IDIS was a new name in the security market in 2015, and we asked the company to comment on interesting trends in the market at year-end. Here is that discussion.
SourceSecurity.com: How did the economy affect the industry in 2015?
Keith Drummond, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing, IDIS America:
The surveillance market had been quite resilient as it relates to the overall economy over the 15 years I have been in the industry, and 2015 has been no different. It seems that regardless of the economic gains or losses over any given period of time, our industry continues to grow at a good to great clip. The demand for surveillance is always there, and the request for the end users and channels are always the same – great technology at a fair total cost, that allows them to run their business more efficiently, effectively and safely.
SourceSecurity.com: How was the overall video surveillance market in 2015?
Dr. Peter Kim, Senior Director, IDIS Co. Ltd.:
2015 saw the rise of more powerful, integrated, end-to-end offerings that simplify the customer experience at every step in the video surveillance lifecycle. We saw a number of mergers—some expected, others not—that clearly showed a new focus on companies adding and shoring up capabilities, and enhancing the completeness of their offerings to the market. We also saw some notable partnerships, as well. So many aspects of our business (such as cameras, recording, and video management software) are, by definition, interrelated. It’s a natural progression to grow one’s business by completing one’s offering.
2015 also saw expectations normalise regarding the rise and adoption of IP technology, allowing all of us in the industry to appreciate anew how the technology is remaking the industry slowly but surely. There’s a lot of innovation continuing to go on in the IP space, and it’s rolling out in a way that is allowing for credible evaluation and adoption of the best the industry has to offer in a smart way. At the same time, 2015 saw a growing interest in HD over coaxial cable, with the image quality over coaxial catching up sufficiently to make full-HD over coaxial an increasingly valid choice for those seeking to leverage existing installations.
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| HD over coaxial cable is an area that might not be getting a lot of attention, but will be a real space to watch in 2016 |
SourceSecurity.com: Let’s look ahead to 2016: What notable trends do you see playing out in the new year and what will be their impact?
Kim: With all the appropriate focus on the excitement of IP technologies, UHD, and the chasing of groundbreaking specifications at every turn, HD over coaxial cable is an area that might not be getting a lot of attention, but will be a real space to watch in 2016. HD over coax has been gaining momentum for a bit in the most budget-conscious segments; however, the game is getting more interesting because the technology is getting better at higher-MP-than-FHD (2MP) — though we may see tradeoffs in either distance or frame rates, meaning now you can potentially achieve things over coaxial cable that was previously only afforded by IP technologies.
When HD-SDI came out, it overpromised somewhat and, in reality, had very little impact on our industry. However, many of the factors that made HD-SDI underwhelming, such as distance limitations, have been resolved with latest generation analogue HD technologies, with HD-TVI creating additional and credible pathways to HD quality for many.
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Don’t get me wrong; IP is the industry’s future, and will enable and implement many exciting things. Still, there is a lot of analogue and existing coaxial cable out there, and as HD over analogue technology has caught up to its early promise, there’s a lot of fast adoption for HD over Coax technologies such as HD-TVI. This will make it an increasingly important part of the mix in the near term, and a definite trend worth keeping an eye out for.
The over-designing and over-engineering of solutions will also be worth watching in 2016. We’re at a key point in the evolution of our industry where the pace of technological change and possibility is as exciting as it has ever been, and designing solutions beyond customer requirements is a natural risk as technology matures. Ultimately, it’s always about a balanced approach that will best benefit the customer, which in many cases may be a mix-and-match of innovation and the leveraging of existing technologies.
It’s very possible that the market won’t be as receptive to over-designed systems that are ultimately too expensive or hard to maintain and replace versus platforms that work seamlessly across technology and provide varied pathways to customers to achieve their security and surveillance goals in affordable ways.
SourceSecurity.com: Who will be the “winners” and who will be the “losers”?
Kim: It’s really all about relationships moving forward for our industry, both internally and externally.
The winners moving forward will be those who recognise and craft a direct and strategic internal relationship between the real-time needs of end-users and their internal R&D/product development. This means moving beyond chasing theoretically impressive specs and capabilities just to have them and instead delivering powerful analytics, third-party integrations, and the kind of technical compatibility and ease of use that increase value, not complication, alongside legitimate technical innovation. Business intelligence is a specific focal point, as it focuses on the implication and trends of analysed data, beyond a simple quest for accuracy. Things like facial recognition, license plate recognition, and similar technologies are opening up opportunities and funding from departments other than the traditional security/asset protection department.
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| Technologies like facial recognition and license plate recognition are opening up new opportunities and sources of funding |
The same is true with external relationships: those who continue to craft strategic relationships and partnerships will extend the value and power of their offerings to customers, be most responsive to the market, and clear “winners” as a result.
Ultimately, everyone wins when solutions offer the greatest ability to mix and match, scale, and grow simply and flexibly with requirements, without driving up costs prohibitively.
SourceSecurity.com: Could you please comment briefly on your company’s successes and challenges in 2015 and looking ahead to 2016.
Drummond: 2015 was clearly an exciting year for IDIS, as it was the year our brand business completed its global rollout with the launch of IDIS America at ISC West in April. It was a process that included the opening of a new regional headquarters, warehouse, and training and demonstration space near Dallas, Texas, and the build out of an impressive team of technical and sales talent to cover the Americas.
Technically, the launch of IDIS’s powerful new Fish Eye camera (DC-Y1513) and the development of an industry leading next-generation DirectIP™ NVR for 2016 (with support for H.265 and UHD/4K) were real highlights, showing off IDIS’s strong suits, market-responsive innovation and product engineering. We also announced several partnerships and successful integrations this year, which serve the many needs of our industry in specific and needed ways.
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The challenge we’re most excited about heading into 2016 is the continued building of the already strong market recognition for the IDIS brand business, continuing to link the exceptional reputation and industry regard we’ve cultivated as a top OEM/ODM for nearly two decades to our powerful, current branded offering.
SourceSecurity.com: What unrealised potential or other opportunities face our market at year-end and looking ahead to 2016?
Kim: It’s always a good time to be in the security market, because of the critical importance our industry plays in keeping people, assets, and information safe and secure. The industry and the work we do are meaningful and needed. All economic considerations aside, one only needs to open a newspaper or turn on the news to know that the mandate for increased security, including through enhanced technologies that allow for smarter, more expansive, and less expensive security solutions, never sleeps.
In terms of potential and opportunity for surveillance providers, mission critical infrastructure planning and protection will continue to be a growing requirement and one where high quality surveillance solutions can play an essential part.
From a technological standpoint, security and surveillance manufacturing continues to hold near unlimited promise. We are on the verge of an explosion in chip computation power, most assuredly, and how that will exactly manifest in terms of our industry is not yet fully known, but it is clearly exciting. In terms of available and potential technology, we are very much in the right moment in history. In 2016, it will be even more true that “imagination is our only limitation,” and we will have a tremendous opportunity before us to continue to figure out how to leverage next generation technology in ways that are powerful, practically useful, and, of course, affordable.
See the full coverage of 2015/2016 Review and Forecast articles here
