Gary Harmer, Sales Director at Hikvision UK & Ireland, reflects on the company’s successful new format for its Autumn Insight Roadshow in 2024.    

What were the main takeaways from this year’s Autumn Insight Roadshow?  

The main takeaway was the positive reception of our new event format, which received uniformly enthusiastic feedback.

We refreshed things a bit this time around, introducing a ‘speed dating’ format which saw the more traditional technical PowerPoint presentations replaced with concise 10-minute introductions to new opportunities in vertical markets, as well as new products and solutions.  

Attendees moved around the topic areas in small groups, learning the features, applications and benefits of our offerings in eight sectors: Industrial & Power, Healthcare, Retail, Video Entry, Access Control, Car Parks & EV, Commercial Display and Public Space security.

We showcased both what’s new and where it can be used.  

Why are these types of events so important to Hikvision?  

We really enjoy catching up with our customers, but it’s not always straightforward for them to take time out to travel to one of our regional facilities.

That’s why we run our Insight events in locations around the country: we’re able to reach a lot of customers in their local area without having to travel a long distance to see us.  

This way, we can engage with them more closely, showcasing our latest developments, opportunities and listening to what’s happening in the industry from their perspective.

That’s always easier when you’ve both got a bit of time to relax over lunch and the afternoon entertainment.  

Can you tell me about the latest product innovations on display at this year’s Autumn Insight Roadshow?  

Our AV products were a big hit.

It provided a genuine opportunity for our customers to create new business with existing customers, in sectors including universities, schools, colleges, commercial spaces and in boardrooms.

These include our Digital Signage products, our Interactive Flat Panels which now come Google-enabled and our transparent AV screens for external advertising and similar applications.  

Our new Thermal TandemVu camera has a wide range of use cases, including for places such as solar farms.

The thermal range are suitable for electric vehicle charging points.

We’ve developed some fantastic integrated parking management solutions for EV: cameras that read number plates and let parking management operators establish if that the vehicle is electric, so it’s allowed to park in the designated charging bay – but no longer, for instance, than the designated maximum time allowed, after which it could be automatically issued a penalty notice.  

Similarly, if a non-electric vehicle parks in the EV space.

Then, with thermal integration, the camera can issue an alert if the charging unit starts to get too hot, avoiding those horror stories of EV charging points or vehicles catching fire.  

Our thermal technology also plays a role in our healthcare monitoring solution.

We have a new presence detector which doesn’t breach GDPR and remotely triggers alerts for situations such as a patient who has not gotten out of bed, or falls, or if there’s more than a defined number of people in the room for more than a specified period.

That’s helpful in places like care homes where sometimes dementia patients might walk into the wrong room.  

We now have a thermal presence detector as well, which can capture the respiratory and heart rate of a patient in bed.

If that starts dropping or increasing outside of a specified range, it will trigger the alert through to a nurse’s station.

It’s all about non-intrusively improving the patient’s quality of life, getting them help and attention quickly as and when it’s needed.  

Other new products include ANPR-enabled bollards and barriers, and our 2700 series access control panel with built-in web GUI for rapid configuration.  

How do you see this event developing in the years to come?  

Based on the extremely positive feedback we’ve had for this new format, we’re almost certain to retain it for the next edition.

It works so well because it enables us to show more people more new solutions and products, which in turn provides them with more opportunities to increase their offering and thus their revenue.  

What were the main trends from 2024 and what do you expect to see in 2025?  

The main trends of 2024 have been the increased use and sophistication of AI, as well as the further diversification of video and associated technology applications into areas such as patient care and EV charging – uses of this technology we couldn’t have dreamed of even 15 years ago.  

We’re seeing emerging new technologies that focus on providing different sectors and people with a better life experience, while making the world a safer and more pleasant place to live in.

The aim is to have all of it managed together simply and effectively. We’ll see those trends continue into 2025 and beyond.  

This article was originally published in the November Edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.