This article looks at some of the trendiest technologies, including AI, unified platforms and mobile credentialing, in the Middle East security market.
Increasingly, AI is being used in the Middle East in a range of security and non-security applications. Middle East users have also realized the benefits of integrated security systems, which allow them to gain more situational awareness and operational efficiency. This article looks at some of the trendiest technologies in the Middle East security market.
AI
The Middle East security market is experiencing significant growth. One growth driver worth mentioning is artificial intelligence or AI. “AI-enhanced video analytics, real-time tracking, and predictive algorithms are now sought after for their effectiveness in improving proactive threat management,” said Nabeel Noorullah, GM of IDVision.
“It may feel as if we’ve been talking about AI video for several years, yet AI technology is definitely the most important area of tech development currently in the Middle East, as is all our global markets. As always, customers in the Middle East are among the first to adopt new technologies and are keen to leverage the most advanced capabilities. We are seeing AI video solutions become ever more practical, and as a result, it’s becoming much more common to see them used as part of surveillance systems, even small-scale ones,” said Dennis Choi, GM for Middle East and Africa at IDIS.
AI is used in a range of vertical markets in the Middle East from retail to smart transportation. “We’ve seen this in the retail sector, where a successful multi-branch AI-powered surveillance solution adopted by one customer to improve efficiency and profitability becomes an attractive model for others to follow,” Choi said.
Other use cases abound. Dubai police, for example, developed an
AI mechanism streamlining minor traffic accident management, where accidents are automatically analyzed and reports generated for drivers without police intervention. Qatar, meanwhile, is developing
AI-based smart traffic management systems where intelligent traffic lights can adapt in real time to traffic flow, reducing congestion and the likelihood of accidents.
Security systems integration
An equally important technology development in the Middle East market is the trend towards integration, where different and disparate security systems are integrated on unified platforms whose benefits are increasingly realized by users.
“The old silos between systems have long been breaking down, and recently, we have been removing more of the technical barriers to rapid integration. For users, there are significant efficiency and operational gains from linking systems such as video, access control, fire, and wider management systems. As a result, this is an area where we expect significant demand and market growth. It is essential to offer comprehensive yet affordable, modular, scalable, and enterprise-level VMS that doesn’t strain operating expenditure,” Choi said.
As we mentioned in a previous article, a
technology partnership between TRASSIR and Suprema offers a good example of security systems integration targeting specifically for the Middle East. The combined system, integrating TRASSIR’s VMS and Suprema’s access control technologies, allows for real-time synchronization between access control events and surveillance footage, making it easier to monitor and respond to potential threats.
Advanced access control
Advanced access control solutions such as biometrics and mobile credentials are also gaining ground in the Middle East where users are looking for more intuitive and convenient ways to access doors. “Biometrics and mobile credentials … these solutions are becoming widely adopted in response to end-users' increasing preference for seamless, contactless access,” Noorullah said.
Among biometric solutions, facial recognition is especially packing up steam in the Middle East; the solution gained popularity during COVID and is now heavily demanded by users looking for efficient, reliable and contactless entry and identification solutions. Applications are wide-ranging, including in healthcare and airports. Dubai International Airport, for example, deployed facial recognition systems in 2018 to
enhance security and make the user experience more frictionless.
Mobile credentials, which can be used to open doors with the tap of a phone, is also gaining popularity, prompting vendors to tap into this market. HID and Genetec, for example, have joined forces on
the world’s first deployment of HID Seos wallet credentials in the Middle East at a technology firm in Dubai Silicon Oasis, allowing employees to open doors frictionless and hands-free.
Perimeter security
Perimeter security is critical in the Middle East due to various factors including regional instability and concerns critical infrastructure facilities may be targeted by extremist groups. That’s why the Middle East is seeing strong demand for perimeter defense solutions such as perimeter intrusion detection systems (PIDS). “High-performance PIDS are crucial for detecting and deterring unauthorized access, especially in vast and remote areas common in the Middle East. Our innovative PIDS technology provides reliable detection with minimal false alarms,” said Uri Guterman, VP of Product Management and Marketing at Senstar.
Increasingly, LiDAR is also used as a perimeter security solution. For example, Quanergy deployed their
long-range 3D LiDAR sensors at the army barracks of a military customer in the Middle East. The solution significantly reduced false alarms and detected all true intrusion attempts made by military personnel in tests conducted in broad daylight as well as in pitch darkness.