In terms of new technology uptake, Malaysia is always an early adopter in the region, be it 4-G LTE telecommunication or IP-based video surveillance. From a recent trade show, general consensus was that the country already turned the 50/50 analog-to-IP corner earlier this year. The pickle that it is in today is keeping the momentum while stakeholders sort out political-economic issues.
In terms of new technology uptake, Malaysia is always an early adopter in the region, be it 4-G LTE telecommunication or IP-based video surveillance. From a recent trade show, general consensus was that the country already turned the 50/50 analog-to-IP corner earlier this year. The pickle that it is in today is keeping the momentum while stakeholders sort out political-economic issues.
The May 2013 general elections had a winning party, but said party's leader (and the nation's prime minister) is yet to be elected until November, creating a power vacuum during the six-month period. That has translated to zero government project progress and delayed bidding or specifying. Many solution providers have thus turned to mid- to entry-level commercial projects, but another challenge has arisen. With foreign direct investment being pulled out and recent price hikes in oil/gas and utilities, the country is not particularly business-friendly at the moment — not to mention the drastic increases in criminal activities.
So, how do local solution providers improvise and find a new way out of this pickle? Market diversification and value adds. “Trading or box moving is not enough,” said WAN Yat Han, MD for Gamma Solution, a distributor active in Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar. “Providing holistic solutions and timely postsales support locally makes all the difference. And that's what we have been doing to make up for the lost margins, as customers would keep coming back to us or helping spread the word.” Philip Lau, Executive Director for Bricomp, another distributor active in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, concurred. “Vertical-focused solutions are the way to go.” Bricomp works with and represents hardware and software providers that cover a wide spectrum from entry-level to high-end, and it helps design and provides properly bundled solutions to its dealer and integrator partners throughout the region based on their vertical and environmental requirements.