Siemens is a global company with activities in nearly 190 regions. Having spent many years working on behalf of the BSIA on Euralarm I have fond memories of colleagues and friends who worked for Siemens in Switzerland and Germany, writes Una Riley.
It was during that time that the name of the UK Managing Director was first brought to my attention: Peter Hawksworth. Peter is one of our industry characters within the CCTV market place and was MD of Photoscan (mentioned in the book ‘A History of Video Surveillance in England’ back in the 1960s). Photoscan were at the leading edge of technology in those days for their commercial marketing of video surveillance systems to retail outlets as a means of deterring and catching shoplifters. So when I caught up with Peter I wanted to know more about those times. Peter said: "I was with Photoscan who were specialists in CCTV from the 1960s. By the 1990s they had developed not only their expertise in the retail sector, specialising in Department Stores such as Harrods, House of Fraser, and British Home Stores et cetera, but we were the original designers and implementers of town centre schemes. We led a lot of that initial technology and we were the first to get a conviction using video evidence. We were also the first to develop a ‘switcher’ in the UK and the first to develop a multi-functional camera. Actually, our history was in the manufacturing of the kit because at that time no one else was producing the product that enabled us to provide solutions to the security problems we were encountering … the kit did not exist … so we created it. It was during the nineties that we developed those markets that eventually resulted in the town centre schemes. We also designed systems for high security projects such as the Birmingham Mint and during that time although we were not considered the largest company, we were recognised as a niche player. We were at the cutting edge of thought leadership … when we developed our ‘Interscan’ product for the retail market; it enabled the technology and the worthwhile investment in cameras and security products. We introduced the process to intelligently interrogate and utilise the gathered information and images … once again we were leaders in that area. Interscan was installed in top retail outlets and it supported security departments that were investing in integrated security systems for the first time. We were leaders in that side of the business and that was what I was developing at that time. Photoscan was the type of company that you could rely on and as a result we went on to the investment market and in 2004 it sold out to Siemens for £32m. I dare say that up to that point, part of our proposition was that we sold a lot of product on a rental basis. The advantage of that (from a security point) was that it enabled customers to invest in technology that previously they would have been unable to do. This stimulated the market and ultimately led to the wider adoption of some of those technologies. By the end of the 1990s we could see that the model for security was going to change – a crowded market had started to emerge. However, we foresaw wider opportunities, particularly the change in technology, from analogue based systems and copper wire systems onto digital and IP platforms. By 2004 we were part of the Siemens family. We had identified new markets – one of which was the rail market and the other one was car parks. It was there that we could see the fusion between IP and remote technology and how we could help customers … particularly the car parking structures. We wanted to use the (then) new technology such as ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and create a fusion of products between security products and parking technology products. We won a very innovative deal, about five years ago. We bought back all the existing (security) assets of NCP … a lot of analogue products. We gave NCP a cheque for them all and they in turn sent us a contract. The understanding was that we could upgrade all the technology and at the same time we modelled-in monies to develop a new security type product, specifically for car park applications. So we used a fusion of ANPR to develop a ticketing system and we were also able to develop a web-based product where the customers could book online and simply turn up at the car park of their choice and be admitted in a smooth transition without having to wait.” As we chatted it was obvious that this had been a great deal and a very complex job requiring focused delivery to ensure the integration of over 1500 incongruent camera types, 1360 digital recorders, 1500 barrier entrance points and 2000 help points across 150 car parks. They also had to contend with a legacy spanning ten years of accumulated products and software combinations. However, with the customised finance agreement it enabled NCP to reduce its cost of ownership over the contract period by more than 20 per cent; resulting in a happy customer!”
I went on to ask Peter, what was Siemens’ UK speciality in business? Peter replied: "I think our speciality is propositions…that really add value to overall business and customers. By utilising security technology and identifying other areas of technology that may be bespoke to a particular sector or client and using them together. From an installation point of view I believe in service delivery from the cradle to the grave – from design right through to service, spanning over seven to fourteen year periods. Actually to combat the commoditisation of the market – it is a very fragmented market. We have also tried to introduce new paradigms and a new phase of working.” I asked him to elaborate. Peter replied: "A good example is a contract we have with BAA which is for terminals one and two where we are integrating with their industry specific product and designing the customer requirements and taking that right through to design and installation … it’s the very early stage, we are working together with the builders to make sure that we have got innovative ways of designing systems so that they are more productive and effective to suit the customers needs. As a result of that our technology base has widened to include all the comms, all the networks, the flight information systems, the access control, intruder and CCTV. In fact almost every bit of technology that goes into that building travels through the security platform. Similarly, we are doing a huge integration system for Harrods – which is 1000 cameras and integrated epos system along with a fire system and all the comms. They are all linked together and we work out of hours with seventy people on site on night work. We have widened our proposition to work directly for the end user, rather than through contractors and this methodology has enabled us to offer added value and an ability to ensure that we deliver on our promises. To do that we have developed a number of installation procedures that are geared around a Siemens platform which enable us to have really good close controls on what we are doing – resulting in a delivery mechanism that really works. So I suppose from my perspective looking back on the business, I have taken it from a relatively small integration company, based upon some innovative technology that positioned us at the front of the CCTV market to what it is today, part of a Global organisation. We have tried to keep at the forefront of the industry by changing our proposition to market our innovative partnerships and products right through to higher volume and recurring revenue. Our mission is to afford added value to the customer and their business. As a result of that we have come up with some quite interesting products. At Terminal Five you will encounter a product called ‘Car Finder’ where you put your ticket into the machine and it will tell you where you last parked your car! Again, that was developed from a security platform and an ANPR system. That is an example of how we continually widen our proposition by working direct with the customer. We have to continually make ourselves more attractive to the end-user at a time when I suppose some areas of the product market have become, as I mentioned earlier, commoditised. I think the contrast with some other industry players is that they have to go through a lot of third-party entities to get to their customer.” I asked Peter if the procurement of Photoscan was a smooth transition from a niche player into such a huge global corporation? Peter replied: "One of the reasons Siemens bought Photoscan was because we were always seen to be entrepreneurial … and Siemens are entrepreneurial. Although a very large organisation they are exceptionally customer facing. They are not afraid to delegate responsibility. For example, we operate a matrix structure and we report in to an organisation around the world that turns over a billion pounds …we are seen as number two or three but we are considered a centre of competence for a large number of technologies – such as urban systems and retails systems. In fact we recently won an award for innovation and the range of services that we offer, this was across the globe. The UK are the leaders in the world, maybe not by volume but by innovation. The reason being is that the UK market is so well developed and mature that they look to us for what is going on and what innovation is occurring. On the other hand we attain benefit from being part of a huge organisation and we are taking lots of good ideas from not only our security platform but other areas of Siemens because they work in so many different markets and serve customers in virtually every area that you can think of. They have a really good understanding of what customers want and what is occurring within other parts of our organisation. We have joint meetings where we introduce joint propositions with other parts of Siemens … so that really does benefit the customer ultimately. The result is a win-win for the customer and they end up getting the best of everything. In the energy sector for instance, we work for EDF where we provide all ranges of services. For an example, we provide everything from wind farms and turbines to the remote surveillance and security of those facilities. Therefore, we tend to understand the environment better than most people because many of our sister companies are doing projects in power stations to passport offices. In the media for instance the technology was built by Siemens. The BBC iPlayer for example, is one of our own developments and all that additional information and intelligence allows us to grow. We also have an organisation in Hampshire that is at the cutting edge of telephone and LAN technology…so the R&D that is derived from that also feeds in to us." I asked: as far as the UK market is concerned Siemens does not appear to be portrayed as the global player that it is? Peter replied: "I think that whilst we are in the [market researchers] Plimsoll Top Fifty; it does not totally represent our true position within the market place. If you look at our other divisions that include security, such as our transportation division … Siemens’ dominance within that sector is far higher than what is represented in Plimsoll or what first meets the eye. Photoscan were bought as the front end of Security market and it was a really good marriage, the two have integrated very well and standards have risen. It also helped us to exploit some of the trends in the security market.” What trends are you referring to? I asked. Peter replied: "We were able to harness our knowledge of both security and communications and develop it in to the wider world of security due to the ability to access Siemens’ expertise by way of engineers and R&D. We were able to ‘piggy back’ on this knowledge. Whereas Photoscan, would have had to rely on the standard suppliers, that operated in a focused market place we have been able to channel ideas back and forth to our various divisions from IT to telephony. Therefore, it has accelerated our growth and expertise. Our PMs (Project Managers) are all trained in the same methodology and standard. So if we require an additional PM from Siemens we can rely on the quality of delivery … and more importantly so can our customers.”
