The year 2015 had seen the concept of the smart city becoming a buzzword in Asia. This year is expected to see more concrete measures in this regard, especially in fast emerging economies like India. Jay Jeong, GM of Sales Team in Americas and Asia at IDIS hinted at this as he gave his company’s expectations on the yea
The year 2015 had seen the concept of the smart city becoming a buzzword in Asia. This year is expected to see more concrete measures in this regard, especially in fast emerging economies like India. Jay Jeong, GM of Sales Team in Americas and Asia at IDIS hinted at this as he gave his company's expectations on the year.
“Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took control of the Indian government, there has been huge investment in infrastructure, which is continuing into next year and beyond, so we expect a very strong year in India,” Jeong said. He added that government-funded construction activities are expected to keep demand for security solutions strong in countries like Singapore and Vietnam too.
The move toward smart cities, which puts further emphasis on urbanization, will be a major factor pushing security demand, according to Vellat. Changing demographics in the region will act as a catalyst for increase in consumer interest.
“For instance rapid urbanization puts more pressure on existing facilities leading to new infrastructure investments,” Vellat said. “People are living further away from the city center and needs to commute, driving the need for more highways and metro or rail networks.”
Major systems integrators too are keeping a close watch on this particular aspect of the market, anticipating major developments to unfold in the coming year. Ferry Chung, VP of Smart and Safe City Center of Excellence of NCS, gave his company's expectations in the vertical.
“We understand that many major cities in the region have deployed thousands of sensors throughout the cities to monitor noise, humidity, and water level, as well as cameras to monitor public and traffic safety condition,” Chung said. “We look forward to playing a major part in bringing advanced technology to improve the quality of living and security in an urban environment.”
Other analysts are reluctant to talk about the year in itself when it comes to these segments, preferring to comment more on the direction in which the security industry is moving at present. Subhranshu Sekhar Das, VP and Practice Head of Aerospace, Defense, and Security in Greater Asia at Frost & Sullivan, said the major development in the region is the creation of large smarter and safer cities, with security solutions becoming an integral part of building management systems. He too commented on the major efforts being taken in India towards smart cities.
“India has invested large amounts in developing smart cities, and according to the latest news that is coming out, several cities have been selected for this,” Das said.
Jim Simon, Senior Director of Marketing of Asia Pacific at Quantum, elaborated further on this topic, touching upon the major verticals that are expected to see more growth. From the perspective of a storage solutions provider, the company sees an increasing demand that is driven by technological advancements in cameras, regulatory requirements on retention times, and use of analytics.
“Given the surveillance industry transformation, it is no surprise that the top two vertical markets for surveillance storage are airports and city surveillance,” Simon said. “However, there are also tremendous opportunities in education, ports, railways, retail, and casinos, to name just a few.”
Some solution providers are also keen on the foreign direct investment that is expected to come into this region this year. They are also keeping a close watch on the political issues in some Asian countries that could have an impact on the industry. Countries like Thailand and Malaysia stand out in this issue, having witnessed several domestic political tensions that cast doubts on economic growth prospects.
Stacey Lien, Manager of International Sales Department II at VIVOTEK said that while some countries are a cause of concern, development will continue as long as the flow of overseas funds is not curtailed.
“For countries struggling with the political issues, we stay in more conservative attitude,” said Lien. “But as long as the foreign investments keep growing in Southeast Asia, we are still positive about the growth of the market and believe it can bring out more large scale projects.”