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GE Security makes African move

A recent function held in Johannesburg highlighted GE Security's commitment to the African continent as well as its already substantial presence in the Sub-Saharan region. The event was attended by local as well as representatives from the whole region.

The event also served to highlight the three security divisions GE makes use of in taking its products to market. The Networked Solutions division deals with distributors and installers, the Engineered Systems division deals with enterprise-level technologies as well as certified partners, while the Homeland Protection division deals with the high-end solutions, such as explosion and tracking technologies.

Carlo Klopper, regional leader for GE Security in Africa notes that the Networked Solutions and Engineered Systems divisions are the primary drivers into the African markets. The company's commitment to the continent will also be more visible in the new year when it moves into its new office, which will include a full training university on site.

As a global security player with almost $2 billion in revenues last year, GE Security covers all aspects of the security market, including intrusion, key management, fire, video, fibre communications, video over IP as well as system integration. Through local offices and a broad partner network, it has established a support base throughout the Sub-Saharan region.

However, the company's strength is not in its range of products, but in the ability to integrate the various products into a functional solution covering multiple aspects of security, from intrusion to fire and surveillance. For example, the company's Advisor Master system is designed to incorporate alarm, access control, CCTV and fire detection in one solution. The solution allows customers to integrate the security aspects they require into the modular solution and grow it as needs require. Advisor Master products are all IP-based, making the installation process as well as centralised management tasks easier.

Klopper added that GE Security is focused on being more than a product company in that it is driving the integration of security products into effective solutions. The benefits to clients are enormous as their security installations become more manageable as well as more reliable as problems and breaches are controlled and recorded from a single point. Nothing is able to happen outside of the management infrastructure.

And although the company is focused on the high-end enterprise market, it has not forgotten the low-end. Via its distributors, GE Security is also addressing the growing residential security market.

Even with the coming year promising to be a tough one economically, Klopper is confident GE Security in Africa is on the right track, with the right products and partners to continue its expansion in the region. While other companies are starting to promote the benefits of integrated versus standalone systems, with solutions like its Advisor Master systems already in play, GE Security is bound to attract attention and market share.

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