Security takes Argentina

By Alejandra García Vélez

The stability, both financial and political, of a country is one of the main drivers of the different economic lines, as well as a determining factor when deciding the items to invest for a company. Fortunately, security is an inescapable necessity for companies, which means that the industry remains stable despite the fluctuations that the markets may have. In Argentina, security is experiencing a very positive period, in all areas there is a growth and stability of the market that is given according to the economic development of the country.

However, manufacturers and distributors are aware of the need to educate the end user, not only in the technologies already used by it, but to provide a complete process of advice to position other types of systems, is the case of IP systems that are gradually taking over the market.

VENTAS DE SEGURIDAD consulted the opinion of some of the companies that were present at Seguriexpo BISEC Buenos Aires 2008; Pelco, Rightkey, Bosh, Intelektron and Softguard shared their perspectives on the Argentine market.

Trends

 "IP is the future and the present", so categorical was the statement of Daniel Banda, president of Softguard, although he clarifies that the proportion of users connected by IP, compared to those who use radio or telephony, is approximately 1 to 100, "of course ip systems are presenting a sustained growth and at high speed" he added.

The representative of Softguard, also commented that in the specific case of Argentina the companies that began to implement systems based on IP technology had to stop their progress, because the country's telephone networks were not prepared to provide the service with optimal quality, as the infrastructure has improved security companies have been able to start again with the process of growth in this type of solutions.

Augusto Devesa, Pelco's representative in Argentina, agrees with Banda's assessments, as he said that "IP is fashionable." According to him, this technology presents an accelerated growth, which makes it very requested by all types of customers when making security installations, but he clarified that it is very important for the industry that manufacturers and distributors guide users in the advantages and disadvantages that the implementation of an IP-based system can bring, as well as providing the necessary elements so that the client can choose the most appropriate system for their needs, whether IP, analog or hybrid. He also highlighted the need to have a strong infrastructure, which allows the dissemination in countries of this type of systems.

For his part, Diego Madeo, in charge of marketing and communications for Latin America at Bosch, indicated that the technology used in video surveillance systems is advancing towards intelligent video analysis, "it will no longer require a person to look at the monitor constantly, but the analysis of the video allows to give different types of alarm, for example, you can display trajectories and differentiate velocities."

Training: philosophy of companies

Given the incursion into the markets of new technologies, it is necessary to develop training processes so that all industry actors, manufacturers, distributors, representatives and integrators have a common language that allows them not only to be better trained, but to offer the end user a better service; above all, provide an advisory process that allows the client to choose more accurately the best system to implement.
What is expressed in the previous paragraph is evident in the vast majority of companies, because aware of the importance of training, they have implemented programs that aim to this end.

To cite some examples, Augusto Devesa, announced some of the initiatives that Pelco has in the Region, among them the weekly training aimed at training in everything related to products and systems, in  addition to the work that the company has been doing together with the integrators, providing advice on different projects. Pelco's representative also announced the company's intentions to open  extensions of its PGTA (Pelco Global Training Institute) program in Chile and Buenos Aires, which would allow the same courses to be taught in the United States. For his part, Oren Daitch, sales director for Southern Europe and Latin America at Security & Beyond, said that the training should be aimed at distributors so that they can then replicate it to customers.

Pablo Bertucelli, general manager of Rigthkey, also highlighted the importance of generating knowledge to the market through the tools available to the company, for example, through the company's website.  In addition, Bertucelli believes that the resources provided by information technologies should be used, which is why Rigthkey is betting on remote training.

Daniel Banda, agreed with the director of Rightkey, because he said that it is necessary to offer training by alternative means, such as virtual courses, "having customers in 19 countries face-to-face courses become practically unfeasible, so Softguard decided to implement an e-learning system, with this it is being possible to train all our customers regardless of what country they are in".

Marcelo Colanero, president of Intelektron, said that training should be a priority issue for companies, both towards the internal public and distributors, adding that training should not be focused only on technical aspects but also on other issues, such as leadership or sales, in order to give distributors an added value.

These were some of the opinions that the directors present at the Seguriexpo BISEC Buenos Aires 2008 shared with VENTAS DE SEGURIDAD, through their statements you can make an x-ray of some of the issues that are causing interest in the security market, not only in Argentina, but in the countries of the region. The migration to IP and other new technologies, as well as the training of security professionals, are  latent concerns that are finding an answer in the policies of companies.