The rapid development of social economy has led to the continuous improvement of urban modernization levels; in addition, the public has placed greater emphasis on safety and security, propelling the security industry to flourish.   

      Market Overview

      The Chinese security industry experienced rapid development in the mid-to-late 1990s. After undergoing comprehensive technological upgrades and structural adjustments in 2002, the construction of safe cities in 2006 led to the gradual growth of the security market. The Beijing Olympic Games, as well as the upcoming Shanghai World Expo, Guangzhou Asian Games, and Shenzhen Universiade, have brought tremendous business opportunities to the Chinese security market. China's ongoing construction projects provide sustained momentum for the development of the security market, and Frost & Sullivan predicts that this market will maintain a growth rate of over 20% in the coming years.   

      Focusing on 2009, safe city, rail transit, finance, and education were the key words in China's security market. The commercial building market maintained steady growth driven by the increasing demand for intelligent buildings.   

Statistical data indicates that investment in commercial buildings exceeded 550 billion yuan in 2009, representing a year-on-year increase of 22.8%. The investment in general intelligent systems accounts for 5-10% of the total project investment cost; security systems, as a sub-system of intelligence, account for an average investment of about 20% of the total intelligent investment. A simple calculation shows that in 2009, China's newly constructed commercial building security market alone had a market potential of no less than 5 billion yuan.   

      Due to its unique status, the financial industry has set higher requirements for the construction of security and prevention systems. In 2009, the banking industry established the national standard for "Technical Requirements for Bank Alarm Monitoring Networking Systems". Joint-stock banks have successively implemented alarm monitoring networking construction for provincial branches, sub-branches, and ATM outlets based on this standard. Specifically, for bank counter monitoring, it is required that the DVR image quality should be prioritized, with clear recognition of faces and complete and clear recording of the cash counting process.   

      From a geographical perspective, the commercial building security market is primarily concentrated in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, major cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as some cities in the Pearl River Delta region. The construction of large cities is accelerating to enhance the level of urban modernization, and the level of security is one of the important criteria for measuring a modern metropolis.   

      Target product market

      The security system comprises subsystems such as CCTV, access control, alarm, patrol, and building intercom. These subsystems coordinate with each other and respond in a coordinated manner when an event occurs, effectively preventing potential security threats to commercial buildings.   

      The video surveillance system is the most crucial and often the most heavily invested subsystem in the security system. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Construction, and the Ministry of Electronic Information Industry, various commercial buildings are required to install security surveillance systems. The construction of safe cities has brought strong demand for networking to video surveillance systems, with the scope of networking expanding from local area networks to metropolitan area networks, and then to inter-city networks. Networked products can expand the monitoring range, shorten spatial distances, and reduce overall costs, thus becoming the direction that various companies are competing to pursue. Eliminating product homogeneity is the key to success for competitors. Intelligent products can analyze a large amount of collected data, thereby reducing false alarms and missed alarms, and can also achieve early warning. Their technology has room for continuous improvement, and high-end users have opportunities for application.   

      The access control system controls the entrances and exits of building structures and is one of the most common security subsystems. It serves as an important barrier for building security and prevention. In terms of front-end identification equipment, while radio frequency identification devices occupy the majority of the market share, the application of biometric identification devices, especially fingerprint recognition devices, is expected to increase. The core technology and chips of access control controllers are still dominated by foreign manufacturers, while opportunities for domestic manufacturers are concentrated in the access control software sector.   

      The alarm system is a system that directly protects people's lives and property. Foreign brands have certain advantages in this system. They target users who have high professional requirements for alarm systems, and are favored by most engineering companies for their stable product functions and perfect performance. Compared with the upgrading of technologies and products in other fields, the innovation speed of anti-theft alarm technologies and products is not fast. The market opportunity lies in making technological breakthroughs under the core premise of digitalization, wirelessization, and integration.   

      In 2009, the Chinese security market experienced rapid development, driven by the rapid growth of its subsystems. At the same time, market competition became increasingly fierce, prompting domestic and foreign manufacturers to accelerate their market layouts.   

      Domestic enterprises are actively striving to build large-scale comprehensive security groups. China Security Technology Co., Ltd. (CSST), with Shenzhen Jiuding as its parent company, embarked on its acquisition journey in 2006. Currently, it comprises six major business companies: security manufacturing, security software, security technology, security services, security sales, and security education. In 2009, the company acquired six more security enterprises, aiming to build itself into a large-scale comprehensive group that is domestically leading, internationally renowned, and covers the entire industry chain.   

      Foreign-funded enterprises regard China as an important market. Bosch Security Systems expanded its production base in Zhuhai in 2008, and it is expected that by 2014, over 25% of Bosch's security business will come from Asia. Tyco established a research and development center in China in 2008 and will continue to maintain high investment in capital and talent in the Chinese market; AXIS strengthens its sales team in China, adds an office in Beijing, and strengthens cooperation with Digital China. It plans to set up an office in Guangzhou and achieve a tenfold increase in sales in China by 2012.   

      Conclusion:

      Frost & Sullivan believes that China's security industry has entered a fast lane, and commercial buildings, as an important application area in China's security market, have broad prospects for future development.   

      Different types of buildings exhibit variations in aspects such as environment, scenario, and user purchasing power. The market demands segmented and industry-specific products. Taking video surveillance systems as an example, the image formats required for bank buildings differ from those for ordinary buildings, necessitating flexible settings. To cater to varying user needs, manufacturers are bolstering their product research and development capabilities, enhancing their marketing efforts, and delivering satisfactory services.   

      Manufacturers increase their market exposure through well-known associations, exhibitions, professional magazines, seminars, etc. After the financial crisis, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have increasingly focused on online marketing. In response to the needs of industry development, security websites have emerged to assist the growth of security SMEs.