Mr. Tony Yang, International marketing director of Hikvision Digital Technology

The future at glance: HD technology, intelligent systems, IP-based products

Mr. Tony Yang, director of international marketing at Hikvision, joined the company in 2008. and had been through some of the major milestones of the company, such as being recognize as the number one DVR suppliers in the world, and being the top 4 video surveillance player in the market. As the key factors for Hikvision's success in different regions and different markets, Mr. Yang mentioned strong relationships with local partners and the company's ability to response very fast to certain specific project requirements. The use of high-definition technology and intelligence, network cameras and other IP-based security devices, Yang stated, represents the mainstream for the very near future. With the success of local partners and strengthening their own company, Hikvision count to become the respectable market player in the Adriatic region security market.  

Author: Nebojša Bogunović

About Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of video surveillance products and solutions in China, we wrote several times in our magazine, either following their new surveillance product market release, either on the occasion of successful installations of Hikvision's equipment worldwide, especially in the Adriatic region. However, we would like to take this opportunity to talk about the company, its breakneck growth and some interesting, successfully completed projects with Mr. Tony Yang, International marketing director of Hikvision.

a&s Adria: Dear Mr.Yang, could you explain in brief to our readers the organizational chart of Hikvision, as it has its manufactures and market representing companies all around the world?

Mr. Yang: Hikvision, with the headquarters in Hangzhou, China, has its R&D team – one of the industry’s biggest with around 1,700 engineers – located here in China, as well as the new manufacturing facility that’s over 100,000 square meters. Basically, the headquarters has the capability to take care of all the technology and product development, as well as the production for the worldwide market demand.

Hikvision is now an international company, with overseas branch offices in the US, Europe and UAE; join-ventures in India and Russia, as well as an international maintenance center in Hong Kong. Apart from that, there are also distribution and system integration partners in the ecosystem, that work with us in different countries to further provide local services to the end customers.

For the China market, there are 31 branch offices in all the major cities of China. This ensures that all the updated products, solutions and services are provided to the market the soonest.

a&s Adria: Can you say something more about your personal engagement with Hikvision?

Mr. Yang: It’s not so often that you get to be involved with a company that grew so dramatically in such a short time in the security market. I joined Hikvision in 2008, and had been through some of the major milestones of the company, such as being recognize as the number one DVR suppliers in the world, and being the top 4 video surveillance player in the market. The company went public in 2010, and is continuously setting up branch offices in different regions and countries. Hikvision is definitely thinking big in the industry, and it’s great to be involved.

a&s Adria: Established in 2001, Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd has grown from a small company, with only 28 people, into a global enterprise with more than 5,000 employees. Relying on its R&D team, which includes 1,700 R&D engineers, Hikvision is now one of the world's leading suppliers of video surveillance products and solutions. Such fast growing trend must be driven by excellent corporate governance and strong-willed employees to raise their company to the top. To what extent did some other factors, such as technology generation shift, contributed to this fast-growing trend? How it looks like that magic formula which enabled such rapid company progress?

Mr. Yang: In the last 10 years, we have seen some major shifts in the industry. Before 1999, the market was all about analog. VCRs using video cassette was the mainstream for video surveillance. But then, from 1999 to 2005, we have seen the industry shifted from analog to digital, using PC-based DVR to replace VCR. Hikvision, seeing the business opportunities at that time, established the company in 2001. With the first video surveillance product released in late 2002 – which was a compression card back then -- Hikvision officially entered into the video surveillance business. With the compression card, Hikvision successfully established a strong base for the future.

Moving along with the industry, from 2005 to 2010, there was a great need for hybrid solutions, meaning the market requires either the combination of analog camera, video server and storage, or analog camera with DVR that has networking functions, to form up video surveillance infrastructure. Hikvision foresaw the opportunity and launched its first embedded DVR with networking functions in 2004. Fortunate enough, embedded DVR gradually replaced PC-based DVR and Hikvision took the chance to expand its business both domestically and internationally.

Moving on, what we believe will be the trend for the industry, is the use of high-definition and intelligence technologies. Network cameras and other IP-based security products will be the mainstream. And Hikvision is now also investing its resources to further develop products and solutions that cater for market demand. With the R&D team of around 1700 engineers, Hikvision has the capability to look into the future and develop what we believe will be the next drives in the industry. That has been the reason for the growth of the company, and hopefully we will still be able to do that for the upcoming years.

a&s Adria: With the largest capacity for continuous innovation, Hikvision offers products including hybrid DVRs, NVRs, standalone DVRs, digital video servers, compression cards, high-definition IP cameras and speed domes. These products are used in more than 100 countries and have been used to secure various security applications around the world. Doing the business at different markets, on different continents, have you ever recognized some market specific factors that are influencing the overall marketing strategy and/or business results in that specific region? 

Mr. Yang: From our perspective, one of the keys to success in different regions and markets will be highly related to the local support, which, for Hikvision, is the relationship with our local partners. They are the ones who are talking to the end customers directly to support on various technical questions, selecting the suitable products and solutions based on their specific project requirement, and train them on use of the products. Without them, it will be impossible to do so. That’s why, for Hikvision, they are not just our customers; they are our partners that grow with us. Only with our partners being successful in the market will Hikvision be able to make it as well.

Knowing what the market requires will be highly influencing the overall marketing strategy as well. With a local partner to work with us will also enable us to get to know more about the local requirement in product and solution, as well as the user behavior and other factors, and further for us to adjust the local marketing approach accordingly.

a&s Adria: Beside the mentioned, some interesting projects were completed in the Adriatic region, as well. Through the Slovenia-based leading security integrator - Sintal d.d., Hikvision ensures all-round surveillance of the Rotonda building in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Can you point out any specific challenges of this project and how did you respond to them?

Mr. Yang: In this project, color rendering and optimal exposure across the range of lighting situations encountered were key considerations. The Rotonda building’s curtain-wall and glass construction techniques have created a requirement to minimize camera ‘noise.’ Accordingly, Hikvision utilized the DS-2CD852MF-E cameras to provide the required detail and optimum total resolution in high-contrast and back-lit situations.

a&s Adria: Next project that is very interesting for us has been implemented in Macedonia. Makedonski Telekom's parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, is respected for its ‘green' credentials, even to the extent of collaborating with Motorola on a cell phone made from recycled plastic water bottles. It was therefore a requirement in the tender for updating video surveillance that analog cameras which were still fit for purpose should be integrated into the networked system, so minimizing carbon footprint. The consultant and installer, Macedonia-based NIKOB Security, responded to this requirement by using Hikvision's video encoders in order to convert analogue footage into IP streams, so that legacy cameras could co-exist with IP-addressable units. Was this a clear sign that "green" environmental initiatives gradually impose as another eliminatory factor in the equipment and supplier choosing process even in the Eastern European region and the Adriatic region as well?

Mr. Yang: The "green industrialization" is the trend in the future, it utilizes high technology, being economical, eco-friendly and sustainable. Digital security technology stands out to be part of the "green industrialization". In the Macedonia installation, we integrated the existing security system seamlessly and with no compatibility problems, eventually reduce resource consumption so as to minimize carbon footprint, protect environment and cut the cost. On the other hand, we use environmentally friendly materials in producing products to minimize power consumption.

a&s Adria: For a two consecutive years, according to IMS Research's "World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment Report", Hikvision was recognized as the number one DVR supplier, and listed for three years in a row in "Security 50" - a market survey recognizing the top 50 security vendors in the global security market (number 10 in 2010). Now, Hikvision is publicly listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with market capitalization of $US5.6 billion. Having this in mind, how big interest can have the company such is Hikvision for the market share in the Adriatic region security market? Are the projects such is the project in Slovenia or the project in Macedonia interesting enough for Hikvision to start thinking about the strengthening of its market activities in this region?

Mr. Yang: We have stepped into the market with correspondent strategies. Expanding the market is what we are doing now, except the project in Slovenia and the project in Macedonia, we have much more other projects as well. And with the company getting bigger, we will definitely put in more resources in this region to enhance the market penetration. Hopefully we will be a significant player in this market.

a&s Adria: How would you rate the involvement of companies that offer your product in the area of the Adriatic region and do you see room for engagement and some other companies in this region in order to increase the share of Hikvision's equipment on this security market?

Mr. Yang: All of our partners involved in the Adriatic region are on the top list of the markets, and they are really doing good business in this region and promote Hikvision hardly, hereby we represent Hikvision to appreciate our partners in Adriatic region.

From Hikvision side, we can see a very clear image in the near future: we have very good products as weapon, and we have good partners in the region as comrade, we can increase our market share day by day.

a&s Adria: What types of projects do you consider as most attractive, and which kinds of applications you are able to cover with your surveillance systems and solutions?

Mr. Yang: Hikvision usually provides generic product platforms that can be tweaked according to the individual project requirement and used in various vertical markets. Therefore, Hikvision covers pretty much every vertical market; particularly the markets like education, transportation, financial institution, retail and stadiums, which from our perspective are the verticals that have been growing significantly in the last few years.

Of course, every vertical is different. Sometimes even within the same vertical, there will be different requirement on the products and solutions. Therefore, to be able to quickly respond to the particular project requirement is the key to success. Hikvision, with the R&D team of around 1700 engineers, is capable of providing the customized solution at the shortest time. For more information of Hikvision’s success stories, please go to Hikvision’s website: http://www.hikvision.com/en/SuccessStory.asp

a&s Adria: Which Hikvision's equipment is especially attracting users worldwide, or what are the features of the equipment from your production lines which are differencing Hikvision's equipment compared to other equipment of other manufacturers?

Mr. Yang: Our new generation DVR products, using TI’s Netra platform, allow enhanced system stability, improved video quality and more flexible HDD management than the previous models. An innovative feature of the new generation DVR products is the ‘hot-standby’ redundancy design, with a primary system in operation and another providing constant backup. If the main system crashes, the back-up system is activated immediately, so ensuring that no data is lost and the DVR continues to function in a stable manner. The user does not notice any operational problems and the switch-over to the secondary system is instantaneous.

a&s Adria: How do you assess the role of media such is our magazine in promotion of new technologies and affirmation of safety culture in the broadest sense?

Mr. Yang: We take media as our partners as well, which can help us to communicate with the market about our new technologies, products and solutions. We therefore value the relationship very much!

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