printer friendly version

Ambling to Abu Dhabi

I spent a few days in Abu Dhabi last month at a Milestone partner conference. There is a quick note about it in this issue and I will follow it up with a more in-depth article next month as there was not time to stretch the deadline any further and do a full review without risking our production manager going psycho – or should that be more psycho.

It is amazing to see the development going on in the region. In one of the presentations, IMS Research predicted that the Middle East is going to be growing far faster than anywhere else in terms of security systems. One of the American vendors at the conference told me there are thousands of new high-rise buildings planned over the next few years (until 2030), making the UAE in particular a great place to be in the security business, not to mention the building industry. So instead of packing for Perth, perhaps our security experts should be ambling to Abu Dhabi. It is certainly much safer there – unless you happen to be Dr Karabus.

Of course there is a dire need for security in South Africa, but given recent developments in the country, it seems as though some people are not keen to put their money on the line in what many view as a precarious future. Dismal education, dismal productivity, a seemingly dismal understanding of economics, dismal accountability mixed with raging corruption and unemployment (they could not be linked, could they?) have placed South Africa in a vulnerable position.

Hi-Tech Security Solutions has just held its latest Executive Roundtable Breakfast – more on that in the next issue – where Clem Sunter spoke on possible scenarios for the country going forward. Let us just say we have some work to do because we are at the stage where we have to actually get stuff done instead of talking about it; or it is time to call at the Australian Consulate and hand in those emigration forms.

The coming month is a busy one for the security industry as IFSEC SA will be held in June at Gallagher Estate. Be sure to drop by the Hi-Tech Security Solutions stand for a cup of coffee.

I heard this at the executive breakfast so thought I would relay it – anonymously of course. The story concerns the lengths people will go to in order to avoid being identified and comes out of Africa where a company recently installed a biometric time and attendance solution. The devices were regularly being vandalised to the extent they had to be replaced, so the company also installed a CCTV system to monitor the fingerprint readers and catch the culprit.

Naturally, as soon as the cameras were installed, the vandalism stopped. Shortly thereafter, an employee came into work with a doctor’s note saying he could not clock in using the fingerprint readers for health reasons. He and his doctor claimed the biometric readers had made him impotent. Of all the health reasons someone could select for not using a biometric T&A system, that one must take the cake.

I hope you enjoy the issue and get a chance to attend IFSEC SA – it is on the Gautrain bus route.

Andrew Seldon – Editor

Share this article:

Further reading: