Continuous escalation of crimes and of global terrorism has increased the potential of the IPsurveillance industry in India and around the world. After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the government of India has undertaken several important initiatives to improve security in the country, including installation of CCTV cameras in most public places.
By Nijhum Rudra
The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing tremendous growth in the use of video surveillance systems. IP based surveillance systems are now considered indispensable in a range of industries and in government projects, leading to huge growth in this region.
Why the IP surveillance market is growing
Kiran Dham, CEO, Globus Infocom Limited, a leading Indian IP surveillance solutions provider, states that owing to rising crime, terrorism, communal violence, etc, the video surveillance market in India has witnessed tremendous growth. Additionally, government projects like smart cities, citywide surveillance and educational reforms have also fuelled the need for highly impactful surveillance solutions.
Apart from the demand generated by the government and industrial development projects, video surveillance systems are also being installed at residences, in commercial establishments, and in the transportation sector. Currently, the market is shifting towards IP based surveillance cameras. “Along with their reduced prices, this growing adoption of IP based cameras is being supported by the strengthening IT infrastructure across the nation. The adaptation of highly advanced and evolving technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, and smart video analytics features like facial recognition, starlight technology, etc, have made IP cameras value for money propositions, providing the best quality surveillance at the ideal prices. The video surveillance landscape has shifted towards IP based security cameras,with cloud based solutions, remote monitoring systems and mobile based surveillance solutions giving the user control over security from anywhere,” adds Dham.
Many experts feel that the current IP security industry is still driven by outmoded analogue-based surveillance systems that account for almost 68 per cent of the market. However, conventional users are slowly shifting towards modern and sophisticated IP based surveillance products because of their improved features and applications. For example, the latest IP based video surveillance systems not only efficiently monitor a particular area, but can also identify potential applications.
So, whether it is recognising a fire hazard at a warehouse, counting people at a retail store, identifying aggressive behaviour (or theft), spontaneously letting in authenticated security officers or monitoring staff performance in a hotel, hospital or educational institute, IP-driven solutions have unlocked unprecedented opportunities by leveraging video analytics, which isn’t possible using conventional analogue based devices. However, there’s also a cost benefit associated with making the change, states Abhishek Kumar, regional director, South Asia, Oncam.
The ongoing R&D in the field of video surveillance and security devices is increasing the functionality of such tools. This has improved the graphics resolution of security feeds and decreased the number of devices required. Kumar says, “India is experiencing unprecedented digitisation across all industries. This has increased the need for surveillance and security products within the country. Given this, the segment has witnessed a phenomenal growth rate of 27 per cent in the country over the past couple of years and is expected to reach US$ 2.4 billion by the end of 2020.”
Analogue security devices are much like a video feed that can only bebroadcast or recorded. The data generated by the analogue format cannot be analysed any further. However, the IP surveillance feed can be leveraged for additional insights using wide-ranging digital technologies. Leveraging video analytics and machine learning, security personnel or the relevant authorities can be alerted as soon as an incident occurs and is recorded. This gives IP surveillance products a considerable edge over traditional analogue devices.
Growth of IP based surveillance products
Constant innovations in security, surveillance and network offerings have moderately reduced the cost of specialised products and improved their effectiveness, which is also leading to the growth of the industry. Most importantly, these advances have successfully reduced the cost of deploying security cameras within a premise. The invention of the 360-degree video capturing technology has led to the phasing out of the typical three to four PTZ (pan-tilt- zoom) devices or the traditional CCTV products, and considerably reduced costs.
Various experts in this domain claim that up until 2017, more than 2 million surveillance products were sold in India and that the market was growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent, yearly. At the end of FY 2017, the Indian surveillance market was valued at around ₹ 82 billion, and it reached ₹ 110 billion in FY2018.
| What the expert says |
 “The video surveillance market in India has a huge potential considering the increased demand due to growing security concerns. The demand from various sectors for surveillance measures is only going to reach greater heights in the near future, and this ensures a promising future for the IP surveillance industry. The Indian surveillance market is witnessing immense growth from sectors such as city surveillance, hospitality, airport security, BFSI, retail, BPO, manufacturing, college campuses, infrastructure companies and education. The government, in general, is the biggest segment in terms of volume emand. The private sector also shows vast potential. As per the studies and reports available online, the Indian market can expect 22.5 per cent growth in the surveillance industry by 2025.” |
The Indian video surveillance market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 10.5 per cent during 2018-24. The global video surveillance market is expected to grow from US$ 45.5 billion in 2020 to US$ 74.6 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 10.4 per cent. In India, though the analogue based security systems have an approximate 68 per cent share of the entire market, IP based security systems are expected to take the lead over the next five years owing to sophisticated IP infrastructure, reduced costs, and the demand for deployment in remote areas. Back in 2017, commercial areas, the government, transportation and the IT sector together accounted for around 50 per cent of the revenue from the entire video surveillance storage market in the country.
The Indian Railways and the major transportation hubs in India are also deploying IP based security systems on a massive scale in waiting halls, reservation counters, parking areas, main entrances/exits, platforms, foot overbridges, booking offices, etc.According to research firm IBEF, the Railway Board has approved video surveillance systems for 983 stations, for which this year, a budget of US$ 35.77 million was allotted. In order to offer crystal clear images and more memory, four types of full HD cameras —dome type (for indoor areas), bullet type (for platforms), pan-tilt-zoom type (for parking areas) and ultra-HD 4k (for crucial locations)—are being provided. CCTV camera live feeds are displayed on multiple screens at the Railway Protection Force (RPF) control room for monitoring. Each HD camera at the station consumes approximately 1TB of data storage while a 4k camera consumes 4TB of data storage per month.
Major challenges of deployment
The Indian IP based CCTV market is growing very swiftly and has attracted several major global CCTV brands, such as Axis Communications, Oncam, Samsung, and Sony, as well as domestic firms such as Eureka Forbes, Globus Infocom, etc. But all these companies are facing several challenges in spite of the numerous manufacturing schemes and initiatives announced by the government. Aditya Khemka, CEO and director, Aditya Infotech Ltd, told the electronicsforyou.biz team that the Indian market has been flooded with Chinese products, which are inferior in quality. He says, “We find it hard to compete with these low priced products, and we are all aware that the Indian market is very price sensitive.”
Experts in this sector also feel that Indian consumers are not educated enough to understand the requirement for CCTV cameras, a concept that needs to be fostered. Another bigger challenge is that manufacturing security products in India is quite difficult as none of the components are available locally. The Indian electronics industry still sources 70-80 per cent of the components from other countries, especially from China. The grey market is another barrier to the growth of this sector in India. In spite of the massive demand, there is only limited manufacturing of IP based cameras or CCTV cameras within the country. Many in the industry are quite unaware of the immense potential of this segment, and are still determined to source components from China and other countries. Rather than manufacturing, people are keen on importing the items because outside India, the products are available at a very cheap rate.
“Since there are many major government surveillance projects, owing to the complex nature of the formalities and processes, the timelines of the projects get long drawn out. On the other hand, the deployment challenges include cumbersome procedures, delays in timely approvals, geographical and extreme weather conditions, tough terrain, lack of a clear roadmap for the project, and the shortage of skilled manpower at remote locations. All of This results in difficulties in delivering projects on time, leading to escalating project costs and extended completion time frames. But with the recent changes in government policies, we expect streamlined processes and timely project deliveries,” says Dham.
