JEDDAH — The world’s leading security and fire protection solutions providers have laid out plans for some serious business prospects in a buoyant Saudi market where demand for fire safety, commercial security, and homeland security remains robust. According to analysts Frost & Sullivan, the combined value of the Kingdom’s commercial security, fire and safety and homeland security markets was $6.02 billion in 2017, while the Saudi Vision 2030, stabilization of oil prices, and economic pickup will all play a positive role in industry growth over the next few years. Homeland security, comprising monitoring and surveillance, restricted entry systems, and perimeter security solutions, holds the lion’s share of the Saudi market, at $4.2 billion, according to F&S, with fire and safety ($1 billion), and commercial security (US$820 million, comprising video surveillance, access control, and intrusion detection), picking up the slack. Saudi makes up nearly half of the Middle East market, making it a prime target for solutions providers, 170 of which are making their preparations ahead of the 2nd edition of Intersec Saudi Arabia, which takes place on April 24-26, 2018 at the Jeddah Center for Forums & Events. The annual three-day event is the Kingdom’s dedicated trade fair for the security, safety, and fire protection industries, with the biggest names in the business on board spearheaded by 15 returning Launch Partners. Hikvision, the world’s largest video surveillance provider, is among these, and will put the spotlight on its latest suite of technologies, much of which is powered by Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. Wesley Wong, Saudi Country Manager at Hikvision Middle East and North Africa (MENA), said Saudi Arabia is one of Hikvision’s key global markets, and among the top three markets in the MENA region. “The Saudi Arabian security market has achieved massive growth since 2012, and will continue to maintain growth in the next three to five years,” said Wong. “In the past five years, we’ve achieved more than 50 percent annual growth, and we’re ranked first in the Kingdom’s CCTV field. “At Intersec Saudi Arabia 2018, Hikvision will showcase a series of innovative products including Easy IP series products, Turbo HD series products, thermal cameras, mobile products and access control, with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence and AI-powered products. “AI has become the most trending technology in the security industry, and Hikvision has been focusing on this technology for a very long time,” Wong added. “With that in mind, Hikvision will showcase the signature DeepinView Series IP cameras and DeepinMind Series NVRs. These products tackle basic security challenges in the areas of object detection, facial recognition, and people counting, as