The Vietnamese security market demonstrates full growth potential, due to increased spending by government and private sectors. But amidst these opportunities, challenges exist, and only those with the necessary solutions, skills and knowledge to solve customers’ needs can win out. That’s according to Phan Son Hoang
The Vietnamese security market demonstrates full growth potential, due to increased spending by government and private sectors. But amidst these opportunities, challenges exist, and only those with the necessary solutions, skills and knowledge to solve customers' needs can win out.
That's according to Phan Son Hoang, Chairman of Suntech, a distributor in Vietnam. Hoang took part in Secutech 2017 earlier this year.
According to Hoang, growth in the Vietnamese market is expected in near to mid-term. “We expect the market to grow between 20 and 30 percent in 2017 and in the following years before nearly saturated in the 2020s,” he said. “Currently, roads have been fitted with more cameras. Residential areas have also been fitted with security cameras for regional security. Most hotels in Vietnam have been installed with electronic locks instead of traditional ones, and the installation of in-out-checkpoints of offices is becoming more and more popular.”
However, with opportunities also come challenges, the biggest of which is the market's lack of knowledge on security, Hoang said. “Many customers have demand but they do not know what they need, and they do not distinguish the difference in quality and features or the level of the product. Therefore, many customers only select the goods in terms of price, so we are difficult to compete with low-quality products, cheap price for some market segments,” he noted.
As a result, Suntech offers value-added and competitively priced solutions to win more customers. “Our first task is to improve the quality of our staffs to get the best out of modern technologies and to give our customers optimal solutions. Then, we try to cut unnecessary costs to reduce price for customers, bringing the highest competitiveness to the product,” Hoang said.
He cited some examples of the solutions they offer that help address the customers' various needs. “The fields of technology are closely related. So, we are able to expand our business to integrate additional technologies rather than abandoning the field of security technology,” he said. “For example, LED lighting is now a new scope of business that is developing very well. But we have products such as LED street light integrated with security cameras, lighting systems integrated with intrusion warning systems and intelligent building system or smart home that integrates security, control and power saving. When you master those technologies, you will have customers for your market inevitably.”
Hoang also sees the concept of smart cities developing in Vietnam. “For example, traffic camera systems tell us not only about traffic violations but also about traffic jams or abnormalities on the roads,” he said. “In addition, other public warning systems throughout the city are systems that have been applied in many countries such as Japan and Israel, and they are being considered and applied by Vietnamese leaders as well.”