What vertical markets and technologies will see strong security demand in Europe this year? This article tries to find that out.
This year,
sound growth is expected in the European security market, where more businesses have reopened and projects resumed. So what vertical markets and technologies will see strong security demand in the region? This article tries to find that out.
Needless to say, security is needed in different verticals to protect people and assets. At the same time, it’s also needed for operational efficiency and health purposes. This applies to end users in different parts of the world, including Europe. That said, below are some of the vertical markets that are likely to see strong demand for security in the region this year.
Retail
Retailers in Europe are increasingly looking at smart technologies to lower cost,
reduce shrinkage and improve the customer experience. “IDIS has had considerable success supplying and enabling the growth of unmanned stores across South Korea, and there are signals that we’ll see similar developments in Europe. While we’re not expecting to see entirely unmanned stores in Europe, there is likely to be further increase in automation as businesses look to reduce overheads and minimize shrinkage,” said James Min, MD of IDIS Europe. “That will mean greater use of cameras that monitor customers visibly on screens as they move around stores, self-service and payment kiosks, and entrances and exits, as well as the deployment of a wider range of IoT devices and sensors.”
Healthcare/Education
Health and education sectors are also promising. “In the UK, healthcare/hospitals and education are promising high demand in 2022, primarily due to aging infrastructure. Across Europe a lot of infrastructure needs to be replaced, with governments looking to modernize these facilities and also to help their economies grow again out of the COVID crisis,” said John Davies, MD of TDSi.
Datacenter
According to Min, the European datacenter co-location market is set to double by 2024 compared to 2018. “Systems integrators in Iceland, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK are finding that partnering with the right security vendors is positioning them to expand in what has become a market ripe with video opportunities,” he said. “Each new build, and most upgrades and fit outs, involve physical security. Tier 3 and 4 data centers require robust and compliant physical measures from bollards, gates and fencing to sophisticated perimeter intruder detection tech. A wide range of Full-HD and increasingly ultra-definition cameras needs to cope in all lighting conditions providing complete coverage of internal and external areas. And all those cameras need to be connected to trusted, proven, and highly cybersecure video management software.”
Technologies
What security technologies will be hot and trendy in Europe? We take a look below.
AI
The use of
AI has become pervasive in security markets all over the world, including in Europe. “We’re all using and being exposed to valuable AI and deep learning-based services on a daily basis. While we’re still positive about the potential for AI and deep learning in video surveillance, we expect to see an even greater focus on initiatives to ensure that AI is being implemented ethically and without bias in 2022. This will be even more important as AI becomes embedded into every aspect of video surveillance, including greater integration into the most fundamental levels of technology – the system-on-chip (SoC) – to optimize everything from camera configuration to analytics,” said Verena Rathjen, VP of EMEA at Axis Communications.
COVID-19
COVID-countermeasures such as automating mask wearing detection, people counting, crowd control, and occupancy monitoring are also gaining importance. “This automation alleviates pressures on frontline staff, reducing the need for them to check adherence to COVID mandates. Instead, security operatives can issue or automate verbal reminders using two-way audio on cameras or PA systems. This ensures businesses meet compliance, while avoiding the need to hire additional security officers or re-deploy staff in a way that puts them at greater risk of infection. It also reduces the potential for conflicts with customers that we saw in previous waves, in sectors including retail, hospitality, and transportation,” Min said.
NDAA
NDAA compliance will continue to be a major theme in 2022 as organizations adapt to the new legislation, including those that do or plan to do business with the U.S., or U.S. companies with facilities in Europe. “We are already 100 percent NDAA compliant. It was and is a standard practice for us not to use components from certain suppliers and to guarantee the security of our customers and partners by using our own design and only absolutely trustworthy suppliers. Therefore, the US ban of certain suppliers and their OEMs have no influence on us,” said Thomas Lausten, CEO of MOBOTIX.
Sustainability
How to improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact has gained more and more importance in Europe, and the concept has been reflected in the products and solutions offered by vendors. “Last year we already made moves to make IDIS Smart Factory as energy efficient as possible with plans to move away from fossil fuel generated power, while continuing our efforts to work in alignment with Six Sigma and similar programs to eliminate defects and waste,” Min said. “In 2022, we will go further, investing more in Environmental, Social and Governance from the board-level down including developing new corporate policies, initiating social and environment led marketing and communications campaigns, and by continuing to donate our technology to help protect the environment, the most vulnerable in our communities, and those at risk of severe weather events.”
Hybrid surveillance solutions
The notion of on-prem vs. cloud video surveillance has gained a lot of attention, yet things will not be so clear-cut. “We believe that most surveillance solutions will ultimately be hybrid. The world is going ‘horizontal,’ where the combination of cloud, on-premise server and edge technologies are being increasingly used together, each employed to its strengths, in so-called hybrid solutions,” Rathjen said.
Cybersecurity
There will also be an increasing focus on data security and data protection, and vendors are rolling out related solutions in response. “Cyberattacks are on the rise and the damage is now enormous. Here, I see MOBOTIX as a pioneer in the industry,” Lausten said. “Cybersecurity enjoys the highest priority at MOBOTIX and is lived and implemented throughout the MOBOTIX Cactus Concept. Data security with regard to the German Data Protection Act (DSGVO) is also elementary for MOBOTIX.”
Cybersecurity becomes critical when the so-called zero trust network architectures become the default approach to security. “When zero trust networks means that the security profile for each device and application connecting to a network is independently evaluated each time it connects, it has significant implications for the video surveillance sector. Signed firmware, regular software updates, secure boot, encrypted data/video and secure identity will become hygiene factors in customer solutions, moving from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have,’” Rathjen said.