SOLUS : The security brand of India
Q. Congratulations, Mr. Sharma! On 15 Successful years, Solus has now truly proven itself as a Security Brand of India. Please tell us something about your Marketing Strategies.
Collaborative approach is the key strategy to successfully execute any business or project today. We take up most of the serious innovators along with to find an effective solution for any Business problem. Apart from Internal collaboration, we do many collaborative learning programmes / events like “EyeConnect”, where other ecosystem partners and customer come together to discuss openly all problems / challenges faced in the past projects and than work to find an optimum solution together.
If we learn from others, Israel as a country has established itself as a Security Solutions Powerhouse mainly due to its internal collaborative approach. We can also learn from our own mistakes, India has not only been known for its prosperity and wealth in the past but also for its weak Borders and Internal Security due to missing collaboration amongst princely states, invaders used this to their advantage and we paid a hefty price for it. Let’s be proactive now and stop committing the same mistakes again.
Q. What are the latest developments at Solus Security Systems with reference to India and the global business expansion?
iSOLUS V3 is a 3rd Generation Version of an Integrated Security Management Application Suite alongwith DAC Access Controllers V3 and ID15 V3 Terminals it works at least 40% Faster in performance than its earlier versions, with many customer wishes included as off-the-shelf features.
iSOLUS allows you to manage your Access, Attendance, Visitors, Canteen, Photo Display, CCTV Integration and other modules on a seamlessly integrated Database with modern Dynamic Report builder, Scheduled Reports, email and SMS Integration, using Solus’ and other third party field devices.
iSolus is successfully placed in many Large Enterprises Pan India in sectors such as IT, Pharma, Power, BFSI, Govt and Defence etc. amongst others. Several case studies and customer commendations received by Solus are very encouraging and highly motivating.
It is actually the distilled abstract of customer feedback, experience, technology and innovation that goes into our new products and version upgrades.
Due to a change in technology, we have rewritten the complete code to correct the mistakes and brought in new innovative approaches that made the product far lighter, quicker and easier and hence, it is loved even more by its users. Now they love telling about it and sharing their experiences with their Industry peers.
Q. Solus is now recognised amongst the Top 100 SMEs of India, and it is “India’s Small Giant” for this year, How is the market responding to Solus Security Systems as an Indian MNC Brand?
“Globally Happy and Satisfied Customers” is the proven marketing mantra for Solus, 80% of our Sales happen through the word of mouth. We continue to invest to improve customer service along with Product Research and Development. It’s important to have improved versions of products released before it’s too late to remain relevant at market place. To maintain pace, Solus successfully upgrades its core technology platform every three years.
Market is been very supportive if you are willing to serve with some thing “unique” and “problem-solving” consistently.
Q. What can we expect from Solus Security Systems in the near future as the Industry is moving towards an Integrated Solution trend?
Multiple Systems talking to one common platform and creating a meaningful and easy information for users is most desirable in current times. An integrated platform that can do multiple functions using a common database actually optimises the investment in technology and security.
You remember the Security Guards of earlier days in our housing complexes are actually facility service providers today. Beyond Security, they assist you in your day to day needs. The same is expected from the Electronic Security too, you can’t afford to have heavy IT investments done just to OPEN / CLOSE Doors or seeing the camera feeds. We have many ways to ensure that the IT investment is utilised for several other purposes such as Attendance, CCTV and Access Integration, Guard Tour, Visitor Management, Canteen Management, Contract Workmen and so on… to bring down the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Q. How global security trends are influencing the Indian security market?
Facility Security has received worldwide attention and budgets now because of many unheard type of plans and attacks used by terrorist and attackers worldwide. Recent Market Reports are very positive for Security Industry and are suggesting that the security markets will grow up at a whopping 30 to 40 percent.
Electronic Systems are an aid to the human efficiency. In the end, human brain will be the superhero to handle operations using alerts or warnings. A few timely actions that have helped in nailing an attack plan like the one at the Hyderabad Airport has proved an electronic systems’ efficacy. Hence, a careful product selection, a detailed project management during deployment and provision for an efficient after sales support are the key steps for the success of any electronic security project. Both buyer and seller must understand importance of detailed planning and execution. Missing out on any of these steps often leads to projects being derailed from the project objectives. This is not good for an electronic security business, overall.
Q. How new government policies are bolstering growth in the security industry?
The policies have been quite positive and encouraging in the recent past, however, Government can still push even more by getting the law to provide a safer and secure living to all its citizens and organisations and this will help in bringing a happier and a prosperous situation for all. Being proactive is becoming very important again.
Electronic Security has been proven helpful to deter and prevent crime. Making this mandatory for project approvals can boost the overall safety and security in society. A mandatory need of regular checks on upkeep / maintenance of systems can ensure systems that are available to you when you need them the most.
Q. How is Solus Security Systems planning to expand its distribution network in the Indian and overseas security market?
In India, we work along with all major system integrators based on their strengths in project execution and Solus extends help as a technology provider. Globally we operate with Distributor and Systems Integrator model to reach out to and serve the End-users. Last year we have partnered with a few prominent Distribution Partners at the Middle East and Africa and this partnership is growing well, it has been a Win- Win for all. We are planning to expand to newer geographies in this year. In fact, our existing customers have grown across the globe and they expect us to support them at each global location that they go to and this has been a driver for our expansion.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities at Solus Security Systems as an Indian manufacturing company?
Manufacturing is full of challenges in our country, though it is improving but it still has a long way to go. It wasn’t an easy journey for us to establish ourselves as a manufacturer and than as a Brand. Managing with the costs of finance at over 20% is tough and sometimes you don’t even have such margins. Importance of the Past Track Record (PTR) that has been learned and earned the hard way can not be underestimated. Absence of any available standards, proper development bench marking made us even more cautious and alert. Any mistake can ruin all the efforts that one puts in. Hence, we have the pressure to do everything right first time. Repeatedly doing this became a habit and now it is the Solus culture.
There are no shortcuts, desire to excel, followed by a passion to deliver is a must to even get noticed.
Q. What are the takeaways from ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill Development Council’ initiatives undertaken by Government of India?
Both are amazing initiatives and give a boost to Solus’s vision, to assist India to be independent and to have its own dependable Security Solution and the technology for its critical infrastructure along with the national security without being dependent on the foreign products. We have been fortunate with opportunities available to us with this vision and dream. We will continue to invest in training and skill development to provide world-class products and the best in class usage experience to our customers.
You must be ready to accept the challenges thrown on you as alongwith the challenges come the opportunities. Solution design capabilities with the required performance and an efficient cost optimisation is the key. After Sales is the Key Performance Indicator of the success. The Indian market has been value driven and is often tagged as price sensitive. But in a true business sense, this drives you to do a continuous innovation, ease usage and cut down the costs.
Q. What are the new training initiatives at Solus Security Systems?
Training is a very important function at Solus, apart from regular on the job training, we create quarterly dedicated regional training events and one mega national training event at the head office. Internal design and development teams contribute for this. Many soft skill programmes are conducted during this event to enhance customer interaction capabilities of our technical support team. Solus is participating in a Third party Independent Customer service delivery quality assessment and certification to set a new benchmark in service delivery & this is another first in the industry.
Q. What are the new products and solutions launched by Solus Security Systems?
Hardware along with Software get upgrades each year at Solus, New improved Generation 3 Access control panels coupled with iSOLUS V3 will lead Solus product strategy in the next year. Both have very exciting features and are at par with the modern mobile phone technologies. You can imagine that how much every employee of yours today can contribute to enhance security just by noticing and reporting anything abnormal that is observed. Solus facilitates brining this update on a central platform for the security team to initiate action. No clue is too small.
Q. What are the latest awards won by Solus Security Systems?
Although the Recurring and Repeat business is the most satisfying award we receive from our customers commendations year-on-year; a few recent recognitions have been very encouraging, Solus R&D Center has received a special recognition for its contribution for indigenous technology development for security automation from DSIR Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, under Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India among many other recognitions as success business.
Q. What are the new service and maintenance initiatives at Solus Security Systems?
Solus is a pioneer in successfully launching managed service delivery to its Pan India and Global customers. The entire service delivery system is fully transparent where customer has the full access to the entire delivery process. They are allowed to login a support call with web or mobile phone with a confirmed service log, technical support ensures an on-time and satisfactory closure each time. A sign off pin is provided to the customer to ensure that the service delivery till the full client satisfaction is achieved before the case can be closed.
Q. What are the future plans of Solus Security Systems?
Solus has major expansion plans in the next three years, we have recently completed “Proof Of Concept” on some very futuristic technologies that are going to be used in our upcoming projects. These will be the trend-setters for the Security automation in the times to come. We are also expanding our base in the Middle East and the African markets in the next year.
