PSI October 2015

PANEL
Tell us what you think
at @SecurityDrum
30
(from page 28)
David Rubens – The
Security Institute
The security technology sector
has already moved through its
first two generations (the first
being the development of new
products, the second being the
integration of those into a wide range of
applications that are both affordable and
technically undemanding), so that there is little, if
any, benefit for the vast majority of customers
from buying top-end technology rather than
entry-level equipment that provides most, if not
all, of the equivalent functionality. Even if the
Chinese market collapses to an extent that
impacts the supply of cheap components, there is
no shortage of emerging Asian economies that
will seize the opportunity to develop an
indigenous manufacturing sector as a way of
boosting their own local, regional and global
business reach.
The challenges will remain the same, namely
how UK companies can add value to their
business offering in a manner that allows them to
compete globally. This can only be done by
offering higher level services associated with
integration; the more complex the systems, the
greater the market benefit. Having recently spent
15 months in West Africa, where my company was
nominated as preferred bidders for a $2m project
for a major airport terminal in Nigeria, I saw that
although we couldn’t compete with local dealers
on component price, we had skills associated
with complex systems integration that
differentiated ourselves from the local market.
After that, it was a matter of developing business
relationships with those organisations that could
potentially benefit from our knowledge, and then
seeing what benefits we could bring to their
operations.
I don’t foresee any up-turn in the local or
global economy any time soon, so it is those
companies that can best manage ‘on the edge’
that will survive through tough times, and thus
be in a position to take advantage of any
subsequent up-turn.
Alistair Enser –
Vanderbilt
For more than two decades
China has been a major
contributor to economic
growth and low global
inflation, so the country’s
recent stock market crash has, understandably,
sent shockwaves around the world. Without
doubt, the 40 per cent drop in the value of
Chinese stocks since June has exposed the
vulnerability of what is purported to be an
international economic recovery.
Like most other industries, the UK’s security
sector will be keeping a keen eye on
developments – and so it should. However, is it
time to panic? I don’t think so.
It’s worth remembering that the pace of
change within a country with almost 1.4 billion
people has been frenetic and pundits have long
predicted a ‘correction’ in its economic fortunes.
For the UK, the biggest problem concerns how
long this process will take – there is precious
little in the government’s armoury left to counter
the effects, with interest rates remaining at a
historical low. A long drawn out downturn could
see confidence knocked and once this hits the
construction sector then security manufacturers
would certainly feel the negative effects.
In addition, security vendors that use China as
their main manufacturing base will be concerned
about the future. However, most organisations
will have pre-empted this by spreading their
activities across other countries and regions.
Eastern Europe is growing in popularity in this
regard and as China moves towards a more
consumer led culture, workers’ demands for
higher pay and improved working conditions
could well put some investors off.
In terms of competition, for UK companies the
“Like most other industries, the
UK’s security sector will be keeping
a keen eye on developments – and
so it should. However, is it time to
panic? I don’t think so”
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