30 Suppliers to Know - Arecont Vision (Hotel News ME)

How did the Business perform in 2015?
2015 was a challenging year for the surveillance industry as a whole. In this part of the world, the plummeting oil price has contributed to a delay in project execution and budget constraints have forced customers to seek more value for money from their investment is surveillance technology. Having said that, 2015 has been a successful year for Arecont Vision in the Middle East and our business has grown over 20%.

What drove this performance?
Our continued success in the hospitality industry as well as an expansion into the oil, gas and industrial market sectors. Large scale private enterprise, as well as the finance sector, have also contributed significantly.

What were the driving trends in your sector this year?
I would say that multi-sensor 180 and 360-degree panoramic cameras have been a driving trend in 2015. This is the technology that Arecont Vision has led the way in since the release of our first SurroundVideo product back in 2006 however, we've seen many of our competitors launch their first-generation multi-sensor products this year.

How will these shape business operations in 2016?
Multi-sensor cameras are a great tool for covering large areas with less hardware without compromising on scene resolution. They provide what we call SituationalPlus awareness, meaning users can effectively monitor large areas and because of the high camera resolution, identify individuals within a given scene. Multi-sensor technology is a great tool to reduce the total cost of ownership and provide users with a superior ROI.

Which regional country markets are you paying the most attention to in 2016?
We're very optimistic about 2016. We'll be heavily focused on UAE, KSA, Kuwait and Bahrain markets. Surveillance spend in these countries will remain consistent in key market sectors and in some cases, will sharply increase. We'll be looking to position our unique product offering to deliver enhanced value to customers in these areas.

Which markets does the bulk of your business come from and how do you expect that to develop?
The retail and hospitality sectors are big contributors to our business in the region as well as across the globe. Investment in both of these sectors is set to increase, particularly in the UAE and we are confident that the superior price-performance ratio that our products offer will help us retain existing customers and welcome new ones.

From your perspective as an industry supplier, what one piece of advice would you give your clients for the year ahead?
Rather than simply meet legislative requirements, we advise our hospitality customers to view surveillance as a tool to aid operations as well as secure their facilities. Working with manufacturers that supply, innovative, reliable, quality products may slightly increase initial CAPEX however, this will pay off in the future and contribute to significantly reduce OPEX and increasing the life cycle of their surveillance system.