The security industry has moved well past the phase of merely selling equipment, to providing complete solutions that are customized to specific requirements of customers. Today’s manufacturers ensure they know each of their vertical markets, understand their uniqueness, and put together security systems that not just solve security requirements, but improve overall operational efficiency. 
 
For similar reasons, vendors now increasingly prefer to be considered solution providers rather than just makers of a video surveillance camera or an access control panel.
 
A few have taken the responsibility to manufacture their own products across segments, expanding the footprint from within their brand. But most have taken the route of entering partnerships with other manufacturers.

“It [partnerships] will allow distributors and SIs to offer the differentiated products to their customers compared to others, which will help them to expand the market and gain more profit.”

- Andy Shen, Channel Director, Global Market, Hikvision Digital Technology

More options for distributors and SIs

The most obvious advantage for distributors and SIs from manufacturers’ partnerships is the increase in the range of products that they can offer to the market, helping to strengthen their customer base.
 
“It [partnerships] will allow distributors and SIs to offer the differentiated products (from single product to more sophisticated product solutions) to their customers compared to others, which will help them to expand the market and gain more profit,” said Andy Shen, Channel Director for Global Market at Hikvision Digital Technology.
 

Compatibility guaranteed

The second key benefit that resellers derive from this is the possibility to buy an integrated solution from one source, with equipment that is guaranteed to work together efficiently. This is especially true of SIs, who would appreciate the assurance products’ compatibility with each other for integration.
 
“For the systems integrator, they are happy to see if we solve 99 percent of integrations before they install,” said Tim Shen, Marketing Director of Overseas Business Center at Dahua Technology. “They can save huge time to talk to two parties for integrations and making the whole project go even smoother. Imagine they used to talk to two companies to test the products and get the problems fixed and now we are saving their time and means they will have more chances to go for more projects and win more business.”

 “For the systems integrator, they are happy to see if we solve 99 percent of integrations before they install.”  

-Tim Shen, Marketing Director, Overseas Business Center, Dahua Technology

Moreover, when two well-known brands enter a partnership, the massive investment that goes into the alliance promises commitment of support for the products.
 
“Through that demonstration of commitment, integrators can trust that the product/integration they are selling to their customer, the end user, will be supported for years to come,” said David Ella, VP of Product Marketing at AMAG Technology. “As products upgrade, each company is committed to keeping the integration up to date so end users will always have the ability to upgrade to the latest technology.”  
 

More value for the products

Larry Reed, CEO of ZKAccess took this point further. According to him, effective hardware partnerships help drive down the cost of integrated solutions, while at the same time ensuring customers receive maximum functionality. This represents a strong value proposition, which distributors and SIs can, in turn, offer their customers. Moreover, such partnerships offer distributors and SIs more options to differentiate themselves from their competition.
 
“Distributors and integrators who stay current in both technology and market updates become aware of newly forged manufacturing partnerships and technology developments,” Reed said. “Conversely, old school traditional ‘box pushers’ typically offer the same old non-integrated products. These box-pushers’ only value proposition is reducing their price and profit margin to remain competitive.”
 
However, he added that the value proposition of the solutions from partnerships depends on the extent to which distributors and SIs can educate the end users on the benefits. The more education they provide, the higher the value proposition and less the chances of pressure from customers to lower their profit margins. In this regard, it is important that distributors and SIs clearly understand how the manufacturers’ partnerships benefit end users.