From a global perspective, the UK is arguably the most advanced security and surveillance market. As IP technology has now started to take over an increasingly large part of the market, many of the UK’s large and complex legacy systems are looking to find a way to upgrade their solutions without having to replace their infrastructure. A new product series, developed in the UK, may just be the answer to the problem. In this article Vibeke Ulmann speaks to Andrew Pigram – Technical Director of Norbain, one of the UK’s largest distributors of security equipment, and Sara Bullock, pictured, International Sales and Marketing Director of AMG Systems, UK-based manufacturers of security and surveillance equipment, to gauge the outlook on the industry in 2014 and discuss how to bridge the technology gap between analogue based legacy systems and IP technology.
In many respects 2013 came across as a turbulent and tough year in the UK security market. Generally the market was sluggish because projects were postponed or downright cancelled. End-users were undecided on use of technology and the public sector spending on security projects was cut to the bone. However, in hindsight the market behaviour in 2013 was probably more a result of the accumulated tough market conditions which prevailed the previous four to five years, caused by the recession. A ‘hangover’ so to speak, and a very unpleasant one too!
Oversupply and price sensitivity
The UK market has more brands vying for security business than anywhere. Any manufacturer worth their salt knows that the UK market is ahead of the game, and this invariably leads to oversupply and makes an already tough market even more price sensitive. This is one of the main reasons that margins have been under huge pressure over the last few years.
Outlook for 2014
According to Sara Bullock, International Sales and Marketing director of AMG Group: “I am cautiously optimistic for 2014. The lack of spending in the UK market, which really started in 2009, seems to be easing a bit, and as the country as a whole now has a more optimistic outlook on the financial climate, the wheels are starting to turn at a greater speed. As a result, we saw a marked increase in new opportunities and order intake in the last quarter of 2013 and that trend is continuing.”
Andrew Pigram, Technical Director of Norbain, says: “I consider the UK market to be a more or less flat market, if you look across all the sectors we work with. However, there are huge variations. The Retail sector has been very prudent with investment in security solutions over the past few years, but we can now see increased activity and we expect growth in this sector in 2014 to 2015. I also note that construction is picking up and we see an increase in new projects coming from the commercial sector in general. But things are still somewhat stuck when it comes to government funded projects, such as hospitals.”
IP is here
Over the past five years the mantra has been IP (Internet Protocol) and many predictions from the industry analysts have told us that IP is the future. While there is no denying the advantages of using IP technology for new systems built from scratch, especially for large scale solutions, it’s harder for smaller applications to gain maximum benefit. This is why many small projects in the UK are still relying on analogue technology. Moreover, it has taken longer than expected for the UK market to move seriously into the IP era. Compared to the Middle East, for example, we’re still somewhat running behind. It is estimated that between 30 per cent and 50pc of the UK market is now IP based, depending on who you ask. You might wonder why it is taking so long for IP to truly take hold in the UK market, but the explanation is straight forward. Quite simply, the reason is that we have so many large legacy systems built on analogue technology that a swap to IP is not affordable, as it would require the entire backbone infrastructure to be replaced. Not a viable option!
As a niche company, AMG Systems have had long-running success with their fibre optic based transmission solutions which have been installed across both the security and IT sectors. When a gap was identified in the market to allow for the easy combination of analogue and IP systems within the same network, AMG wasted no time in embarking on research and development to find a solution that could bridge the technology gap. The result is the so called ‘Wonderbox’, a series of ruggedised Ethernet switches launched in 2013. This product series not only provides Layer 2 Managed Ethernet functionality, but ‘bridges the gap’ between analogue and ‘IP’ technologies by supporting integration of low-speed serial data channels and alarm contacts, alongside analogue and IP video, onto an Ethernet backbone. This approach reduces hardware and infrastructure requirements as well as maintenance and support costs.
Norbain shape
Andrew Pigram says: “Norbain is in good shape to address the market in 2014. We represent more than 150 brands – some are very large, and some are very specialised. We have a long standing relationship, over many years, with AMG Systems. Their technology has been – and still is – very innovative. They aim to facilitate better usage of the infrastructure and, although AMG’s world could be considered very specialist, they have expert know-how within the sectors they work with and they’re extremely good at supporting large complex systems. Their products are very easy to install and work with. A key point is that their training is very good, as is their pre-sales support, which is very valuable when we embark on new projects. With the ‘Wonderbox’ AMG has delivered a solution which allows complex installations to move into the IP world, whilst retaining their existing infrastructure. We welcome the product into our portfolio and I am convinced that our customers will appreciate the value they can get from implementing it. As a result, I expect that Norbain will have an increased sale of AMG products in 2014 to 2015.”
Need for partnerships
The partnership with AMG is underpinned by both parties’ recognition of the mutual benefit of such relationships. AMG supplied their 24 port PoE Ethernet switch to form the backbone transmission solution for Norbain’s stand at Intersec 2014 last month. In turn, Norbain exhibited and promoted the AMG-Panogenics, PanoCam360 fisheye camera integrated with Milestone at the show.
Sara Bullock says: “AMG is fortunate in the sense that we have invested a lot of effort and resources in building a strong brand which is known throughout the world for great quality, low MTBF and ‘plug and play installation with easy integration. But, as a small specialist manufacturer, we are obviously relying heavily on partners. We need consultants and specifiers to include our products in their recommendations and tenders. To this end we’re fortunate that many of the consultants and specifiers working in the Middle East, for example, are British nationals, who have taken their expertise overseas. Working with a well-known distributor like Norbain also helps us to reach further into the Systems Integrator and end-user communities, which has great value and helps to showcase our technology to a much wider audience than we would be able to on our own.”
Overall optimism
Taking the focus back to the UK market the conclusion is that, overall, both Norbain and AMG are seeing the signs of optimism and this will stimulate growth in some sectors. There is a significant sense of pride in the fact that UK based companies can still develop and manufacture sophisticated, affordable security & surveillance technology despite the fact that the majority of the security equipment for surveillance is now being manufactured in the Far East.
When it comes to industry shows, outside of Intersec, both companies are looking at a series of roadshows visiting the main geographical regions in the UK market over the course of the year. Norbain will also have a presence at IFSEC, where the Vista brand will be featured. Both companies exhibited several times at the Security TWENTY 13 shows and are planning their attendance at the TWENTY 14 series of shows.
