LAS VEGAS - Hikvision hosted a panel of the industry’s trade editors for a special roundtable to kick off ISC West on Wednesday hoping to shed light on some of its positions regarding recent developments with the company, as well as to share its strategy for the show.
Jeffrey He, the head of the company’s North American operations, said in a prepared statement to start the discussion that Hikvision’s “challenge in the U.S. on the political front” includes calls from Congress, export controls, and progress of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). “It will be interesting to watch how the new (NDAA) timetable evolves,” He said, adding that he is hopeful the China and the U.S. can agree on tariffs and related trade negotiations soon.
Fallout from the NDAA’s barring of Hikvision products - among others - from use in government installations starting in Aug. 2019 has made news; however, new North American General Manager Eric Chen said the company is continuing to invest in North America, and “despite what happened, (Hikvision) still had positive year-over-year growth and strong Q1 sales” - adding that its focus remains on the SMB and mid-market with a vertical focus on retail, education and the emerging cannabis market.
“Tight scrutiny from the market and our competitors is a good thing for us,” Chen said.
That led to an outline of the company’s cybersecurity measures in recent months and years, including its achieving U.S. Government Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 1 certification for its proprietary encryption module (HIKSSL) used in its IP cameras and NVRs.
“FIPS140-2 began before the drama and issues around the U.S. government,” said Chuck Davis, Hikvison’s Director of Cybersecurity. “From a cybersecurity perspective, this (certification) wasn’t something we approached to achieve government contracts - just that we meet these standards for our encryption.”
“No matter what we have to follow the highest standards in cybersecurity,” Jeffrey He added. “We can be trusted, and we should be trusted. Our mission as a security company is to protect, not to harm - otherwise why would we be in this industry?”
According to a press release, Hikvision also announced a new business team dedicated to develop intelligent solutions for fentanyl-related substances regulation using advanced video technology and big data analytics.
Instead of focusing tightly on its products as it has done previously, Hikvision’s theme for ISC is “focused on your success” - both for its customers and internal employees, and highlighting Hikvision employees paired with their individual quotes about helping customers succeed. Chen also pointed out the HIKreward program, which was recently launched for its dealers, as well as a recent customer satisfaction survey which scored high among dealers.
Some of the tech on display in its booth include a new PanoVu 32 MP camera; the HIKcentral CMS platform that integrates with access, intercom and video devices; facial recognition kiosks and solutions; and AI applications moving into budget-level products for false alarm filtering.
While not on display, Doug Gray, the company’s North American Product Manager, said Hikvision has a gunshot detection product in development.
Visit Hikvision in Booth #18037.
