The mega C (Covid-19) has started showing its devastating impact on most of the profitable sectors and industries from Airlines to Hospitality, Infrastructure to Real Estate, Retail to Tourism, SME and SMB!The tsunami effect is expected to cause an all round economic destruction, the likes of it never seen in history before. It is estimated that the global unemployment scenario is looking bleaker by the day. In the United States more that 700,000 lac jobs have been lost in the last three months and still counting! India too is expected to face a similar situation.Dark times are looming large across the world.
With rising unemployment and low and poor sources of income, there will be more theft, robberies, murders and threat to life and property. It’s possible that the entire world might become like the undeveloped backward countries. For one’s survival, the human race may go to any extremes. To what extent the government will play a part to overcome this critical situation, only time will tell. Healthcare and National Security will become crucial concerns for the government to handle. How will the present scenario impact the business of electronic security and what transformation will it ensue?
According to my knowledge and experience, the electronic security industry will now play a key role for the safety and security of our country. Its positive impact will be noticeable on the business, which will grow by leaps and bounds with newer technologies and products being offered. Here are a few pointers what we can and should do to empower the nation with tight security measures:
- Make in India: Currently, China produces more that 90 % of the Video Surveillance Equipment and accounts for 45 % of the world’s 20 billion $ revenues! India should now grab this opportunity and create a robust eco-system for local manufacturing. A few local companies like Sparsh, Securico, etc. have taken a head startin this direction to localize manufacturing which is truly commendable, but unless we build the entire eco-system of technology, manufacturing capabilities, product quality, distribution, scale of operations and after sales services, our dependence on China will not end anytime soon. We must stop the Chinese invasion of security products into our country.
- Upgrading Access Control: With the humongous impact of the novel Corona virus, all enterprises will have to upgrade their access control system to non-touch technologies like facial recognition coupled with temperature and mood sensing to check if the employee entering the office premise is unwell. Going ahead, most of the companies will invest in new age non-contact entry control technologies to avoid any contamination due to Corona virus.
- Cost Reduction and Improving Productivity:With enterprises now having to face the prospect of declining business, focusing on all round cost control measures may now become focal areas of concern. Security hardware and software will have to go beyond surveillance. The role of CCTV Cameras will multiply, Video Analytics to be used for functions like people counting, attendance monitoring, access control, fire alert management, weapon detection, facility management functions, business process enhancement etc., technology will have to come of age as never before.
The economic impact of Corona virus is uncertain since we have just entered phase 3 and it’s still very early to predict how long this menace will continue to haunt and economically damage us over the period of time. But one thing that can be ascertained is the fact that whenever there is a socio-economic imbalance, the need and demand for safety and security devices has always grown exponentially.
