ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

With this in mind, when it came to our review of the CCTV Village in Hall 20 at the Birmingham NEC we felt you might like something a little different to the norm.

Instead of trying to compare and contrast companies' offerings with previous years, as has been our usual format, a random approach was adopted in a bid to pinpoint the newest technologies and the latest trends.

IFSEC continues to attract a huge number of exhibitors. Since 2001, the sheer volume of companies plying their wares in the CCTV Village has risen by 30% – an expansion rate that shows little sign of abating. 2003 was also something of a landmark in that the organisers – CMP Information – were celebrating IFSEC's 30th Birthday.

It was easy to understand why an unstructured approach would be attractive. There were over 300 exhibitors in the surveillance section this time around, so rather than devote four days to inch-by-inch research, the sensible course of action was to drift along in suitably observant mode and alight on any stand that caught the eye.

Cutting edge technology marches on
Stepping back for a moment, though, the most obvious development from a few years ago has been the establishment of the Biometrics Village in Hall 19. This can be seen to be a basic indicator of the exponential growth of the cutting edge technology now involved in the security sector. I wonder if our CCTV installers fully realise the new rules? No more getting by with just a pair of pliers and circuit test equipment, oh no. IT skills are all the rage now, but that's another story!

The UK has retained its position as the major player in the worldwide security market – with the plethora of CCTV equipment and support services on display an ample demonstration of this strength. Let's not forget, either, the remarkable influx of overseas companies these past few years. This year alone there were more than 40 Taiwanese manufacturers 'on display'.

At the same time, many observers feel that the UK market is now pretty much fully developed. Sarah Bexon, marketing co-ordinator at CCTV specialist Merit Li-Lin, agrees with such an analysis. "As a company we've managed to expand in the UK very successfully in recent times, but the UK market as a whole has now reached saturation point."

A chat with various CCTV equipment distributors highlighted the increase in sales of digital video recorders (DVRs), digital equipment in general and also day/night cameras. However, apparently their customers are still very much price-driven, and will continue to buy a VCR as they're cheaper than DVRs. Continuing the IT-related theme, it was no surprise to learn that the advance of Internet Protocol (IP)-based products has continued apace. There were over 200 stands featuring either IP or biometrics-related systems.

Plus-points for end users
When attending each stand visited, the same questions were posed by yours truly: "What are you promoting this year, and how will it benefit me (in my 'guise' as an end user)?" This initial filtering was intended to ensure that my attention was focused on the new products, while acting as a check on the ability of exhibitors to describe their systems in straightforward layman's terms. The past few years had shown there was far too much 'techno speak' and too little easily digested information for non-technical enquirers ('Eyes front', SMT, August 2001, pp24-26).

It didn't take long to identify several important themes. The first of these was that cost benefits were being stressed more often than performance improvements and additional features. Next, a strong emphasis on customer service was apparent on many of the stands. Third, the benefits of end users integrating their electronic security systems are to the fore. Fourth, some manufacturers seem to have properly realised that their equipment needs to be easily expandable, as a common problem for customers is their inability to expand installed systems without purchasing new equipment. Finally, the management benefits for clients also emerged intact.

On the negative side, however, several exhibitors in the CCTV Village made loose claims about the digital recording storage capacity of their equipment. Claims were being made for 28 and 31-days' storage, without any definition being provided.

Quite a few manufacturers were offering "lots of storage" – a more accurate claim. Among them was Cieffe, whose marketing director Dr Callum Floyd told me: "We believe it's important to offer a good long-term storage solution that provide reasonable image quality, coupled with a small file size. This ensures that storage claims can be made with some degree of confidence."

Techno speak no more!
One of the pleasant discoveries at this year's show was the simplified briefings that most exhibitors were able to deliver. Compared with previous years, when endless degrees of technical wizardry dominated all, it was a refreshing change. The penny seems to have dropped to such an extent that the exhibitors deserve a pat on the back for this move towards the customer and away from technical experts.

Let's face it. Company staff on exhibition stands have only 15 minutes or so to explain the myriad benefits of the product. With over 300 stands to look at in 2003, most visitors are on a long and gruelling tour. Thus presentations need to be both crisp and factual, particularly when given towards the end of the day. A Golden Rule.

Several exhibitors in the CCTV Village made loose claims about the digital recording storage capacity of their equipment. Claims were being made for 28 and 31-days’ storage, without any definition being provided. Digital storage is a moveable feast:

The quality and clarity of these briefings are an indication of the relationship between the equipment designers and the sales staff. A simple presentation shows that the company has a straightforward product, and that it's features and benefits are easily understood by all concerned.

The cost advantages of CCTV
Alan Everid – CCTV product marketing manager at Bosch Security Systems – pointed out that the technical upgrading of the company's newest camera would have benefits for both the user and installer. "The lens wizard enables it to be set properly at the first time of asking," stressed Everid, "thus obviating a night visit. From our point of view, getting it right first time means that the equipment is operational earlier – which is good news for the customer – while the installer saves time and money by only having to visit the site once."

Swedish concern TAC is also well aware of the importance of costs to customers. "The cost benefits to be had from their CCTV installations are what really drive the managers," suggested TAC's Matt Coulson.

Further, the ability of newer CCTV products to capitalise on better performance and lower costs is shown by the arrival of CMOS (Complementation Metal Oxide Silicone) cameras. Dave Warkentin – director of sales at Silent Witness – told SMT: "CMOS cameras have been around for some time, but the previous problems of image quality can now be overcome with new wide dynamics technology. We've been inundated with enquiries for this ever since we launched it in Las Vegas back in March." The last comment signifies that the customers also agree with this analysis.

Another good example of cost saving due to technological advance was provided by Synelec Telecom Multimedia's TFT-LCD video wall. "This isn't a plasma screen. Plasma screens suffer tremendously from screen 'burn' after short-term operation. Instead, this system has zero screen burn-in, no maintenance requirements and the lamp life is over 50,000 hours," opined the company's technical specialist Steve Murphy.

A monitoring technology to watch out for in the months ahead, perhaps.

Several exhibitors stressed that customer service and equipment reliability were their two major concerns. Sarah Bexon agreed. "It's really important for manufacturers to develop totally reliable equipment. We have had very few returns from installers, which we regard as a good measurement. In addition, we offer next day delivery and a host of discounts to installers and end users. Excellent customer service has to be a priority."

Industry insiders concur with such sentiments, emphasising that today's customer is far more aware that they have to operate a CCTV system long after the sale has gone through. Speaking exclusively to SMT, John Watson of InterVid stated: "Reliability and high maintenance standards are now recognised as being every bit as important as cost and performance for most clients."

Emphasising systems integration
One of the most prominent features of IFSEC 2003 was the growing emphasis on systems integration. "Systems integration must be carried out on a consultative basis," said Mark Bouldin, CCTV product manager at Telindus. "Customers need to know the benefits of integration. They need to be able to know the reasons behind taking decisions such as placing IP cameras on internal networks."

TAC's Matt Coulson agrees. "The market is definitely growing because technology is making it possible. The heating, lifts, ventilation systems, lighting and temperature control can all be integrated with electronic security equipment."

A common complaint from end users of late has been the fact that too much equipment has a limited capacity for expansion, therefore requiring extra expense when the need arises to enlarge the system. For his part, LookC's systems developer Bob Golightly believes that it makes good business sense to produce a comprehensive system that is modular.

"CCTV systems have to be able to 'grow' to suit the client's ongoing needs, instead of being merely small, low cost equipment or large, higher cost equipment," he suggested.

Management benefits of CCTV
The management benefits of CCTV equipment are being regarded as a major factor – at least they were on the stands we visited. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems obviously attract the potential for an overload of information hitting the Control Room operators. That said, CitySinc believe they've tackled the problem head on.