David Saldanha, Managing Director of Wavesight, tells SJUK about his journey in the security industry and how he plans to shape the future of the company. 

Saldanha’s career started in 1987 as a Regional Manager at Titan Company Limited, one of India’s most recognised enterprises in the jewellery, watch and eyecare industry.

Despite this experience not being within the security realm, it helped build the strong foundations which Saldanha utilises in his professional career today.  

“My initial work experience was with a consumer durable company, Titan Company Limited, within the Tata Group in India, setting up its retail and business operations,” he explained.  

Saldanha’s role encompassed many different facets from establishing distribution networks and partners in Europe, creating after support infrastructure while developing and managing the brands equity. 

He believes that one way to ensure brand equity is through innovation, as this can also benefit with awareness amongst customers.

This was achieved by Saldanha when he was the driving force behind the company’s Tamishq project, a new product line that empowered users to check the purity of every gram of gold they buy in its stores.  

It was decisions such as these that not only built an infinity with Titan’s customers, but meant after 16 years, five of which as Head of Sales and Marketing, Saldanha could embark on a new challenge in the UK with the company an established leader in the market. 

“I moved to England in 1998 and managed the automobile operations for the Tata Group, initially with the joint collaboration we had with MG Rover, up to the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in 2010.” 

This led to Saldanha spearheading the launch of Tata Motors in 11 European markets, while managing profit and loss for the whole region, with the aim of establishing the company’s long-term viability.  

A blueprint for success 

The position was similar to his previous one at Titan, in the sense of scaling up operations and identifying distribution partners that could echo the ethos of Tata Motors.

For all the complexities of the role, it provided Saldanha with a blueprint to make the transition into a new industry all together.  

“My experience in both companies and countries taught me two fundamental issues which has carried forward on to my current role within the security industry,” he stated.  

“You must ensure your product and technology is relevant to what the customer wants and the relationships you build with stakeholders, partners, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and end users must work for both sides.” 

His credentials were once again in demand when Saldanha was appointed as Managing Director of Wavesight in April of 2014.

The aim at that time was to target new market opportunities in order to expand the company’s portfolio.  

“From marketing one product in one country predominantly, we now market ten different products or technologies in 30 countries,” he revealed. “Secondly, from selling mere products, we began selling solutions which are more relevant to the partners and customers we work with.” 

He quickly found that with an understanding of the market comes the opportunity to evolve and meet the needs of customers. 

“We began to provide wireless networking solutions by connecting CCTV cameras to control rooms, to assets and people in a mobile and fixed environment,” Saldanha added.  

Through this adaptive approach, the demand for Wavesight’s services increased and it helped to develop strong partnerships which proved crucial in maintaining the company’s brand equity.  

“Partnering with close to 60 system integrators across the 30 markets we operate in allowed us access to projects and opportunities that we would not have been aware of or be able to service on our own.”  

Overcoming challenges

Scaling up at such velocity does not come without its challenges, however. Saldanha explained some of the more prevalent issues he has found during his 11-year tenure.  

“Maintaining consistent revenue streams across each product category, finding credible sources for manufacturing and securing certification for the individual products that we market in different countries are the three biggest challenges I’ve faced in my current role,” he said.  

When new challenges arise, it creates an opportunity to implement new solutions.

Saldanha found that instead of developing products in house, the company could innovate and evolve through discovering complementary technologies.  

“Rather than developing each product ourselves, we identified complementary technologies from other OEM’s. This method allowed us to rebrand and sell the products, while ensuring they were all recertified under our name to maintain credibility,” he explained. 

“We now offer a comprehensive range of products along with a common software platform and intelligence that is connected to all of the products in our portfolio.” 

Without a network of trusted and credible manufacturers, Wavesight’s mission of providing sustainable transmission and connectivity solutions would be difficult to fulfil.

This is where Saldanha’s relationship with the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) flourished.  

“Wavesight focused on building a working partnership with the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) to help establish credible relationships overseas. As a result, introductions were made to end users, which otherwise would not have been possible to reach,” Saldanha added.  

“The cost of procurement was also at the right price point which enabled long term viability. All our transactions included warranty, support and access to a larger development and manufacturing team. “ 

Saldanha highlighted that this decision reduced the time for Wavesight to introduce relevant technologies to market, while allowing the company to look for credible solutions from sources other than Tier 1 Suppliers.  

Ensuring the highest standards at Wavesight

According to Saldanha, ensuring the highest quality is one of the most important core values of the company, especially when developing new products.

This is particularly vital for Wavesight to meet different regulations across multiple countries.  

“This is an expensive process but vital to maintaining credibility,” he said. “Wavesight complies with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 standards. We act in accordance with ATEX Standards, which allows us to build products that operate in Zone 1 and 2 hazardous regions. Our products are also tested at accredited labs to obtain local and required certification in Europe, South Asia Africa, Middle East and North America.” 

Saldanha admitted that often aspects of hardware amongst other companies in the field does not vary much, however Wavesight’s ability to listen to industry feedback sets them apart.   

“While some elements of the hardware amongst competition are similar, our ability to listen and adapt to what the customers want has led to us obtaining revenue over competition,” he explained. “Transparent pricing with no hidden costs has also helped us secure long-term contracts as well.”  

Looking to the future  

Wavesight is a company that prides itself on its ability to provide flexible, scalable and affordable solutions.

In the ever-changing technology landscape, Saldanha believes maintaining the company’s original philosophy of cooperation will help to do so.  

“We will continue our business model of procurement of products and closely collaborating with OEM’s who believe in partnerships,” he said. “The long-term revenue streams we have acquired this year will only help to solidify this.” 

Fresh ideas and innovation are also needed to keep up with changes in technology, with Saldanha hinting at a possible expansion into the market in the United States.  

“Establishing manufacturing bases in the US will help us realise the benefits that accrue to organisations who manufacture locally. “ 

In North America, the Federal Government has funded the connectivity of indigenous tribes living across the US.

Wavesight and its partner Tribal Ready PBC have been tasked with providing fixed wireless access and in bound roaming to up to 100 tribal villages in the community.  

Saldanha concluded that while current growth is being established in the US, Africa and South Asia, the technology and solution is also relevant in the United Kingdom.

Wavesight intends to introduce the 5G Private Networks solutions to its partners at The Security Event scheduled for April 2025. 

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