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By Steve Gorski, General Manager, Americas, MOBOTIX, Corp.

What advice do you have for integrators that want to sell video surveillance technologies?

Take the time to understand the security market and a customer's approach to the converged world of IT and security. Surveillance technologies have changed dramatically over the past 10 years and along with that, the customer has evolved as well. In the past the end user was normally a former police officer, but today it is often the IT director. It is important for integrators, especially those coming from the IT side of the equation, to see the value of both viewpoints — the security/loss prevention side and the IT side.

Which vertical markets present the best opportunity for selling video surveillance technologies?

In terms of vertical market, we've seen a lot of growth in the retail sector. Retailers are facing the end of life of traditional CCTV systems and are looking to migrate to high-resolution, IP-based solutions. Retail customers face tight budgets and when they evaluate a decentralized system, they immediately find that the decentralized approach maximizes ROI and that is a significant selling point. Also, hemispheric cameras, which provide a complete panoramic view of an area, such as an entrance or store, are also ideal for the retail environment, especially smaller retailers that can gain 100-percent surveillance coverage of their stores with a much smaller camera count than with traditional CCTV devices, and that has driven increase from these particular customers.