By Jeanny Lim

Looking back on 2007, what kind of happenings and activities went on in Honeywell Security?  In 2007, Honeywell Security in the APAC rim gained a larger market share particularly on the transportation, banking and gaming sectors.  In addition, Honeywell Security was named one of the top 3 most recognizable security solution vendors in China and India.

Where does Honeywell Security put its focus on this year, in terms of both business and technology development?   This year, the key focus of Honeywell Security in APAC is speeding the release of advanced digital and integrated security solutions to keep pace with the increasing demand for high-end technologies applied in different environments of the market.  Our key target market is still the high growth segments such as transportation, banking, gaming, industrial and commercial.  Region wise, China and India both indicate the highest CAGR in the coming 10 years and we will make heavy investments in those countries to grow our market share there.

Based on your experience, what is the growing CCTV application in Asia Pacific?  Residential security is really taking off in APAC due largely to growing security awareness and construction boom.  As the standard of living is improving and the perception of insecurity is increasing, people have become more security-conscious and security products and systems are no more considered a luxury but a commodity.  And a boom in new housing developments is also a major growth factor for residential security.  Builders are increasingly offering pre-installation of security in new housing developments, in response to buyers being more security-conscious.  The strong correlation between new housing projects and demand for residential security systems is an excellent business indicator in APAC.

Please keep us on track of technological trends of CCTV cameras.  What are some of the noticeable trends?  The trend is going torward digital and intelligent cameras with image sensors gradually moving from CCD to CMOS; image resolution from standard to super-high with the support of megapixel; camera type from conventional to intelligent with video content analysis and built-in face recognition; and video transmission from wired to wireless, etc.

Can you tell us about the video surveillance market in Asia Pacific and whether that is changing?  How do you see the market this year?  The video surveillance market in Asia Pacific is very active in adopting new technologies and is one of the regions in the world enjoying taking risks and challenges and making investments to bring change quickly.

In 2008, the market is obviously focusing on intelligent digital and integrated security solutions.

What do Asian customers demand of a CCTV camera?  I think Asian customers demand cost-effective digital cameras with high resolution and super-low light sensitivity along with intelligent capability.

Jeanny Lim is Editor-in-Chief of SecurityWorld INT’L.  Send your comments to swied@infothe.com.