security technology industry outlook The CEO of Dahua, Fu Liquan, believes the company will be able to continue to grow at the same rate for another 3–5 years due to more intelligent functions at the edge. “CCTV has not hit the ceiling, there is still a lot of room for growth”, he says. By Henrik Söderlund “CCTV has not hit the ceiling, there is still a lot of room for growth”, says Dahua CEO Fu Liquan. Video analytics will sustain Dahua’s growth Dahua is the world’s second biggest video surveillance manufacturer with more than 10,000 employees and was ranked as the fourth biggest security company in the world in the A&S Security 50 report 2016. “We have a plan until 2018, but we cannot reveal any details. But before 2008, our CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) was 37 per cent. From 2008 to 2014 we have experienced rapid growth of 47 per cent and we wish to keep that”, says Fu Liquan. He believes there are many reasons for Dahua being able to sustain this rapid growth. “Because of the technology and high functionality, like video analytics, people counting and others, we can fulfil or solve customer requirements and increase the business intelligence. Therefore, for us, CCTV has not yet hit the ceiling; there is still a lot of room for growth. I believe we still have 3-5 years or more with this level of high growth.” Increased marketing budget Dahua is now growing faster abroad than in China. Domestically it holds the second position but the company stresses that there are markets where it is leading, like in the Guangxi province and in Brazil for example. Fu Liquan says that Africa is Dahua’s fastest growing market in terms of percentages, but there are also good growth opportunities in Europe. “We have been selling individual hardware products, and in the future there will be more solutions. This will drive the growth in Europe”, says Fu Liquan. Dahua admits it has previously been too conservative with marketing, and that it now places greater emphasis on personnel training and localisation in the individual markets. The company is also more involved in project solutions and government projects than before. All this together will increase growth, Fu Liquan believes. “After many years of working hard in Europe, we have already entered the top three in multiple markets”, he says. The Dahua CEO mentions the UK as a market where HD-CVI has been very successful. “We first introduced HD-CVI into this market three years ago and it has been a great success. In many cases, one cannot change the cabling and according to the research, 50 per cent of the replacement market is changing from analogue to high definition.” The major trends Fu Liquan sees three major trends in the video surveillance industry. The first one is HD 24/7: “No matter if it is daytime or night time, the picture should always be clear with high resolution.” The second trend is artificial intelligence and the fact that the hardware is able to learn through experience. The longer the usage, the more data it can process. Finally what Fu Liquan refers to as technology fusion: cameras with video analytics combined with other digital sensors. “This kind of technology will fulfil market demands and it is the future”, says Fu Liquan. He believes that the Internet of Things can bring value and success eventually, but it is still at an early stage. “Google indicates that IoT is coming. Video surveillance cameras are one of the sensors and combined with other sensors, it “That is a market that combines a great deal of technology, for example floor management, PA systems and other technologies. When brought into the building, technology can make building management much easier, more intelligent, and it can bring more convenience to the building users. This is a market that will grow.” Looking for acquisitions While, for example, Canon has acquired Axis and Milestone, Chinese companies within the physical security industry have been very cautious when it comes This kind of technology will fulfil market demands and it is the future.” can create more value within our everyday lives. We began with people counting in 2001 and looking at the flow of big data and analysis up to now, we think it has created some value for the human life and therefore IoT is definitely something to expect in the future”, Fu Liquan says. Smart buildings According to Dahua, the market for smart buildings and the market for smart homes are both in an early phase in China, and therefore it is hard to say how big the markets might be. However, Fu Liquan sees growth potential in the smart buildings market. to acquiring western companies. However, this year Hikvision acquired Pyronix. “We are also looking for and would welcome an opportunity, to work with a quality company. However, we are still looking…”, Fu Liquan says. Dahua’s biggest challenge lies inside the business according to its CEO. “I think market competition is always there and that is not always a bad thing, sometimes it makes you grow. But the biggest challenge for Dahua always comes from inside; to become better and much more advanced. This always comes from inside the company.” Security News Every Day – www. securityworldhotel.com 20 • d etektor internati onal