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MIA converges into IP surveillance market

MIA Telecoms is known as a Samsung distributor in the telecommunications, networking and office printing market in South Africa. The company has been in business for over 17 years, building up a loyal installer and integration channel that builds long-term client relationships based on a rental agreement. The rental agreement offers set costs to customers, which includes maintenance and repairs over a five-year period, after which the clients can refresh their installations.

Bryan Driessel, MD of MIA Telecoms says the company has standardised on the Samsung brand because of the quality and reliability of the Korean products. MIA has also invested in ensuring it has the local skills to support the brand from installation through to maintenance. As a result, the company has over 50 000 customers serviced by its channel.

Recently, Driessel says the company noticed that many of its installers were expanding their scope of operations and installing surveillance solutions for clients. These installations were mostly non-Samsung brand cameras and recorders, which did not live up to the quality customers had come to expect.

The Samsung brand of IP surveillance solutions is a major player globally, commanding about 10% of the worldwide market share. However, in South Africa the brand has lagged and its market share is around 1% or less. This has proved a great opportunity for MIA to expand its scope of operations, boosted by the recent release of the Samsung WiseNet Lite range of products.

MIA has therefore launched MIA Samsung, a division of the company devoted to Samsung IP CCTV solutions and the company has been appointed as the master distributor for the region. (Samsung recently sold its surveillance division to Hanwha, one of the 10 largest companies in Korea, but will continue to use the Samsung brand for the short term.)

Samsung surveillance equipment are tier 1 products, but Driessel says the price MIA can sell the solution for is significantly less than other tier 1 brands. Not only are individual products cheaper, but MIA can beat the five-year total cost of ownership (including repairs and maintenance) for a surveillance installation by about 50% when compared to other tier 1 brands.

MIA will sell Samsung IP CCTV solutions on five-year rental contracts, as well as on a project basis. The company has invested heavily in stock to ensure it can meet the needs of customers immediately and not have to wait for shipments from Asia, and it has also invested in in-house skills to ensure it has the best team of Samsung surveillance technicians in South Africa that are able to handle repairs down to board level. Driessel is adamant that MIA will continue its business model of client loyalty and build a long-term business instead of box dropping in order to move stock.

The products

When it comes to Samsung surveillance products, Driessel notes that the pricing structure makes it easier for MIA to offer cost effective deals. For example, the Samsung Security Manager (SSM) is a full-featured video management system (VMS) but it forgoes annual licensing fees. Customers pay once for a long-term licence for the product. Samsung products are also natively integrated into third-party VMS solutions such as Arteco and Axxon.

The partnership with these third parties has allowed Samsung to develop video analytics solutions specifically designed to run on its cameras, such as motion detection and automated licence plate recognition applications, among others. The company’s NVRs are also designed to meet stringent quality standards and are able to offer added features such as POS integration. Moreover, they are designed to handle throughput from all the attached cameras at their maximum resolution.

To do justice to the brand and to be able to demonstrate its capabilities, Samsung and MIA are building a demonstration room in Sandton, which will contain all the brand’s products. Driessel says system integrators will be able to visit the location with their customers to see exactly what the Samsung brand can do for their projects.

MIA Samsung is also ready to engage integrators involved in project work. Proof of concept implementations will be provided when required and MIA already has more trained and certified Samsung surveillance technicians than any other company in South Africa. The company will also assist in risk assessments to help end users determine the best security solutions for their environments.

MIA Samsung is focused on the surveillance market, but MIA Telecoms is able to offer clients a converged IP solution, both wired and wireless, that will deliver a reliable network to handle voice, printing and security services, all based on the products designed and developed by Samsung.

For more information contact MIA Telecoms, +27 (0)11 799 7720, stephan@mia.co.za, www.mia.co.za

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