Indian security market to expand manifold

Rothin Bhattacharyya
CEO, HCL Security

How promising is the security and the surveillance market in the country? What are its growth drivers?

The Indian security market is expected to touch $9.6 billion by 2016. The Indian security market, when compared to the global market, is still at a nascent stage, but has immense potential. The demand for security and surveillance products is robust today and their growth is expected to accelerate in the future.

India is an import-driven market with most of the security and surveillance equipments being imported by foreign manufacturers with local presence or domestic importers/distributors. However, high import duties and taxes increase the cost and hence impact the demand. There has been a significant boost in demand in this sector from government and businesses post terrorist attacks like 26/11, which is an encouraging sign.

Does HCL sell third-party products or its own products under HCL brand? Can you elaborate on your Horizon offering?

We sell third-party products. We have multiple partners for diverse standalone products/systems and incorporate them to offer an Integrated Security Framework Solutions.

The security solutions available are HCL Command & Control Centre, HCL “SAFE STATE” and HCL Horizon. 

“Horizon” is the first-of-its-kind Command & Control Centre that could integrate multiple solutions in a single module giving the enforcement agencies. It is an open, flexible framework that offers actionable intelligence and decision support by integrating multiple systems, including video, intrusion, video analytics, fire, access control, HVAC, chemical and biological sensors, etc. 

What kind of trends do you see in the security sphere today? 

The face of security  threats faced by India has changed drastically over the years. Hence, several ICT projects were undertaken by the government. Some of the latest security technologies have been deployed in various areas of the country to combat terrorism. The Commonwealth Games were yet another opportunity where there was a massive focus on security and surveillance deployment.

What is your roadmap in terms of exploring the market opportunities ?

HCL Security has been among the first entrants in the market and we have our aim set to improve our share in the space. There are massive opportunities for investments and the trends are encouraging. The Government will continue to play an indispensable part in this vertical and we will look out for opportunities to be able to provide the best-in- class solutions.

Can you name some of the major security and surveillance deployments in the country?

The adoption of IT by police and armed forces has been a significant step. Not only is it the need of the hour, but also a growth opportunity for this space. The Commonwealth Games of 2010 were a perfect example of this and also the use of technology by the Delhi Police in CWG 2010. 

Besides metros, HCL Infosystems is reaching out to tier-II cities and rural areas. We have deployed our projects in temples/ shipping areas in these locations

What kind of challenges do you see in the security space? 

Managing the homeland security mission is a critical, but complicated task. Due to the ever-changing nature of terrorist threats, the homeland security mission will remain one of the country's most difficult endeavours.

The challenges to the successful implementation and integration of homeland security goals will be to improve coordination and communication between agencies responsible for collecting, evaluating and disseminating intelligence information.

Even structuring a workforce capable of carrying out the homeland security function will be crucial. A certain level of preparedness at the state and local levels will need to be achieved. There is a lot of resistance by authorities in accepting and using the integrated security solutions and lack of trust in them, which needs to be worked upon. 

Do you have any R&D centres in India? In an industry that is changing fast, we need to continually revise designs and range of products. This is necessary due to continuous technology change and development as well as other competitors. R&D ensures the products are technically superior, hence possessing a natural advantage in the market. Although we leverage HCL Infosystem's R&D expertise, we have a dedicated team working to develop state-of-the-art technological innovations in the security domain. “Horizon” is one such solution.

For more contact:
mohini@varindia.com