Genetec, Milestone Systems and Motorola Solutions have grown to become the “big 3” suppliers of video surveillance software, video analytics and managed services. According to a new report from Novaira Insights, the global market for video surveillance software and managed services was worth $2.2 billion in 2020 with around 69% of this outside China.

However, the supply base outside China is very different to that of the Chinese domestic market. The world excluding China is served, not only by the big 3, but also by a multitude of other international suppliers, each with a small market share of less than 3%. In comparison, China is served by domestic suppliers like Hikvision, Dahua and “AI unicorns” like Sensetime and Megvii.

The report, “The world market for video surveillance hardware and software”, shows that, outside China, the market for of video surveillance software and managed services continued to grow slightly in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Growth In the Americas was highest. Here, revenues from video surveillance software and managed services grew 8.8% in 2020. Many end-users took advantage of facilities being closed to upgrade their software. This focus on upgrading software led to end-users re-evaluating their entire back-end architectures. This resulted in greater use of cloud in architectures and increased spending on software managed services. These factors contributed to an acceleration in the proportion of revenues from recurring spending. The report forecasts high average annual growth of 12.1% in the world excluding market from 2020 to 2025.

According to Jon Cropley, principal analyst at Novaira Insights, “Genetec, Milestone and Motorola grew their combined share of the world excluding China market for video surveillance software and managed services to 33% in 2020. Software continues to be a key differentiator in video surveillance system functionality and will continue to offer these and other suppliers high revenue growth opportunities in future years. Furthermore, the bounds of what is classified as video surveillance software continues to expand with additional and sometimes specialist functionality brought about by integrations of video analytics and other sensors”.

The global video surveillance market revenues are set to reach $24 bn by the end of 2021 according to Omdia’s latest Video Surveillance and Analytics Intelligence Database.

This marks a quick recovery for the video surveillance market as demand that was suppressed in 2020 will return and revenues will be bolstered by projects that were postponed in 2020 due to Covid getting the greenlight in 2021. Omdia forecasts that total video surveillance market revenues will grow to $31.9bn by 2025 with a total CAGR of 7.1% between 2020-2025.

Thermal body temperature solutions
According to the analysts, the size of the thermal body temperature solutions market has rapidly grown to $1.3 bn globally in 2020. Driven by Covid-19 precautions, this technology has been adopted by several regions, in particular China, East Asia, India and the Middle East. However, without the growth in thermal body temperature solutions, the global video surveillance equipment market declined 3.8% globally in 2020

Despite being a driving growth factor in 2020, Omdia forecasts the thermal body temperature solutions market will decline rapidly in 2021 to just $137 million, an 89.8% decline, ultimately limiting the overall video market surveillance market growth.

Various factors increase average selling prices
Omdia expects average selling prices of video surveillance equipment to increase in the short term as US-China geopolitical tension and supply chain constraints from the Covid-19 pandemic increases pressure of vendor margins.

In recent years US-China geopolitical tensions within the video surveillance industry have escalated. The initial NDAA and blacklisting of Hikvision, Dahua and Huawei within the US is being augmented by new FCC regulations.

Oliver Philippou, Research Manager – Physical Security at Omdia commented: “The semiconductor shortfall driven by geopolitics and Covid impact has affected all industries, and video surveillance is no exception. This disparity between supply and demand is expected to last until mid-2022.

Longer term Omdia expects that there will be a greater adoption of the network camera products using AI deep learning acceleration and inference at the endpoint. This will result in higher average prices of network cameras.

Chinese impact on market revenues
The Chinese video surveillance market is estimated to have grown 6.4% in 2020 compared to the global average of 2.2%. This growth is mainly attributed to the thermal body temperature solution. The market excluding such solution is estimated to have decline by 0.8%. As such, China now accounts for 50% of the global market revenues. However, a combination of Covid-19 and the completion of Xue Liang programme has resulted in declining government investment in video surveillance in China. Even so, the government investment will continue grow, all be it at a slower rate.

Tommy Zhu, Senior Analyst – Physical Security at Omdia commented: “One of the major factors that drove the China’s market growth in the past few years was government investment. Although the year of 2020 marks the completion of Xue Liang programme, the government will continue to enhance the construction of Safe China during its 14th Five-Year plan. In addition, as China is rolling out its trillions of dollars investment in new infrastructure construction, the demand for video surveillance equipment is expected to continue to grow. Besides, China’s ambitions to accelerate the transformation to a digital economy will boost the investment in both public and private sectors.”

The manufacturer-independent SySS GmbH has tested and certified the security of the MOBOTIX 7 intelligent video platform and MOBOTIX Mx6 security cameras. As a result, the leading institute for penetration tests in Germany has confirmed the best possible cybersecurity of Konica Minolta’s MOBOTIX products series.

During the tests, hardware and software components are subjected to simulated hacker attacks in several scenarios. These correspond to the current cyber attacks, which have recently led to data tapping and data hijacking worldwide. The testers of SySS GmbH are familiar with the recent attack methods on IT systems and research how to prevent the intrusion into digital infrastructures. With this exclusive know-how, SySS GmbH tests IT landscapes and looks for weaknesses and security vulnerabilities.

“The renewal of the SySS certificate for the MOBOTIX 7 platform and the Mx6 camera series, which both are part of Konica Minolta video solution services portfolio, confirms our high standards in terms of security. We only offer our customers video solution services that provide the best possible protection – not only for people, facilities, goods, grounds, or buildings but also for the data that our recordings collect,” said Shintaro Inoue, Head of Video Solutions Services, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe.

The MOBOTIX 7 platform and the Mx6 camera series are among the market-leading systems in IoT camera applications. They are appreciated worldwide for their robustness, durability, and energy-efficient solutions. Despite the decentralised approach, the system is ONVIF and H.264 compliant.

ASSA ABLOY has signed an agreement to sell its Nordic locksmith business CERTEGO to Nalka Invest, which invests in small- and medium-sized businesses primarily in the Nordic region.

CERTEGO is a market-leading locksmith and security solutions installation business in the Nordic region. It provides planning, installation and managing of mechanical, electro-mechanical and electronic security solutions for customers across multiple verticals. CERTEGO has a network of around 70 locations with some 1,200 employees in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. The impact from the divestment on ASSA ABLOY external sales is around SEK 1.5 bn.

“Recent trends in the security solutions installation market, including the growing need to offer a comprehensive range of different solutions, has led us to reconsider the merits of continued ownership of CERTEGO. We have concluded that a divestment would allow EMEIA to focus resources in its core business. I am confident that Nalka Invest will take CERTEGO to the next level as part of their business transformation and wish them and the CERTEGO team every success in their future endeavors,” says Neil Vann, Executive Vice President of ASSA ABLOY and Head of EMEIA Division.

The transaction will have a positive effect on ASSA ABLOY´s operating margin going forward. The divestment will result in a capital loss and exit costs amounting to approximately MSEK 200.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2021.

Motorola Solutions is launching the newest addition to its video security and analytics portfolio, Concealed Weapon Detection (CWD), through an agreement with Evolv Technologies, Inc.

The scanning solution uses advanced sensors and artificial intelligence to detect a wide range of concealed weapons and threats, such as firearms, metallic weapons and improvised explosive devices, on a visitor entering a premises. The introduction of this technology is a part of Motorola Solutions’ ongoing commitment to the innovation and integration of security technologies that help organisations increase safety.

The solution is designed to allow up to 3600 visitors to walk through one of the scanning systems per hour without having to conduct pat downs or empty pockets as the technology can distinguish between personal items and weapons. If a threat is detected, an alert is displayed on an Express tablet showing the location of the potential threat on the person’s body, or in their bag, to security operators. Alerts are sent directly to Motorola Solutions’ video management system, Avigilon Control Center (ACC), which automatically notifies and shares live video with the facility’s security team so they have precise awareness of the situation and can support an immediate response.

“Through the use of AI, we are automating and unifying workflows to better protect people against the threat of violence,” said John Kedzierski, senior vice president, Video Security & Analytics at Motorola Solutions. “Concealed Weapon Detection is an excellent example of how technology can help enterprises prevent threats from turning into tragedies.”

In addition, the sensitivity levels on the CWD solution can be adjusted to align with the safety needs of a facility based on their anticipated threat-scenarios. This capability allows for the technology to identify and flag new threat profiles over time, and enables security personnel to manage data and insights that help to provide a safe and positive experience for visitors and staff.

Bosch Building Technologies has installed an innovative fire detection system at a key manufacturing site for corrugated cardboard in Ecuador: At the factory operated by Industria Cartonera Palmar (Incarpalm), the video-based fire detection system Aviotec provides around-the-clock fire safety amid challenging conditions thanks to innovative AI algorithms.

Incarpalm relied on Bosch partner Adeatel to install a system that complies with legal guidelines for high-risk manufacturing sites while exceeding the performance of conventional fire detectors and reducing false alarms. Integrated on the Bosch Video Management System (BVMS), the intelligent video sensors rely on machine learning algorithms to detect fires at their source within seconds, thereby ensuring safety and business continuity at the site in Machala, capital of Ecuador’s banana industry.

Challenging conditions
Before choosing the video-based solution from Bosch, Incarpalm was looking to comply with local legal requirements for the pulp and paper industry, which had been updated in collaboration with fire protection services. In addition, the paperboard factory houses large amounts of industrial machinery while the paper-based raw materials generate a dry, dusty, and highly flammable environment. Plus, heat from machinery such as IR dryers and conveyor belts poses additional fire hazards to raw pulp paper sheets and finished cardboard products. As Incarpalm learned, conventional point-type detectors fall short of providing fire safety under these conditions. That’s because these devices rely on detecting smoke particles in the air, which can take several minutes to rise – especially when detectors are mounted on high warehouse and factory ceilings. But in that short time span, fire can already spread and potentially harm employees, while an entire business could literally go up in smoke.

Light signals travel faster
Responding to Incarpalm’s specific requirements, the experts performed a thorough site assessment and conceptualised an integrated system based on a new generation of intelligent fire detection: It relies on light signals that travel much faster than smoke particles to spot smoke and fire even in the smouldering stages. Built-in machine learning algorithms, programmed to sound alarms for colour changes and visual patterns associated with fires, can detect fires within seconds.

The Aviotec IP Starlight 8000 devices deployed at the warehouse are VdS-certified and highly resistant against false alarms; they can also operate in the dusty and low visibility environment that is typical for cardboard manufacturing. Additional challenges included vibrations from the machinery and pipes, solved by adjusting the position and sensitivity settings of Aviotec devices on the premises. As live tests confirm, the solution can now sense active flames within seconds.

The installation of the video-based fire safety solution is the first of its kind in all of Ecuador, but not the last: Incarpalm is currently expanding Aviotec coverage across its compound, including new infrastructure for cardboard manufacturing and storage. Meanwhile, according to Bosch, other businesses in the region are noticing the added safety, and supply chain integrity afforded by the intelligent system.

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Allied Universal, a leading global security and facility services company, that recently acquired London-based G4S PLC, is seeking to hire more than 35,000 security professionals, administrative and managerial staff to fill positions over the next two months. Following this latest £3.8bn acquisition the company is the 3rd largest employer in North America and the 7th largest in the world.

The company’s goal is to seek security professionals to support its local operations in communities across the nation.

“It’s an exciting time to join Allied Universal as the sky is the limit in terms of career opportunities and growth,” said Don Tefft, Jr., Chief Human Resources Officer, Allied Universal. “Our security professionals play a pivotal role in serving and safeguarding our customers and communities in our ever-changing world.”

Allied Universal is offering regular and temporary, full-time and part-time opportunities, and these open positions include security professionals, client and account managers, site supervisors, and other functional roles within human resources, sales, finance and IT.

“Allied Universal offers so much more than just a job–we offer careers,” said Tefft. “We have countless examples of employees who began their career as security professionals and today, are members of our senior management team, working in all facets of the organisation.”

Securitas, a world leading intelligent protective services partner, has agreed to acquire Tepe Güvenlik A.S., a leading electronic security company in Turkey.

Through this acquisition, Securitas becomes number two in the monitoring market in Turkey, and the acquisition is in line with the Group’s strategy of doubling its security solutions and electronic security sales by 2023. The purchase price is approximately MEUR 10 (MSEK 100) on a debt-free basis.

In 2020, Tepe Güvenlik’s annual sales were approximately MEUR 8.5 (MSEK 85), of which more than 70 percent were on a recurring monthly revenue basis. The company has 250 employees and operations mainly in Ankara and Istanbul, including an operation centre and a nationwide technical service network. Tepe Güvenlik specialises in electronic security solutions, alarm systems and alarm monitoring for corporate clients, SME’s and residentials. The company has more than 50 000 connections, representing a significant addition to Securitas’ existing connection base in Turkey today.

Peter Karlströmer, Divisional President Security Services Europe: “This is a unique acquisition opportunity in the Turkish alarm monitoring market and will consolidate Securitas position in this space. We are pleased to welcome Tepe’s experienced team to Securitas and look forward to further developing our presence in and bringing innovations and solutions to our clients. This is a strategic milestone for our business in Turkey, significantly strengthening our security solutions and electronic security footprint in the country.”

The acquisition-related costs are expected to be approximately MSEK 13, to be recognised in the period 2021 to 2023. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to EPS as of 2023. The acquisition is subject to approval from competition authorities and is expected to be finalised during the third quarter of 2021.