The year 2015 will be remembered for several incidents that increased security concerns to unprecedented levels. Terrorism has become an immediate cause of concern for many countries. For others, geopolitical tensions like those seen in the South China Sea have raised the need for tighter maritime controls.
The year 2015 will be remembered for several incidents that increased security concerns to unprecedented levels. Terrorism has become an immediate cause of concern for many countries. For others, geopolitical tensions like those seen in the South China Sea have raised the need for tighter maritime controls.
The bombing attack at a shrine in Bangkok stands out as a key incident that brought Thailand’s security systems into the spotlight. Although visuals of the suspect were captured on video surveillance cameras and broadcast globally, the image quality was low and this had impeded the investigation. Jay Jeong, GM of Sales Team in Americas and Asia at
IDIS said that his company saw a sharp increase in demand for HD surveillance across industry segments in the country after this incident.
The terrorist attack in Paris and its alleged link to the immigrant crisis also had its repercussions felt in Asia. Countries like Australia that take in migrants from war-torn states like Syria came under scrutiny on their refugee screening measures. This has, in turn, reiterated the need for stronger border control solutions.
Then there were some natural calamities that highlighted the importance of security solutions in monitoring sites spread over large areas.
“One such incident that continues to influence the industry is the Southeast Asian haze, which has severely impacted Indonesia and neighboring countries,” said Jeong. “While there are still inter-government related issues to be overcome, all countries affected know that the prevention of land clearing fires causing the pollution is now critical, with mitigation estimated to cost up US$47 billion.”
A potential prevention and detection method explored in this regard was the use of thermal imaging cameras combined with high resolution PTZ functionality.
While these incidents have had a reactive effect on the security industry, more important drivers of growth have been government initiatives with the view of comprehensive development. Over the last decade, global economic attention has shifted to Asia, where countries are increasing public spending.