The global economic landscape is increasingly tilting in favor of Asia. With more than half of the world’s population and several emerging economies, this continent is all set to become the main driver of growth for the rest of the world.
The global economic landscape is increasingly tilting in favor of Asia. With more than half of the world’s population and several emerging economies, this continent is all set to become the main driver of growth for the rest of the world.
For the security market itself, Asia offers several major opportunities. A single major among them is the concept of smart city that’s increasingly gaining traction here. Along with state-of-the-art technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) this vertical could spearhead security industry in Asia.
Drive Toward Urbanization and Smarter Cities
Most emerging Asian economies have made it clear that development is best achieved through the growth of cities. To this end, city-based development has received importance, prompting more and more people to migrate to urban areas.
A World Bank report suggests that in East Asia alone the average population of cities is increasing by 2.4 percent a year. This in itself creates a demand for security, as increasing population inevitably escalates crime rate and public management issues. Governments are forced to come up with initiatives to make cities safer and smarter.
“All these trends [of urbanization] are fueling growth for the security industry,” said Harish Vellat, GM in Asia Pacific at Honeywell Fire and Security. “Cities are getting larger and more populated. People increasingly desire more connectivity through mobile devices. Industrialization means more factories, and those factories need security and access control, as do critical infrastructure like airports and seaports.”
Asia has witnessed a strong drive towards smart cities in 2015. According to media reports citing data from Navigant Research, investment in smart city information and communication technology (ICT) in Asia Pacific will total $63.4 billion during the period from 2014 to 2023.
For the security industry, the growth of smart cities offers several advantages, as safety is a key factor for smarter living. Jim Simon, Senior Director of Marketing in Asia Pacific at Quantum elaborated on this aspect as he spoke about his company’s experience in the storage business.
“The smart/safe cities initiative incorporates more cameras, higher resolutions, and longer retention times,” Simon said. “These factors cause a tremendous increase in the need for storage — sometimes exceeding more than half of the budget of their initiatives.”
Significant activity in this regard was seen in India, where the government has begun a series of plans to build 100 smart cities. The initiative was seen as a positive move in Asia’s third largest economy, and has been met with optimism by global security solution providers. The initiative has boosted the local demand and is expected to further spearhead growth in the coming years.
The move towards smart cities comes on the heels of the technology of connected devices, known more commonly as the IoT. Continuing from the previous years, the IoT has seen more adopters in 2015.
The Promising Growth of IoT
A report from the research firm IDC suggests IoT markets in Asia outside Japan will grow from $408 billion in 2013 to $862 billion by 2020. In an earlier interview with a&s, Bodil Sonesson, VP of Global Sales at Axis Communications had summed up the role of this new area of technology as a game changer for the industry.
“The Internet of Things is not only one of the hottest buzzwords around; it is the biggest paradigm shift we will see in our current time,” Sonesson said. “All of our products are IoT devices and we are keen to drive the development towards more integrated systems including previously completely separate device categories — be that gas sensors, window shades, traffic lights, or lifts — and providing users with a single pane of glass management console enabling more efficient and more secure operations.”
But while such developments to implement cutting-edge technology have been taking place, several verticals in the region are still in the process of upgrading their systems from analog to IP. This has also been one of the reasons for demand in 2015.
Stage Set for Growth in Asia
Asia plays a pivotal role in current global economic growth. About 60 percent of the world’s population live in this continent, which is rapidly making strides towards becoming smarter and safer.
For the security industry, Asia offers the best possible catalyst for growth. With initiatives to build smarter cities and technological advancements that offer increasing convenience and protection, this continent’s real potential is yet to be utilized. For solution providers it will be an unavoidable market in the coming years.