Security giants preview 2013 (Part 1)

Everything about 2013 seems uncertain. a&s asks how industry heavyweights see the year will unfold.

Consumer Market Drives Professional Market
Johan Paulsson, CTO of Axis Communications
The consumer market is a fundamental driver for the professional security market. As people get used to smart devices in their homes, they are likely to want to use it in their work as well. There will be greater usage of smart devices in security installations. Retail owners, for instance, can access their business surveillance from their smart devices anywhere and drive their businesses to be more efficient.

We can also assume that smart technology that looks after itself will reduce system crashes and downtime in the future. Just like cars are getting smarter, new surveillance cameras will be able to self diagnose, automatically reboot and install software updates, and carry out image optimization without the need for an administrator to get involved.

Analog to IP
Gert van Iperen, President of Bosch Security Systems
In 2012, world markets continued to develop on an uneven course. China, Latin America, Eastern Europe and APAC regions remained 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.

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. We are also seeing an influx of new competitors in the market, which is also driving forward the speed of innovation and differentiation.

Business Optimization
Eric Fullerton, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Milestone Systems
Milestone Systems sees a number of vertical applications that have developed strong focus on business process optimization, such as RFID integration for manufacturing, shipping overview and control, and integration with POS transaction systems and people counting for retail setting improvements.

All of these illustrate how IP video is still driving the convergence of digital systems across multiple areas. It has improved the speed of innovation across diverse applications, such as access control, human resources, finance, production and logistics. Open-platform IP video is enabling business optimizations on a larger scale, handling more than just security matters, adding measurable long-term ROIs and lowering TCOs.

New Demand and Customers
Renae Leary, Senior Director for Global Accounts, Tyco International
Ten years ago, our customers started standardizing and centralizing their access control systems. Recently, we have begun to see a trend forming in regard to the standardization of video surveillance on a global scale. This shift is due, in part, to the evolution of IP-based video surveillance technology and more intelligent video systems.

Another trend we are seeing is within the actual business structure of our global customers. Not only are IT and security departments coming together, but we are also seeing real estate and procurement come together with security. This helps our customers make centralized decisions in an effort to build a security management system in a more cost-effective manner.

In recent years, Tyco Global Accounts has seen an influx of customers from the IT industry. These companies are asking for enterprise-level security for data centers, and they are making more holistic decisions in procurement. Large oil and gas companies are also some of our largest clients. The financial sector is another growing market, as banks are looking to centralize their security operations and technologies. In Asia, the transportation sector is growing at a rapid pace.

In some new emerging markets, such as Africa, the large security demand comes from the oil and gas industry, but there is growing interest from the food and beverage industries in these regions as well.