In tough times, business of security solutions thrives

German security equipment supplier eager to gain a foothold in Pakistan.

LAHORE:

The wave of terrorism, currently enveloping Pakistan, may force many businesses to pull out or reduce their operations to a bare minimum, but there are some that grow in such a scenario, particularly the companies providing security equipment with complete solutions.

CP Plus, a German brand that provides complete security solutions to clients in Germany, the Middle East and India, had kicked off operations in Pakistan few months ago. The company sees massive potential in this market, believing people are unaware of what security tools actually are and how they help save their premises and search for the culprits, in case any untoward incident occurs.

“For people, security arrangements still mean purchase of a camera from the electronics market, without knowing the features, backup plans and other key issues. Pakistanis are using old analogue technology, we are here to change the trend,” said Ahmad Aziz Subhani, Country Manager of CP Plus, in an interview to The Express Tribune.



The brand is enjoying a handsome share in security equipment markets of developed and developing countries. In India, the company was declared the number one brand last year.

It is offering a whole array of electronic security products including analogue cameras, IP cameras, digital video recorders (DVR), network video recorders (NVR), video door phones and recording software.

As strong brands like Samsung, Huawei, Sony, Boss and others are already present, CP Plus may find it tough to make a mark in the market. It is relying on its cost and performance, which are its key benchmarks.

Subhani stresses that there is a strong need to educate not only ordinary people about the technology that the modern world has adopted to shield famous cities, public and private places, but also multinationals, banks, government agencies and departments. Over 90% of them are still using the same old analogue cameras, which often fail to identify the culprits after an incident.

He says the world has shifted to IP and cloud technology, which allows the service provider to store data via dual streaming, but Pakistan is using the old storage system, which criminals often take away with them, leaving no evidence.

The latest technology is flexible in network topology with a centralised storage. In the old system, storage capacity is limited by hard disk space and the number of DVRs whereas in IP solutions the storage capacity is determined by disk space and network bandwidth capacity. Moreover in conventional systems, it is not convenient to ensure a remote backup whereas in IP solutions backup is easy from IP network.

“In Pakistan, both sellers and buyers are unaware of what they are selling or purchasing, sellers often are low-educated salesman who only want to make profits without realising the needs of a person or a company,” says Subhani. The government should put in place some laws for this sensitive matter and implement it strictly, he suggests.

In a market survey, the company has come to know about the loopholes which many famous companies, banks and government departments have despite installing the security system. According to Subhani, many service providers are not aware of the technology shift and are insisting on sticking to the old one because of low prices.

“Some multinationals and elite have now started switching to IP technology, but they are very few in number, once people are aware of the benefits they will definitely shift and that will be the time when not only existing security companies will reap the dividends, but many others will also be able to enter the market,” Subhani adds.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2013.

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