The UK market is vast, but how does a new company break into it? Consultant Dave Gorshkov, CEO of Digital Grape, identifies market opportunities and important considerations for navigating the British market.
The UK market is vast, but how does a new company break into it? Consultant Dave Gorshkov, CEO of Digital Grape, identifies market opportunities and important considerations for navigating the British market.
The U.K. is the largest market for video surveillance. At least 20 percent of the world's video surveillance systems are deployed in the U.K., which has an estimated 4.3 million cameras spread throughout the nation. This is expected to swell to 9 million units in the next five to 10 years, according to the British Security Industry Association. 
The demand for video surveillance and analytics is strong. Sobering reminders of why the market has grown in the past 10 years include the Madrid train bombing, the London July 7 train bombing, the Mumbai attacks and the recent attempted car bomb in Times Square. The common link between those incidents was video surveillance was used to determine who had perpetrated the incidents and how they could be prevented going forward.
The reason why the U.K. has the biggest market share compared to other countries is its relatively high terrorism risk. While the U.S. has 50 states, it also has 50 sets of regulations on privacy.
Other countries in Europe have heavy privacy rules, such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain, which is why video surveillance uptake has been significantly smaller. In the U.K., where a bomb was defused in Dublin, Ireland, as recently as May, the country has faced the threat of terrorism for many years. That is a reason why the country has pioneered many video surveillance technologies, such as LPR, which was invented by the UK Home Office.
Other areas in security are also strong. Access control makes up 25 percent of systems, representing a major area of opportunity.
Growth Verticals
The public sector sees strong demand for video surveillance applications in traffic monitoring and transportation. Those applications still buy analog in large numbers for legacy systems. Transport systems use fiber to bring back video.
The overall UK market is worth US$6 billion a year and more of that is IP-based. IP is creeping in slowly, as it offers more flexibility.
To ease congestion, road tolling legislation is a key area. London is currently the only city with a congestion charge of 10 pounds, or $16, to enter. Its LPR toll system makes a profit of $200 million a year. More cities such as Manchester want to install similar systems, presenting opportunities in traffic monitoring.
The Association of Train Operating Companies governs surface and underground rail services in the U.K. Its 26 members are also responsible for public buses. All rail networks carry video surveillance, with 2,500 stations in the U.K. Most of those have video surveillance onboard. Metro stations are different; the London Underground typically has 15 to 16 cameras per platform, compared to two or three cameras for rail train stations. There are many opportunities in the surface and underground rail markets.
Tunnel Vision
In roadways, tunnel protection is seeing more demand. Preventing people from entering tunnels reduces risks, such as planted explosives or accidents caused by individuals who seek shelter in the tunnels. As tunnel delays are costly, more end users are keen to deploy analytics to keep people out of tunnels. Some 3-D analytics used with stereoscopic cameras can help protect road or rail tunnels. If a train or car enters the tunnel, 3-D video analysis can check if a person went in with the train or vehicle. This is more accurate than 2-D video analytics.
Other public verticals with strong security demand are seaports and prisons.
Private Sector
For retail in the U.K., video surveillance is an essential part of any installation. Warehousing logistics is an essential part of security for stock or shrinkage. UK theft is worth $6.5 billion in service and support. It is important to bear in mind a camera is worth a couple hundred dollars; installing the camera is where the mother lode of cost is.
Health care is another major vertical, with more than 250 hospitals governed by the National Health Service. One application-specific need is infant monitoring for maternity or young baby units, which are installing more cameras to ensure babies are not taken by unauthorized persons.
Education is also seeing more uptake. Schools continue to face bomb threats and violence, with more cameras put in to watch over students, staff and premises.