Vietnam is a growth market, and security has also been growing thanks to an increase in demand. Yet despite the positive market prospects, there are challenges, too. According to one expert, one of the challenges is a lack of understanding of the potential of video surveillance beyond traditional security. This year
Vietnam is a growth market, and security has also been growing thanks to an increase in demand. Yet despite the positive market prospects, there are challenges, too. According to one expert, one of the challenges is a lack of understanding of the potential of video surveillance beyond traditional security.
This year, the World Bank forecasts Vietnam's GDP growth will be 6.2 percent. Compared to other countries in the region, for example Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, Vietnam's GDP growth is relatively high.
According to most local security players, the industry will grow more than that, driven by both government spending and private investment. In terms of public spending, government agencies are investing in various infrastructure projects such as highway constructions and airport upgrades. Some local authorities have launched safe city initiatives as well. As for private investment, retail, manufacturing, hospitality and real estate are among the vertical markets that are booming, triggering security demands.
Yet the stellar growth in Vietman is not to say there aren't any challenges as well. One of the biggest challenges, according to Bui Quang Huy, Sales Manager for Vietnam at Axis Communications, is a lack of market understanding of what video surveillance can do beyond traditional applications.
“From what we see the market understanding about the usage of this technology … while not slow, could be faster. If people generalize CCTV as typical CCTV then there's no differentiation with other vendors. We believe that if the market understands more about what they can do with this technology, they can sell the right solution to fit customers' needs,” Huy said.
Citing retail, Hui mentioned that Axis' acquisition of Cognimatics illustrates the significance it attaches to retail, where users can benefit from people counting and queue management technologies, among others, to optimize operations. “At the moment smart retail is at its starting point in Vietmnam,” he said. “If you compare with other countries, all this technology has been used for quite some time. But it's coming, and we have a strong belief in their potential in Vietnam.”