With so much talk on integration and IP, the Middle East is probably one of the few places in the world that brings out the best qualities of the two in real-life installations. Aside from Dubai, the rest of the United Arab Emirates is booming with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in infrastructural development and greenfield commercial projects. While market potential is tremendous, challenges surrounding market access and talent management remain. a&s talks to some of the most active players in the region to find out what's ticking in the region after the 2009 financial crisis and economic slowdown.
The recent youth-inspired uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa appear to be spreading as Tunisia and Egypt became catalysts for a broader phenomenon of change. Protests have occurred in a growing number of countries in the region, from Algeria and Morocco in the west to Bahrain and Yemen in the east, attesting to the significance and necessity of both public and private investments in security and safety measures as the implications have now affected the global economy, to say the least.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had announced financial-support measures, worth an estimated US$36 billion, in a bid to avert the kind of popular unrest that has toppled leaders across the region and is now closing in on Libya's Muammer Gaddafi, reported the Financial Times. The cash-rich Saudi government has also pledged to spend $400 billion by the end of 2014 to improve education, infrastructure and health care. The discussions on security infrastructure that A&S had with various manufacturers, distributors and system integrators at Intersec Dubai now seem uncannily timely in retrospect, and are summarized below.
Rising Needs
Verticals
The Middle Eastern and African region is comprised of more than one billion people, and the average age is relatively low compared to mature markets, which drives a growing need for infrastructure such as power, water and utilities, education and other basic civil infrastructure, said Jurgen Timperman, Regional GM for the Middle East and Africa, UTC Fire & Security (UTCFS). “The oil and gas industry continues to boom across the region, and in addition, the area is rich in natural resources like gold, silver and minerals, further driving investments, development of these resources and overall business.” Aside from oil and gas, tailored solutions for many other verticals are offered, ranging from smaller applications such as residential, retail and banking, to hotels and all the way to critical infrastructure, transportation, aviation, health care, education and city surveillance. “Our customers care about protecting their people, their assets and investments. The 2008 and 2009 financial crisis has not changed this,” Timperman said.
Bosch Security Systems is back on track as well, with double-digit growth coming from airports, seaports, traffic and road monitoring, city centers, multipurpose arenas/stadiums, hospitals and universities, said Olaf Zeissig, Regional Manager.
“Demand for integrated video/access control systems and management software is particularly strong from citywide surveillance, housing authorities, airports and many greenfield projects,” said Michel Chalouhi, Director of Product Management at Genetec. “For these types of projects, we have to be very selective of our integration and installation partners, as we don't want to flood the channel while a lot of hand-holding is still required.“
Aside from the city surveillance and transportation sectors, Axis Communications is actively involved in the financial, retail and education verticals, especially in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, said Baraa al Akkad, Regional Manager. “Although a lot of large-scale projects were put on hold in 2009, everything picked back up in 2010, and I'm talking about some good-size projects, even in momentarily cash-strapped Dubai.”
In addition to the obvious boom in the public space, midsized projects in the corporate and commercial space are also recovering, said Mohammed Zaheer, Division Manager for Business Connection. “About 70 percent of new installs, be it video surveillance or access control, go directly for IP because end users want end-to-end, connected solutions.” For 2011, growth of at least 15 to 20 percent was projected by Zaheer.