, employees, and the facilities themselves.

Limited Duration of Event
Unlike other critical infrastructure sites (like airports, power stations, oil and gas sites etc), mega sporting events are very duration limited. Once the Gold medal is given to the winning team, all the athletes and visitors travel back to their home countries and the event venues (Olympic parks, training grounds, stadiums) remain deserted in many instances.

The diligent designer of sporting event security must come up with creative ideas so as to exploit the investment of security and safety systems for the days and years after the event.

Pinetron, Probe, Webgate and WonWoo Engineering Share Viewpoint of Market Strategies

Editor / Provider: Hayden Hsu | Updated: 6/5/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

PINETRON
At Secutech, our newest release is the HD hybrid NVR over coax, PHR-HD1008, that accommodates 8-channel full HD hybrid cameras and 8-channel analog cameras. The hybrid NVR utilizes Intersil's SLOC technology and is easy to set up and use like a DVR, with automatic IP scans and channel allocations. While it only works with Pinetron cameras at the moment, third-party compatibility will be made available later this year. Compared to SDI, the biggest advantage is the transmission distance of 500 meters, without the need for signal repeaters or boosters.

There are still benefits of using analog infrastructure (both hardware and people). Think about the transition from VCRs to DVRs — it took about 20 years! For security, ease of installation and maintenance is everything; it is not easy to retrain all installers and end users. With SLOC, replacement or upgrade projects to HD video are possible, and no expensive rewiring is necessary.

Our biggest challenge is market awareness. With our 13 years of experience and clients all over the world, we will have to build on our partners' and users' trust and spread the word. High-potential markets for us include Brazil, Turkey, Russia and Japan.

PROBE
Our latest release is the PIB-H2000ATIR outdoor full HD bullet camera, with 2-megapixel resolution, 3x zoom and auto focus.

About 80 to 90 percent of our sales come from IP models, as SDI is picking up very slowly but steadily. With SDI, the biggest installations to date are in Korea, and China is testing it out for possible large, multisite, hybrid (local SDI, remote IP) deployments. But without concrete “endorsements” from big brands like Honeywell and Pelco, it is safe to say that SDI will mostly be for niche applications, in the next five to 10 years, as a temporary, nonmainstream solution in the transition to an IP world.

Our key markets now are the U.S. Brazil and India, where we see a new generation of professionals coming into the scene, driving IP infrastructure and networks. Our biggest challenge is time, which is not on our side, as new products always come out and we need time to push forward educational programs, to familiarize young professionals with new technologies and applications.

WEBGATE (DAEMYUNG ENTERPRISE)
We used to OEM for Honeywell and Samsung; but for the past three years, we have repositioned and rebranded ourselves to be an HDcctv total solution provider. Targeting high-end, niche government, traffic and hotel projects, our solutions are almost the same as analog systems in terms of operation, such as adjustable frame rates and motion detection, but at 6x the resolution. Key reference projects can now be found in Korea, Japan and China, and we are helping existing analog SD partners and customers in the U.S. and Russia to move into HD quickly. We work with system integrators and installers directly, to cut out the middlemen.

For 2012, we expect 70 percent of our sales come from HDcctv products (68 percent in the first quarter), and overall revenue growth is set at 50 percent, mostly expected from enterprises, buildings and hotels.

WONWOO ENGINEERING
Our latest release is the SDI camera, with 3 to 20x zoom and auto focus. We are selling more than 4,000 SDI cameras per month now, and with more affordable 4- and 8-channel DVRs, we are very confident in exceeding our sales targets. Large markets now include the U.S., the U.K., Korea, Japan and China. After September, SDI systems will be even more competitive in terms of pricing, and in three years' time, they shall account for 10 percent of the market share.

The biggest selling point to our long-term partners and experienced installers is that it is something new, something that can compete with megapixel image quality, and something that they can handle with ease. They were losing sales and position in the market, and now they can be quickly trained and deliver quality video through the same channels. We are living in a period of fusion and hybrid, where people are moving step by step toward total IP connectivity; SDI is a good fit in this ongoing transition. We are getting good results in the U.K., Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, and providing more variety in terms of product offerings will help us grow further. We expect to increase our sales revenue by 28 percent this year.