The 2008 crisis hit many players around the world hard, driving some of them to take drastic measures to sustain profitability. These include reaching out to unfamiliar territories for better business prospects.
In the postrecession era, while most companies remain cautiously optimistic, some have ventured out to make innovation and flexibility the name of the game. Some video analytics providers have expanded to include video management capabilities, while other VMS start-ups have come up with creative business models or introduced new service plans. Convergence of technologies is also taking roots, propelling some of the industry heavyweights to reinvent themselves to scale new heights.
Innovations Take Optelecom-NKF for example. With more than 35 years of experience in fiber-optic transmission, the company now offers high-end IP video solutions under a different brand name. “Fiber products have become commodities, which make it easier for companies to start selling them. Naturally, this increases the competition,” said Roger Decker, Director of Solutions and Marketing for Optelecom-NKF. The company has transformed itself by applying its fiber knowledge in creating surveillance solutions that enable customers to connect video servers directly to fiber networks.
Take another company, HID Global, for example. “Organizations are now seeking to extend the use of their credentials beyond physical access control to include applications such as cashless payment, time and attendance, logical access control and other applications that deliver unique and personalized solutions that leverage their existing credentials and IT investments,” said Tim Phipps, Director of Identity and Access Management for APAC, HID Global. Furthermore, enterprises are evaluating stronger security and searching for a replacement for traditional passwords to protect confidential information and comply with data security standards. As a result, risk-appropriate, two-factor authentication solutions are increasingly demanded.
Competitive Edge
Adaptability better prepares companies for new market dynamics and sudden changes in customer needs. “The migration to IP technology has been underway for many years now,” Decker said. “Nevertheless, our IP sales have more than doubled as we saw this change coming and aptly reinvented ourselves to deal with and benefit from this new market reality.”
Creating customer value also helps boost revenue. By coming up with technology-based solutions for identity access management, HID continues to thrive while expanding its logical access portfolio, Phipps said.
Certain companies are power players even in bleak times, so companies must be more strategic and flexible in order to differentiate themselves. “Our approach is to leverage the huge quantity of HID physical access cards — 300 million worldwide — that have already been deployed in the field,” Phipps said. Unlike single sign-on solutions, customers can log onto the IT network with their physical access cards.
While experimenting, don't forget basics like local sales and support offices. “In the traffic, transit and critical infrastructure markets, we work closely with our customers on-site to design, customize and deploy the optimal system,” Decker said. “This is something that really sets us apart.”