This article explores the major trends to expect from the Indian physical security market in 2022, bringing in comments from some of the leading solution providers in the country.
As 2021 draws to a close, all eyes are set on what trends we may see in the coming year. After the disastrous 2020, the market made a remarkable recovery in 2021. Most of us would want to continue this trend, but concerns about the pandemic and supply chain persist.
This article explores the major trends to expect from the Indian physical security market in 2022, bringing in comments from some of the leading solution providers in the country.
Component shortage to continue
The world continues to reel under the component shortage crisis that began post-2020. No electronics industry has managed to remain unscathed by this, and businesses have had to slow their output or improvise to overcome the challenges.
"From Axis' point of view, I think the physical security market is back to the pre-COVID-19 levels," explained Sudhindra Holla, Director for India and SAARC at Axis Communications. "But I think most of the vendors are a bit challenged on the longer lead times and component shortages. But I think otherwise, things are slowly going back to normal."
"Make in India" to gain prominence
The recent years have seen an increased interest in promoting manufacturing in India. The country's central government has come up with various initiatives that would encourage manufacturing and limit the use of imported products. Many international solution providers who were importing their devices earlier have begun production in the country.
"We see growth opportunities for Make in India products," explained Amit Kaushal, General Manager for Fire & Security at Honeywell India. "Government policies have created an enabling ecosystem for products developed or manufactured in India."
Also read: Why foreign manufacturers rush to make in India
Growth of AI and analytics
From a technology perspective, India is still adopting video analytics that would allow customers to benefit more from the security systems. Solutions providers and industry experts expect demand for analytics to pick up in the coming year as they become more affordable and valuable.
"We are also witnessing increased adoption of new technologies like automatic face recognition, vehicle number plate recognition, and frictionless access control, to name a few," Kaushal said. "The integration and accelerated adoption of transformative technologies like AI and Big Data offer more opportunities."
Sandesh Kaup, Country Manager at Milestone Systems, added that customers are also looking for solutions like forensic analysis.
"Forensic video analysis is going to be one of the major technology trends that we'll see in coming months," Kaup added. "Another is AI-based analytics on edge. AI is becoming more and more popular because the algorithms are becoming very advanced and effective."
Automation and cloud to become popular
Automation has proven to be a gamechanger for the physical security industry. Solutions that can work in tandem with each other increase protection and convenience.
"Automation and integration of security systems is another trend," Kaushal added. "There is increased integration across systems including video, fire and life safety systems, emergency management systems, and access control equipment."
Cloud-based solutions are also becoming popular among Indian customers, despite concerns about internet and bandwidth connectivity. Kaup pointed out that COVID-19 has created a situation where data management is difficult unless remotely accessible.
"Data on the cloud will ensure that you need minimum people on the ground to maintain the hardware," Kaup added. "Storing large amounts of data on on-prem storage devices is very complicated and expensive. That is why many companies are asking for a hybrid or a cloud-ready video management software."
Cybersecurity becomes even more important
Technological advancement and automation can take place only at the backdrop of a robust cybersecurity system. Cybersecurity concerns and related threats have garnered considerable attention from stakeholders and will gain traction in the coming year.
"I'm seeing the increased awareness of cybersecurity in general because the pandemic has shown how vulnerable individuals and organizations are," Holla said. "Customers realize that cybercrime can result in financial losses, data loss, etc., that can hurt an organization's reputation, cause downtime, safety, and security hazards, and give rise to privacy issues."
Major companies are taking measures to help customers on their end. Honeywell, for instance, uses a secure-by-design and privacy-by-design approach when creating our products. They also offer OT cybersecurity services to help building managers protect their OT systems from bad actors and threats.
Government projects to drive demand
State governments in India are increasingly adopting video surveillance equipment to increase security and safety. Kaushal pointed out that the demand for CCTVs is on the rise due to the government's focus on facility security, smart city projects, and healthy building initiatives.
Kaup added that an increased focus on security in public transport like the railways is also driving demand. The company has already been working with the Indian Railways and several metro-rail projects across the country.
Smart and safe city projects are driving demand, according to Holla too. Urban development has been a priority for the government over the recent years, and this could continue into the coming year.
"Post the second wave, when things started slowly coming back, we saw a big upsurge in terms of people coming slowly coming back to offices and the project registrations increasing," Holla said. "Even the smart city safe city and the government projects have been going ahead because of the budget allocation and usage of the budgets."
Growing despite Omicron
COVID-19 has definitely not gone away, as the new variant has reminded us. But businesses are no longer in the desperate situation they found themselves in 2020. People and companies have adapted and used technologies to overcome the challenges.
The pandemic will continue to impact growth in 2022. Kaushal said that they anticipate that the Indian security market will continue to see an increased demand in analytics and innovative solutions to help comply with local guidelines.
"As the workforce returns to the office, body temperature screening devices, frictionless access controls, mask detection, and social distancing identification technologies to help comply with COVID-19 guidelines will continue to be of importance in 2022," Kaushal said.