Security industry DE: good market, big cyber challenge
The market for electronic security technology recorded stable growth in Germany last year. Cybersecurity in its own products is becoming a major challenge for the industry.
It is not only the shortage of skilled workers in Germany that is becoming a major challenge for the industry. According to BHE Bundesverband Sicherheitstechnik, there is another urgent task to be tackled in the coming years: networking and digitization, as well as the issue of cybersecurity for the products, systems and services used in the value networks. "Smart home and smart building are becoming a reality. In the triangle of convenience, energy efficiency and security, cybersecurity occupies a central place. Digital technologies must be secure and trustworthy - users must be able to rely on this. This is the only way that new services and business models can emerge and hold their own in the market," says Uwe Bartmann, Chairman of the ZVEI Security Association.
Growth in all segments
In the market for electronic security technology, sales in 2018 increased by 5.6 percent year-on-year to just over 4.4 billion euros, according to the BHE. Sales of fire alarm technology - still the largest segment of security technology, which is also heavily dependent on the construction industry - rose by more than six percent last year to over two billion euros, according to the figures. Consolidation is noticeable in the case of mandatory smoke alarms, he said. "Now that all German states have introduced mandatory smoke alarms in the state building codes for private homes, however, the first states are now due to replace old detectors," Schaaf explains. In addition, further technological developments, such as detectors that can be inspected remotely and that can provide data for the smart home, offer good prospects for the future.
With an increase of seven percent to 352 million euros, access control systems recorded high growth, according to the BHE. In the wake of the debate on public safety, video security also grew noticeably by 6.5 percent to 575 million euros. Growth in voice alarm technologies was somewhat more restrained at plus 3.8 percent to 110 million euros, and in hold-up and burglar alarm systems at 3.6 percent to 860 million euros. The other trades, such as smoke and heat extraction systems (RWA), call systems in accordance with DIN VDE 0834 and other systems and components, recorded significant growth of 5.1 percent in total, as the BHE report concludes.
Click here for the 2018 figures of the Swiss security industry
