Quantum Corporation speaks to asmag.com about India market outlook and the plans for the subcontinent.
More and more global physical security companies are strengthening their presence in India as the country’s importance as a market as well as an engineering center grows. The latest in line is Quantum Corporation which set up its new office in the southern city of Bengaluru. In a statement, the company said that the new workplace supports the company’s mission for growth and expansion of the Indian market, to have local support for Indian customers, and to aid in recruitment.
Asmag.com caught up with Jamie Lerner, Chairman, and CEO of the company, to know more about their plans and what customers and systems integrator partners can expect in the coming days.
The market potential
For many global physical security players, India is an opportunity as well as a challenge. While the market largely remains untapped, penetration is problematic for various reasons. Having said that, Quantum is clear about its assessment of the role it can play in a market that is riddled with unstructured data.
“Ninety per cent of the world’s data is unstructured data,” Lerner said. “Video surveillance is the largest component of unstructured data. Safe city initiatives comprised of airports, train stations, government operations, stadiums, and more, plus private sector manufacturing plants, entertainment venues, hotels, casinos, and more, are running 24x7x365, often at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second. There is also an increasing need to retain video surveillance for weeks, months, or even indefinitely.”
He added that India is a major country for leading-edge video surveillance solutions. Anecdotal evidence substantiates this, as efforts to digitize activities have increased demand for video technology. Regional governments increasingly use surveillance systems for security, traffic management, people management, transportation, etc.
Major verticals in focus
Government-related entities deploy some of the largest and most sophisticated surveillance systems in the world to keep their citizens safe. India is not an exception. Initiatives like smart and safe cities have fueled demand for video surveillance systems across the country.
“The private sector also relies on video surveillance for security and increasingly as a way to make operations more efficient,” Lerner said. For example, marketers can now track how well a point-of-purchase display performs based on video analytics. Quantum’s India team recently doubled with Quantum’s acquisition of EnCloudEn for its surveillance technology.”
Quantum currently has more than a dozen openings in our Bangalore engineering office. The company expect to hire as needs grow regularly.
Also read: the challenge of finding physical security talent in an IT-obsessed Indian market
Major challenges in the Indian market
The Indian security market faces many of the same challenges that other countries face. Number one is the ability to reliably capture, analyze, enrich, and retain surveillance footage without any compromise.
“High-resolution, high-frame rate video retained for weeks, months, or indefinitely requires a video surveillance storage system that is designed for video surveillance workloads,” Lerner said. “Quantum’s VS-HCI Series is deployed across the globe in some of the most demanding video surveillance environments.”
What’s in it for systems integrators
Lerner said that Quantum is well-known as a channel go-to-market company. In the US, Quantum’s channel partner program, Quantum Alliance, has again been recognized by CRN with a 5-star rating for 2022.
“Quantum channel partners receive tremendous support starting with marketing for lead generation followed by training, deal registration, and deal support,” Lerner said. “Quantum partners value incentives for channel management (in the form of rebates) and incentives for channel salespeople (in the form of SPIFs).”
Pointing out an example of channel partnership efforts, Lerner said that Quantum hosted more than 100 channel partners from across Asia-Pacific/Japan for its annual 3-day at Bangkok this week. Partners from India were also part of the event.