South Asia, Oncam
The rise of global terrorism and other crimes has strengthened the Indian IP surveillance market. The government has also undertaken various initiatives to install surveillance cameras in important public places. Reports claim that over two million surveillance products were sold in 2017. Experts also claim that the domestic IP surveillance market is 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; it reached ₹ 110 billion in FY2018 and is expected to touch ₹ 200 billion in FY2020. Electronic Bazaar’s correspondent, Nijhum Rudra, speaks with Abhishek Kumar, regional director, South Asia, Oncam, about the current IP surveillance market in India, the trends, and how this sector could be a game changer in the electronics industry.
EB: What are your views on the Indian security market? In this context, how are IP surveillance products gaining market share?
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 over the past couple of years and is expected to reach US$ 2.4 billion by 2020.
As far as IP surveillance products are concerned, they are the only way forward for us. Analogue security devices are much like a video feed that can only be broadcast or recorded. The data generated by the analogue format cannot be tapped any further. However, the IP surveillance feed can be leveraged for additional insights using wide-ranging digital technologies. Leveraging video analytics and machine learning, we can easily alert security personnel or the relevant authorities as soon as an incident occurs and is recorded. These are some of the factors that give IP surveillance products a considerable edge over traditional analogue devices.
EB: Can you describe the various challenges the Indian electronics industry is facing? Do you think the recent NPE 2019 will be a game changer for the surveillance product market?
The National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019 will be a game changer in India as it will catalyse education-centric innovations within the ESDM (electronic system design and manufacturing) sector. It will help in developing core components within India, along with the development of the relevant infrastructure. The programme also envisions supporting startups working in forward-looking technology domains such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, virtual reality, and so on. So, we believe that this move is perfectly aligned to address the current challenges while simultaneously supporting our future needs. It will make our national infrastructure more robust and place it on an equal footing with more developed markets.
As a rising economy, India doesn’t have the edge of a competitive electronics sector. So, promoting domestic electronics hardware manufacturing becomes very critical. We are looking forward to domestic manufacturing as our business footprint expands. The NPE 2019 will be helpful in enabling companies like us when it comes to domestic manufacturing.
EB: What are the various challenges that IP surveillance products like CCTV cameras are facing in India? How does Oncam tackle these?
IP surveillance products are based on digital technology and require a local network to function. This local network may or may not be linked to the Internet, which is something that depends on the exact nature and function of the security product. However, if any of the individual network nodes get compromised, it directly expands the attack surface of the entire IT architecture. A cyber attacker can even penetrate deeper into the core IT infrastructure using sophisticated methodologies such as APT (advanced persistent threat).
So, it is imperative to plug all of these loopholes with the relevant cyber security measures.
At Oncam, we have made considerable advancements on this front and have protected our devices from all known CVEs (common vulnerabilities and exposures). Our products also have IEEE802.1X capabilities, which ensures port-based authentication. In our setup, the VMS enterprise server acts as an authentication server that is typically trusted, and can receive and respond to requests for network access.
EB: How much growth do you expect for the company in 2019?
Oncam has ramped up its operations in India and is actively joining hands with all stakeholders. This includes national and state governments, diverse market verticals, large businesses, and the MSMEs. We have recently also launched ONVU Learning, a superior, tech-driven learning mechanism in India. This will ensure that the youth of our country receive quality skills training across all fields. All of these initiatives have added impetus to our growth. Our projections reveal that we will be experiencing a 100 per cent year-on-year growth in 2019.
EB: It appears that Oncam has a presence in the oil and gas, safe/smart cities and retail sectors? Can you tell us a little more about what you are trying to achieve in these sectors?
Our vision is to create a safe, effective and efficient environment for all stakeholders within these sectors. In as few words as possible, every process will generate optimal output if policies and procedures are followed correctly. Moreover, the supplementary data generated will help us visualise how we can streamline and enhance these policies and procedures. Surveillance solutions, given their ability to non-intrusively monitor wide-ranging processes, can help us achieve this with greater effectiveness.
EB: How do you see the Budget 2019 impacting the IP surveillance industry? Is this sector expecting any positive elements from this budget?
The Union Budget 2019 has placed an emphasis on smart cities, national corridors and borders, as well as CCTV deployment in railways. All of these initiatives will need surveillance and security solutions. Considerable momentum can be experienced within the market because of the budget, and this will only increase as soon as the ongoing elections are concluded.
The budget, which reflects the government’s focus on logistics, is creating a lot of opportunities for us. India is building the maximum number of airports and metro railways. Our cameras are preferred in this sector as we cover large areas, thereby reducing blind spots. So, recent budgets, including the current one, have created immense opportunities for us.
EB: What is the current scenario in the Indian surveillance industry?
India is modernising and so are its industries. Businesses are looking for additional ways to make the most out of their existing resources. This is an area where cutting-edge technologies are serving as a market enabler. Large and small businesses are actively adopting surveillance products. This is increasing their penetration within the market while also paving the way for more advanced applications.
EB: Can you please explain the business model of your organisation? What are your mission and vision?
We engage with end customers directly. However, we are among the very few companies that follow a consistent two-tier distribution and systems integrator module. Our consistent channel policy has helped us create a loyal channel base.
EB: What is your current market share and what are you targeting for FY 2019?
The market is very fragmented and hence it is difficult to gauge our exact market share. Within the wide angle video segment, we are amongst the technical leaders in the country. If we include our direct business with that of our strategic alliance partners, Oncam is the preferred wide angle brand in the country today. We have won contracts for more smart cities, airports, defence, and oil/gas projects than any of our competitors.
EB: What are your contributions to smart city projects in India?
Our products are widely preferred in smart and safe cities for incident detection. Our lenses ensure that nothing misses the eye of the camera. Our solution has been implemented at the Faridabad and Surat smart cities, and is a part of the Ranchi smart city.
EB: How many channel partners do you have and what are your expansion plans for the coming years?
At present, Oncam has national partners who work at large enterprise projects. We also have multiple regional channel partners across India. We continuously strive to onboard value added channel partners to meet the increasing demand for our products.
EB: What is your roadmap for the coming years?
Currently, most of our business comes from data centres, smart cities, defence, and the oil/gas sector. These verticals form 80 per cent of our business. Our plan is to keep penetrating these segments while constantly tapping new business verticals. Transportation, education and retail are three verticals that we plan to target with our innovative product launches.
