Security continues to be of prime importance for the video surveillance industry, especially with the market’s transition from analog to IP. Market research shows that demand for security cameras in the Middle East is continuously growing, consequently boosting demand for data storage in the surveillance market. According to 6Wresearch, the GCC video surveillance storage market is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of over 8.5 per cent from 2017 to 2023, video surveillance spending expected to reach $197.8 million by 2021 in the UAE alone.
Recent spate of global threat activities has been an eye opener for most and has finally brought the topic to boardroom discussions. Further, analysts Frost & Sullivan predict the region’s commercial security market to reach $5.6 billion in 2022 amounting to an annual growth of around 16.5%.
In addition to the rising awareness of the threatening security landscape, upcoming regional events like Dubai Expo 2020, KSA’s Vision 2030, etc will also play a vital role in increased adoption of commercial security in the region. That the industry is serious about security was apparent at the recent Intersec event held in the Dubai World Trade Center from 21st to 23rd of January 2018, that saw participation from a number of leading players from the security solution providers.
“Intersec is a strategic platform that allows us to showcase the latest innovation and advancements in security in addition to gaining insights on progress made by others in the region. It also provides us with the opportunity to reach out to potential customers. Participation at Intersec with our partners gave us the chance to throw demonstrate our network capabilities and solutions designed for a smart, safe and sustainable city,” says Abdulla Ahmed Al Falasi, Director of Commercial Affairs, Nedaa.
Organizations around the world are leveraging technology to develop innovative solutions to address the needs of the on-going digital transformation and Smart City initiatives, and the security solution providers are no exceptions.
Stephen Jones, Surveillance Sales Engineer at Seagate adds that as the industry moves steadily away from traditional analog surveillance cameras to the internet-protocol based cameras, we are making sure that we align our products to specifically address this market segment.
“We are using artificial intelligence in video surveillance, face recognition and applications like licence plate recognition, etc. AI-based algorithms that combine big data, deep learning and strong computing power to deliver a more intelligent network that is essential to a safe city ecosystem,” explains Hazem Bazan, Vice President – Channels & Commercial Sales, Enterprise Business Group ME, Huawei.
Gartner forecasts that the number of connected devices will grow to nearly 21 billion by the year 2020 causing a surge in the amount of data being shared wirelessly. While this will open up a number of opportunities, it could also pose serious risks to personal data, such as medical records which is at risk, as well as critical services such as transportation systems or electricity grids. It is therefore crucial to ensure the security of all devices which could have access to this type of sensitive data.
Realizing the need to help organizations conquer their data growth and mobility challenges, DataDirect Networks made their debut at the 20th anniversary edition of Intersec along with distribution partner AlignTech.
“We are showcasing our storage solutions for video surveillance, cost-effective mobile surveillance and body worn camera solutions with on premise and private cloud offerings,” adds Laurent Thiers, Vice President, DataDirect Networks.
“The increased demand for surveillance infrastructures also calls for bigger video storage capacity. We have addressed these concerns by providing a complete line of external storage systems, which can deliver volume, speed, reliability and stability,” states Fadi Kanafani, Regional Director MEA, NetApp.
Kanafani goes on to add that NetApp’s E-Series solution will meet the growing demand from customers seeking more flexibility in their data management requirements. “The technology is designed to meet the bandwidth-intensive streaming requirements of next-generation security cameras,” he adds.
Huawei and its partners also conducted a workshop at Intersec on the latest video cloud and intelligent video surveillance technologies and how they are simplifying the process of the prevention and investigation of crimes.
Taking video surveillance to another level, Bosch MIC IP moving cameras have built-in Intelligent Video Analytics designed for the most demanding environments.
“The MIC IP fusion 9000i camera has dual optical and thermal sensors and is ideal for this region. Further, the camera’s Intelligent Tracking feature is triggered the moment a moving object or person is detected while the MIC IP camera is panning, tilting or zooming,” states Erika Görge, Corporate Communications Manager, Bosch.
Rapid adoption of IoT and growing popularity of IP-based network cameras have led to a rise in demand for storage systems causing certain security concerns to emerge. However, technological advancements and innovation in storage solutions are expected to fuel the growth of video surveillance storage systems in the GCC region. And as the region witnesses increasing investments in various smart city and urban planning campaigns that demand effective CCTV security and surveillance, this segment will continue to see rapid growth.