Today’s UK market is more competitive than it has ever been with more companies from all corners of the globe selling a range of products that compete on many levels including price, technology, quality and aesthetic appeal.
With a vast range of products available, you could argue that, as a whole, manufacturers are responding to the challenge of providing what the market wants – a product for every situation, budget and application. But the demands from the market are more sophisticated than that and the challenge for each supplier is to respond to individual customer needs.
Some market requirements are determined by directives and legislation – one of the most obvious of these in recent years has been the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) which drove manufacturers to create new door entry solutions that were designed to help the hard of hearing and visually impaired. Another trend has been in the dramatic increase in the need for vandal resistant solutions – not in response to legislation but more in response to a social trend.
Trickle down technology
From a technology point of view, the demands on the manufacturer also continue to grow. Much of this is due to the trickle-down of technology from other industries into security. Specifiers are setting technology challenges for door entry systems that they know can be achieved in other areas of building services and management. The quality of video image on a door entry system is one such area and the days of ‘grainy’ images have given way to calls for high quality and definition. And why not? If the building owner is prepared to pay, the industry should respond – or be left behind.
It has been a similar situation with biometrics where the availability of a technology – once linked almost exclusively to criminal detection – is now an everyday request for both single door entry or as a networked system in the commercial, local authority and even domestic market sectors. Following this, face recognition for door entry in non-high security establishments is already here too.
Software developments will continue to play a critical role in door entry solutions. Again, suppliers must ensure they have fully qualified, up to the minute knowledgeable software engineers to provide solutions for customers with the best available software.
As in all industries, whatever the market wants, it wants it delivered more quickly. Building security is an issue that demands an instant remedy. Those suppliers that want customers to keep coming back must be able to turn a request into a delivery and a solution in the shortest possible time. Rest assured: if you cannot deliver, somebody else can and not with any detrimental effect on product quality.
Customer has final say
Talking of quality, whilst it is taken for granted that all reputable manufacturers have the necessary quality approvals and procedures, the customer has the final say. Any dropping below the line of what is acceptable will quickly result in returned products and costly remedial work or product replacement. A big order may look very profitable, but that can quickly be eroded if the product is not fit for purpose.
When it comes to profitability and prices, all manufacturers are inevitably asked to provide the keenest of prices. This naturally creates healthy competition and inevitably some lost orders. It is important that customers understand the implications of the price. The adage that you get what you pay for applies. Pay more and expect more in terms of added value technical and customer support services. Pay less and you may well get no more than just the product and the grey box it arrives in.
It is also how the manufacturer reacts to demands for lower prices that is important – having a pricing strategy in place and not deviating from it for a “fast buck” is important. The market in the long term will appreciate the stance and recognise your company’s relevant position in comparison to other suppliers. Distributors have an absolutely vital role to play in the market place. Supporting and respecting their position is essential to all manufacturers. Their requirements should be listened to as much as those of the specifier, installer and building owner.
Supporting the installer
Providing them with the material to help distribute your products more easily and effectively is a must. The same applies to supporting the installer – making products easy to work with and install, providing good technical documentation, customer support and product warranties are essential. Training, either in-house or on site, should also be an essential element of the customer services offered.
Architectural and building design trends are also evolving at arguably a faster rate than ever before. Colours, styles and aesthetics now in demand are, once again, the result of other design trends influencing the door entry market. As yet, designs are not changing as quickly as mobile phones and there is still a relatively long product life-cycle, but manufacturers must be alert to the aspirations of the market and deliver products to suit.
As we move towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century, intelligent buildings and building automation are phrases used more and more in everyday life. No longer just a play-thing for the rich and famous, intelligent building controls can make the lives of everyone that much more comfortable, including those of user groups such as the disabled.
Lighting, heating, electrical appliances and even the effects of the sun on a building can now all be controlled from within a building or from the other side of the world via the internet or GPS. And of course, so can security devices. It is up to us to ensure that this growing market is not ignored and this is a further challenge to the industry to give this market what it wants.
– John Rickard is MD of Videx Security
Free Download: The Video Surveillance Report 2023
Discover the latest developments in the rapidly-evolving video surveillance sector by downloading the 2023 Video Surveillance Report. Over 500 responses to our survey, which come from integrators to consultants and heads of security, inform our analysis of the latest trends including AI, the state of the video surveillance market, uptake of the cloud, and the wider economic and geopolitical events impacting the sector!
Download for FREE to discover top industry insight around the latest innovations in video surveillance systems.
