Video surveillance technologies such as solar and wireless security which are cost-effective and sustainable have witnessed increased adoption. Innovative end-user focused security companies will flourish in the coming years as new market verticals are looking to address security issues.
Evolution of surveillance
Looking back over the past year, it is easy to see how the security industry has continued to realise substantial gains. Some of these gains have been financial, some have been brought on by consolidation, and others have been delivered through the promise of interoperability. Most importantly, we've also seen users benefitting from the growing adoption of emerging technologies across a wide variety of business sectors. The next evolution of the surveillance market is around the corner.
The economy and economics demand that organisations use decision-making that focuses on two very well-known terms, return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO). Security and surveillance departments compete with other disciplines for a piece of an organisation’s budget and, therefore, have to focus on generating positive returns. Fortunately, surveillance investments are able to deliver a significant amount of value in helping protect people and infrastructure, and users have also found ways to enhance the value of these solutions for uses beyond the security sector.
Security in education sector
But there are vertical markets, such as education for example, that face a real-world need to protect from the threat of violence. Although security-based decisions in the education space are often driven by strong emotional response, budgets are still a significant factor. At MicroPower, we are committed to helping schools stay vigilant. In December, we will announce a school security grant programme, designed to help schools build a proactive perimeter security programme. This grant program is part of our effort to give back to the industry and help ensure K-12 schools can deploy the technologies necessary to protect against threats.
| MicroPower are committed to helping schools build a proactive perimeter security programme |
Physical security across markets
2015 has also been an interesting year for the critical infrastructure and logistics markets. These environments recognise a long-overdue need to address risks to the perimeter, and ingress and egress points. Surveillance technology not only helps secure these sites, it can be used to monitor traffic and operations, adding more value to the organisation. But whether these markets continue to be robust remains to be seen. The fluctuation in the price of oil changes the perspective, and we will be observing how these prices will affect the market in 2016.
New security trends and technologies
In the New Year, we can expect to see a number of building trends. The rise in the adoption of technologies that have been proven in other markets, such as solar and wireless, will continue. In the security sector, such advanced systems can help reduce costs dramatically. The continued commoditisation of video surveillance cameras will also continue to revolutionise the market over the next year. Companies that end up on top will do so by differentiating with meaningful benefits, and organisations that focus exclusively on price will prove to be unsuccessful.
MicroPower Technologies was well received in the marketplace in 2015, and was fortunate to be honoured with multiple industry awards for innovations in video surveillance. Our organisation’s business results are now defined by multiples as opposed to the previous year, and we look forward to keeping up the momentum we gained in 2015.
The security market is a sound and sustainable business for innovative companies that can effectively address the risks and issues facing end users. At year-end and looking ahead, there is much potential yet to be realised in use cases for surveillance technologies that leverage sustainable, cost-effective energy and communication solutions to drive new levels of security and efficiency for the end user.
See the full coverage of 2015/2016 Review and Forecast articles here