‘The IP Surveillance market contributed 13% to our revenues’
Dax Networks forayed into IP surveillance last year. How was the response and what was the revenue contribution?
IP surveillance market is a hot market and it is growing rapidly in India as there is a tremendous need for real-time security and surveillance in India. We want to capitalize on that. Over the past one year, around 13% of our revenue came from IP surveillance market. In the next couple of years, we intend to grow it by 20-25%. For Dax Networks, BFSI and government are key verticals. BFSI is an open market and premise security is critical. Traditionally, we are strong in government sector.
The Indian networking market is primarily dominated by global players while Dax Networks is a typical Indian player. How do you compete with them?
There are both merits and demerits of this fact. Yes, there is a huge competition from MNCs and corporates have an inclination towards MNCs. Our products and approach are major differentiators. We have a solution based approach and our products are customized to the vertical specific needs; while the global players have a standard offering and whether there is a need or not, certain features are in-built but we size our products according to the needs of the customers. We are not betting big on corporates. Our key verticals are government, BFSI, education, and manufacturing.
What are the trends in the IP surveillance market? Which are your significant deals in this market?
The major technology trends in the IP surveillance market are video analytics, centralized monitoring, and 3G enabled cameras. There is a major demand for highend cameras which are corrosion resistant, vibration resistant, and explosion proof.
We have bagged significant projects from government, defense, and manufacturing since last year. Our significant deals include Ernakulam Collectorate and Manappuram Finance in Kerala, State Electricity Board, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Assam, Supreme Company in West Bengal, Air force Station and High Tech Gear factory in Rajasthan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Bhutan, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Dr Agarwal Eye Hospitals in Tamil Nadu.
What is the key technological buzz in the networking industry in India?
In the overall networking market, the current buzz is on the migration to Ipv6 and energy saving technology as a major part of the operational costs goes into energy and bandwidth. Cloud is one thing that is catching up big time.
In fact, our surveillance cameras are cloud ready. There is no need for a great infrastructure as the location, cameras, and connectivity are good enough. All footages, streaming, and alert can be processed centrally under cloud and a dashboard can be provided. In terms of WAN technology, 3G is definitely the buzz. On WAN technology, 3G is primarily used as a backup. Our products are 3G compatible and we offer end-to-end VPN tunnel. 4G is another key technology and our products are 4G ready as well.