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secure futureAIDtek has been providing

technology-based building solutions to South African businesses since 2004 and for the past five years it has been rapidly expanding into

Africa. spoke to Managing Director Julian Thorrold and

Regional Head Western Cape Duane Viljoen to find out what makes the

firm so successful.

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Security

secure future ‘‘The company grew nationally to service our

clients,” begins Thorrold. “For instance, in Durban, one project would lead to the next and a need for on-going service arose. Soon enough we established an office in Durban to service these clients. The same then occurred in many other regions, and is now happening in many countries in Africa.”

This burst of growth has seen IDtek secure projects in Liberia, Tanzania, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and even on St Helena Island.

“Through getting to know the South African industry, we’ve met people involved with security and fire projects — I’m talking


about design engineers and EPC contractors in a solid network across Africa — and they took us along with them,” Thorrold tells us.

Working outside of South Africa comes with its own set of challenges, primarily due to difficulties with logistics, planning, and unforeseen delays. Projects can often take twice as long as they do in South Africa, but this issue comes with the territory, and is not unique to the technology sector.

“We’re currently working on a project in Uganda, and because what we’re doing ties in closely with what the main contractor is doing, the project can take three or four times longer due to things outside of our control,” explains Thorrold. “For example, the main contractor gets delayed by the electrical contractor and this in turn delays our progress. There’s a host of things that can hold us up.”

Shifting attitudesFrom installing new technology to building management systems, a lot of the work IDtek does is relatively new to the market, even within South Africa. The need to convince clients to adopt this new technology means that building trust is a crucial part of business, particularly in other parts of Africa.

“In an African context this technology is a fresh start, and we have to go through these learnings with the client and

Through getting to know the South African industry, we’ve met people involved with security and fire projects — I’m talking about design engineers and EPC contractors in a solid network across Africa – and they took us along with them

manage it very carefully,” Thorrold tells us.

The market has become a lot broader over the past few years, with security becoming more varied and advanced. Thorrold goes on to say that previously, a surveillance system could be installed by any kind of contractor, as the systems were all so similar. Now, each subsystem is specialised.

“Everything is migrating more and more towards a TCP/IP type of

Supporting the trade

National Help : 0861-PTHELP

Powell Tronics and ID Tek have forged an excellent working relationship over the last 6 years and have worked on numerous

projects together where they have implemented not only our Impro, Morpho and Golmar products but also our integration products.

Some of these sites include the Department of Environmental Affairs, Cosatu House, Department of Trade and Industry and the University

of the Orange Free State.We are proud to have been associated with ID Tek and look forward

to many more years of being a supplier of choice for them.


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off ering. The projects are much larger, and people are starting to take the need for security seriously and are willing to invest in a pedigree product. Even the customers are getting excited about what they are getting,” he says.

“So now, typically you have the heads of ICT looking at what they’re installing in their facilities, when it comes to security and building management, when previously they wouldn’t even be remotely interested.”


This shifting attitude suggests that the industry is becoming more and more receptive to new security technology, with clients increasingly willing to invest seriously in the security of their staff and property.

“For the last couples of years, we’ve even seen ICT companies like Cisco trying to get into camera surveillance and CCTV surveillance to broaden their scope of offerings. If they had done that ten years ago, people would have laughed at them.”

Keeping busyJust last month, IDtek started work on the Prieska solar power project in South Africa, two months ahead of schedule.

“At 75MW, it’s a big plant. We designed a thermal perimeter solution around the sides,” Viljoen tells us. “It’s a very exiting space for us, with an EPC client, and there’s a lot of opportunities in the natural energy sphere, particularly with the perimeter surveillance tech we are working on.”

The nature of this project aligns with the broader path that IDtek is taking, with security and fire safety technology being a key focus for the future.

“When we’re focusing on security and fire, the design is more about the electronic risk, specifically regarding the PV installation. It’s happening more and more in terms of where we’re using the command and control platform to pull all of these subsystems together,” says Thorrold.

It’s a very exiting space for us – there’s a lot of opportunities in the natural energy sphere, particularly with the perimeter surveillance tech we are working on


Security

“We use that same platform to address specific instances of risk in a facility. For example, you could deploy an entire security and fire design, and at the same time take a look at the generator or the no-go zone or the generator fuel that might be an issue, and you could deploy surveillance in those areas. Or you could look at various readings from field equipment, and from those mechanical devices, you could pull those through to the same command and control platform that you are using to monitor the security and the fire risk.”

FIBRE OPTIC SERVICES & CABLING

T: 083 703 7113 E: [email protected]

Fibre Optic Consulting Project Management Security Solutions Installation

Specializing in the Consultancy, Engineering, Design, Installation and Maintenance of Fibre IT and Telecoms networks.

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IDtekAutumn RdSandton, 2128, South Africa

Email: [email protected] Tel: +27 (0)21 794 1913

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