GDSF and New Markets Draw the Limelight

The sixth Global Digital Surveillance Forum (GDSF), "The Revolution of Intelligent Video Surveillance," and first-ever new market conferences on Brazil, Russia and India kicked off on April 16 and April 18, respectively, as part of SecuTech Expo 2007 at the Taipei World Trade Center.

GDSF

This year's Global Digital Surveillance Forum (GDSF) focused on intelligent video solutions, featuring a keynote speech from Herve Fages, Managing Director for Pelco Asia Pacific. In his "Critical Components to the Right Solution," he said: "We don't want to react after something bad happens by reviewing the video. We want to take proactive measures." For companies putting together intelligent solutions, suggested Fages, they must consider what their customers need. He also debunked mythsas did Dr. Alan Lipton, Chief Technology Officer and Director for Research and Development at ObjectVideo, in his "Fact and Fiction"in video analytics, outlining what this technology can and cannot do. And the bottom line is that intelligent video helps make better, quicker, informed decisions for better utilization of human resources.

The Forum was divided into four tracks, the first being "Getting Started: The Intelligent Surveillance Age." Guest speakers included Dr. Lipton, Kevin Lee (Managing Director of Asia Pacific Channel Sales and Marketing for Seagate) and Maoz Tenenbaum (Sales Director for Asia Pacific at ioimage). Aside from discussing what computer vision is and how to evaluate different analytics, Dr. Lipton also pointed out a few product development trends and what end-users could expect in the near future. Lee highlighted some benefits of hard disk-based storage in surveillance systems, including better performance and power management, smarter search, greater interoperability and scalability, and higher image quality. Tenenbaum offered another perspective in terms of hardware, promoting smart, high-definition edge devices with built-in analytics and plug-and-play simplicity.

The second track was "Intelligent Surveillance in Action." Panasonic's Atsushi Nogami, Team Leader of Business Planning Team, Planning Group, Security System Division, said: "If the picture is bad, your operation may turn into a disaster as there would be too many false alarms." Other speakers included Anders Laurin (Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Axis Communications ) who described the key features, components and software in intelligent solutions and video management for different scenarios, Dennis Li (Vice President of Sales for Greater China at Verint Systems Asia Pacific) who illustrated the evolution of video analytics and some cases and benefits of video analytics, and Sufan Kan (Asia Product Marketing Manager for Honeywell Video Systems) who provided insights and applications for analytics and digital video management.

The third track, "Chipset and Integrated Video Technologies," covered more intelligent solutions. Texas Instruments' Danny Petkevich, Video Security Business Development Manager, introduced the functions and programmability of the DaVinci DSP chip. Pixim's Dr. Todd Rockoff, Vice President of Asia Sales, saidbacked with real cases and practical examplesthat the elimination of false negatives and minimization of false positives are key to the widespread adoption of intelligent video analytics. Vaidhi Nathan, President and CEO of IntelliVision, discussed and demonstrated the most recent technology developments in intelligent video and how these new products and tools are helping customers use their CCTV systems more effectively and efficiently.

DVTel's Avi Gerbi, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, said: "Sitting and watching is one thing; decision-making is a totally different ball game." He continued to describe how DVTel's software is able to provide a single user interface unifying different security systems. "Product Presentations" would be the fourth and final track. Advantech showcased how its building automation system could be integrated with analytics, shown by Eric Yu, Product Sales Manager, and Rick Lee, Software Product Marketing Manager. Vivotek's Steve Ma, Product Marketing Manager, addressed the advantages, technologies and issues regarding 3GPP mobile surveillance. Chunghwa Telecom's Powen Wang pointed out that video surveillance does not hinge only on cameras and video servers, but IP infrastructure as well. Greentac's Sales Manager Albert Liou highlighted the company's mobile recording solution that also comes with full software support. Camdeor's Chia-Meng Lin, Director of Overseas Sales, brought up the company's IR-equipped IP cameras that are giving the market a more flexible design and cost-effective choice. GDSF has consistently been considered a must-attend seminar series for many, according to participant surveys each year. Its narrow focus on digital surveillance offers information on the latest security surveillance developments. The Forum lasted three days, ending on April 18; it was part of SecuTech Expo 2007, an annual security show organized by A&S Group which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

New Market Conferences

At SecuTech Expo 2007, the organizer also endeavoredthrough New Market Conferencesto provide the latest information from emerging markets such as Russia, India and Brazil by inviting local media partners (the Security Industry Association of Russia, Security Today and the CIPA Group) to give talks to zealous solution providers.

Russia

The Russian security market is estimated to be worth US$5.4 billion in 2007, with an average growth rate of 30 percent per annum. Some CCTV components, for example DVRs, are experiencing growth exceeding 50 percent. Upon entry into the WTO, Russia has undergone a lot of policy and organizational changes which have been helping more and more market segments to open up for freer business transactions. The most notable one is transportation as rail networks and airports can now be privatized, which can be translated into more infrastructure upgradesincluding security systems. Other burgeoning and promising segments for electronic security include banking, real estate, retail and petrochemical; of these, 50 percent of the purchases come from big corporations. According to Andrey Miroshkin, General Director of Groteck Publishers, finding the right partners for certification and distribution is the key to success in Russia.

India

With a growing population of over 1.05 billion and continuous economic reforms, India is another shining star noticed by many. The best estimate so far indicates that the size of the Indian security market is approximately $350 million, with 24-percent annual growth. Current trends include more one-stop shopping inquiries, more convergence between information security and physical security, and more demands for IT/IP and intelligent solutions. Not everything in the Indian security market is rosy, though, as there are growth impediments such as high customs duty (35 percent) and local taxes, absence of operating standards, and poor after-sales services or support.

Brazil

Brazil is the world's ninth largest economy, and the Brazilian security marketestimated to be over $1 billionis equivalent to more than 50 percent of the Latin American business. In terms of electronic security, CCTVs account for 50 percent of the market, followed by alarms at 40 percent and access control at 10. Government purchases represent only 10 percent of total spending on security, making corporations and homeowners the major buyers. Security electronics used in Brazil are mainly imported from the U.S., China and Israel.