QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

UNDERSTANDING DEMAND TRENDS FOR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS IN INDIA

SUBMITTED TO PROF. S BHAVANI SHANKAR

PGP-2, 2013-14

NAME DSOUZA AARON MARIO

ROLL NUMBER 2012PGP107

Table of Contents
Conceptualise the research problem ...................................................................................................... 3 Qualitative techniques for data collection and Rationale ...................................................................... 5 1. 2. 3. Ethnography ................................................................................................................................ 5 Focus Group Discussions ............................................................................................................. 5 In depth Interviews ..................................................................................................................... 6

Detailed profiling of the respondents for the proposed study ............................................................... 7 Relevant questions to facilitate data collection ..................................................................................... 8 1. 2. 3. Ethnography ................................................................................................................................ 8 Focus Group Discussions ............................................................................................................. 8 In depth Interviews ..................................................................................................................... 8

Plan for carrying out analysis of data...................................................................................................... 9 Expectations from the study ................................................................................................................... 9 Resources .............................................................................................................................................. 10

Conceptualise the research problem

Despite huge demand, India is still not a commanding player in the security and surveillance industry. Various foreign players exist but manufacturing within India seems to be lacking. All this would change considering the latest industry trends and the calling need for surveillance security. Given the recent security breaches in India, there have been increased measures set up to respond faster and prevent these threats, and technology innovations are helping. CCTVs and networked digital cameras combined with intelligent video analytics software are changing the nature of surveillance from reactive, human-based monitoring and replay after events, to sophisticated, automated threat detection and rapid responses. Along with governments the private sector is also going to increase their expenditure on security surveillance and as a result the cost of the CCTVs is going to head south leading many organisations to deploy more video cameras. A recent study by ASSOCHAM forecasts that the Indian video surveillance market will grow at 30 per cent annually to Rs. 2,200 crore by 2015 from a present 1000 crore. Tier II and tier III cities, currently having a small proportion of security system installations are going to emerge as the real growth drivers of this technology driven industry in the long run. This industry will also grow due to the rising demand from varied sectors in need of proper surveillance and security. Hospitality industry, corporate houses, premium hotels, stadiums, malls, healthcare, banks, retail and transportation, railway stations, airports, hospitals and busy market places and even religious places are all potential target areas for terrorist attacks and such an investment in surveillance technology is imperative. In addition to hardware additions, the software and analytics going into surveillance is also a huge market to be explored. The conventional human watching large number of screens has found to be ineffective due to tiredness after long shifts of security personnel. In come analytic softwares which dont tire and can detect potential threats in real time . High quality devices with the complete range of features and backed by high quality service are in demand, and this will remain so for a very long time. Along with cameras, Biometric Devices- like fingerprint enabled ration cards, fingerprint scanners to check absenteeism of government employees as well as in corporate houses - and Access Control Systems - like key cards, motion sensors and push buttons will also see significant growth in the next few years. While the demand for security and surveillance devices is increasing rapidly, the country has just a handful of players who manufacture fingerprint machines, CCTV cameras and ACS devices. All in all the, there should be aggressive pursuit of B2B accounts by major players. Apart from large clients, focus should also be given to SMEs and other smaller institutions which are completely lacking in adopting such technologies. They should push their technology and portray it as the need of the hour. Bosch, Reliance-Siemens, GE, Honeywell, Samsung, Sharp, Vicon, CISCO, D-Link, Sony, Axis, Verint, DVTel, Ingersoll-Rand, Tyco, Zicom are

certain leading companies involved in manufacturing equipment and software for the security Industry.

Such technologies though costly initially would lead to long term savings. Adoption would lead to reduction of manpower costs and security personnel hiring who are presently required to patrol office and government premises. Presence of cameras has also been proved to be a deterrent and would in a great way reduce crime in the first place. The focus and objective of this study will be categorized into the following: 1. To help such companies identify the gaps and opportunities in the current market 2. Identifying the requirements of such potential clients and their trade-offs between price, features and services 3. To gauge the present perception of the possibility of theft, attacks on infrastructure, requirement for post attack analysis and real time detection and prevention 4. The market size and willingness of such clients to invest in security surveillance infrastructure as a counter to such attacks We shall conduct this study in association with a well-known security agency. This would give us access to present clients as well as more recognition when approaching respondents.

Qualitative techniques for data collection and Rationale

Our study will comprise of primarily 3 qualitative techniques to achieve the above objectives. This study would help us achieve an initial in depth understanding amongst a smaller number of respondents which could then be used to develop an appropriate quantitative study and find the acceptance of our finding amongst a wider target.

1. Ethnography
Ethnography will be initially carried out at 1 or 2 locations where security personnel are employed and where modern surveillance measures are not in use or barely used. There are pros and cons associated with Ethnography which must be considered before approaching possible research locations. Pros: Cons: Very costly and prolonged method of research The associating party should be willing and should not change behavior during study There should not be any disclosure of all relevant information so as to get an accurate understanding In depth understanding of the problems faced by the present surveillance measures Deep insights through observation which would not be evident through interviews Rich data through field notes and observation which can later be referred to

Rationale

Since this is a relatively new area of research with not much secondary research to fall back on, an Ethnographic study would give us a ground up understanding of the problems faced by and deep insights into gaps and opportunities in the market. These findings can then be used to better structure our later qualitative data collection methods like FGDs and Personal Interviews.

2. Focus Group Discussions

Respondents would be a mixture of government as well as private security personnel who are responsible and serve as an authority for security related decision making. This would include security heads of IT companies, government infrastructure security chiefs like railway station heads as well as security in charge from smaller SMEs.
Pros: Allow free interactions and discussion between like-minded people Answers by 1 member leading to further discussions and revealing more topics of discussion Participants are more comfortable as compared to an interviewer being directly present in front of them

Cons: Danger of smaller, less influential members in the group to be overpowered by more prominent members Difficulty in getting government personnel to participate in long FGDs and take time out from their busy schedule

Rationale:

Through FGDs, we would be able to conduct a detailed discussion between like-minded individuals. Important information regarding specifications of hardware and other requirements would begin to emerge through open dialogue. Price sensitivity and trade-offs between features and price would begin to emerge. If respondents are OK with recording the sessions these could be later reviewed. Opinions, attitudes towards surveillance technologies and the need for them can also be understood.

3. In depth Interviews
This would form the last part of our qualitative study. From the previous 2 stages of research we would have a fairly good idea of technicalities of the industry as well as the wants, needs and price sensitive information of our various target segments. From this we would get to know the potential of the industry as well as the opinions of key decision makers which would shape the future direction of the surveillance industry.
Pros: Cons: Every interview is unique and cannot be directly compared Smaller sample size may not give an accurate representation Time consuming To gain an insight into individual opinions Potential motives to choose a particular offering vis--vis another Respondents can answer your questions at his own leisure without having to compete for air time as in an FGD Representative sample can be obtained for separate target segments Flexibility to modify questions based on responses

Rationale:

We use in depth interviews as our last method of qualitative study so as to reinforce and confirm our finding from earlier methods. Our approach can be tweaked and modified based on respondents answers. We are able to have a conversation in an informal setting at

the leisure of the respondents. We are also able to get information we could not in an open setting as some of the respondents may not be willing to divulge sensitive information to other respondents but may be more comfortable responding to researchers representing a well-known security agency.

Detailed profiling of the respondents for the proposed study

Our respondents will consists of chief security personnel of government bodies, hotels, corporate infrastructure, malls, hospitals, retail chains and transportation like railway stations, airports.

Industry
Government Bodies Hotels Corporate Infrastructure Malls Hospitals Retail Chains Railway Stations / Airports

Personnel Example

Security head for Taj group of hotels(Personal Interview) Security head of a smaller hotel(Ethnography & FGD) Security head for TCS or similar companies(Personal Interview) Security head for a smaller company(Ethnography & FGD)

Security head for major city malls in Delhi, Mumbai(All 3 methods) Security head for Apollo group of hospitals(All 3 methods) Security head of Big Bazaar, More (Personal interview) Owner of smaller supermarkets (FDG & Ethnography) Security head of Major city airports (Personal interviews) Security head of railway stations(FGD, Ethnography)

Relevant questions to facilitate data collection

1. Ethnography

Ethnography will primarily consist of everyday observations Day to day role specific questions would be asked to get technical details which cannot be observed What are the methods employed to stay up to date with industry standards What are the latest technology offering and do I need such an offering What are the sources of information-Peer groups, Forums, Security specific Magazines What is the procedure to get a new security feature added and what is the chain of command/Decision making unit What are the gaps perceived in the present system and suggestions to overcome such gaps Openness of the organisation to various 3rd party funding initiatives to offset initial costs

2. Focus Group Discussions

The interviewer would regularly ask questions/guide and would allow the group members to discuss and reveal further facts, and questions arising out of discussions. What are the various challenges faced by your organisation with regard to surveillance What improvements to the present security system would you propose if given the power to implement it Which are the major buyers that you trust and what are the major parameters youl use to judge potential suppliers

3. In depth Interviews
In depth interviews provide a face to face confidential setting where the respondent can be more relaxed and answer questions more openly What are the various challenges faced by your organisation with regard to surveillance

What is the procedure to get a new security feature added and what is the chain of command/Decision making unit How do you judge/What are the major parameters while deciding on a new supplier How do you keep up to date with the latest industry trends Propose a new security feature you would like to be implemented and how would this benefit your organisation

Plan for carrying out analysis of data

Our study will begin with Ethnographic research of one of our existing clients who would be willing and cooperate with us for the duration of the study. Considering ethnography can proceed for up to a year it is imperative to communicate this with our client before the onset. Various incentives could be provided like discounted extended servicing or similar offers. The next stage would be a series of FGDs with relevant participants in the surveillance industry. We would pose questions as mentioned above and give the group the freedom to discuss a variety of topics which would give us deeper insights on a variety of topics. If the group seems to deviate from relevant discussion we shall get them back on track. This stage would reinforce our finding from thr Ethnographic stage The final stage of our study would be a series of In depth interviews with personnel from the security industry. We shall get an even deeper understanding of the various issues discussed during ethnography and FGDs. This informal interview would give us reliable data. The qualitative stage would be followed by detailed analysis. Relevant information from this stage would be used to formulate a business plan and offering tailored to various segments individually. Focus would be to Tier 2,3 cities and smaller clients where there is greater scope for expansion and growth. This qualitative study would be followed by a wider sample quantitative study

Expectations from the study

1. To get a detailed understanding of the present issues and problems faced by various security heads in various government and non-government organisations 2. To understand motivators for opting for a particular provider vis-a-vis another 3. Understanding the hardships that smaller SMEs and organisations with inadequate funding face in terms of security 4. What is the price sensitivity and other constraints faced by such organisations 5. What is the attitude towards security devices helping to curb threats as opposed to conventional security measures being adopted presently 6. What is the scope of convincing clients on a bigger scale as to the positives that we as a security provider can bring them with respect to cost savings in the long run 7. What are the funding options that can be provided to our clients to ease the burden of the initial costs? All these answers would provide a deeper understanding as to what our potential clients would be looking for when deciding on various security up gradations. By using this information we could pre-empt the market and stay ahead of competitors to gain a higher share of the booming market. Studies focussed towards smaller SMEs especially in Tier 2,3 markets which will show higher growth rates would give us an understanding of the more price sensitive market who not only value security but are constrained by cost cutting

measures and limited budgets. Funding through 3rd party offering should be explored and offered to such clients. The security and surveillance market in particular is only going to grow and we need to be ready for this. There is high amount of first mover advantage which can be gained and we need to capitalize on such an opportunity. By providing services at competitive prices thus offering true value and state of the art security we would gain a larger share of the overall pie.

Resources
http://www.indiablooms.com/BusinessDetailsPage/2012/businessDetails200212b.php http://www.forceindia.net/EyesonYou.aspx http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/marketing/lg-targets-temples-for-surveillancesystems/article2201048.ece?ref=relatedNews http://www.smeworld.org/story/interviews/secure-surveillance-for-safety.php http://www.varindia.com/jan2013_varsecurity.htm http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/smart-video-security-can-help-us-stay-astep-ahead/article4661084.ece