Industry Perspective

A conversation with Jack Fernandes

• By Security Products Staff
• Feb 05, 2007

AMERICAN Fibertek has always prided itself on building products based on innovation. And even today, that continues to be the norm, but what has taken a turn for the greater is a partnership with global suppliers and manufacturers to provide core competency in network and software-driven technologies. We talked to AFI President and CEO Jack Fernandes about the trend.

Q. The industry continues to undergo both organizational and technological changes. How is this affecting your business?

A. The security industry is in a significant transitory period, as digital technologies have become mainstream in more areas of security system deployment -- most notably video surveillance and access control. To aid in this migration, transmission products and technologies are now being employed to create control capabilities on a networked platform. The rapid development of digital and network system technologies and products is affecting equipment suppliers, system designers, integrators and dealers in different ways.

From a manufacturer's perspective, the race is on to see who can develop new products and systems that encompass digital and networking technologies and establish market share with proof of performance. Consequently, we are seeing more and more companies that traditionally conducted R&D and new product development autonomously now partnering with equipment manufacturers and software developers with expertise in previously unrelated categories such as networking. This has accelerated companies' abilities to bring new and more versatile solutions to market in even shorter development cycles. American Fibertek is no exception. We continue to build relationships with companies around the world that have core competencies lie in networking and software-driven technologies.

From the perspective of security system designers, integrators and dealers, the learning curve is steeper than ever, as they need to acclimate themselves with new systems parameters encompassing software-driven digital recording, system control and networked transmission systems. Education from manufacturers and suppliers is critical to remain competitive in a market that has dramatically shifted from product-centric solutions to system-centric solutions.

As American Fibertek pioneers new network system solutions, such as our new Video Network Enterprise Solution (V'nes) we will continue to provide our reseller partners and customers with education and training on how to apply and take full advantage of the system's capabilities.

Q. What trends do you see in the security industry and how is AFI addressing them?

A. The most prevalent trend in the security industry involves systems integration and the ability to monitor and control these systems over a network. There are numerous inherent advantages to this, including advanced system performance and functionality, greater installation versatility and virtually unlimited remote capabilities using numerous transmission mediums such as LAN/WANs, wireless and even the Internet.

All of these were influences driving the development of the V'nes system -- an integrated and standardized network transmission solution designed specifically for the security marketplace with a unique, open path to integrate IP and analog systems operation. V'nes is comprised of several product series designed to accommodate increased network bandwidth and traffic required for comprehensive security systems operation on an IP platform. The system addresses the different set-up and operational needs of security and IT directors to provide easy system integration and balance between personnel responsible for security applications and the IP transmission backbone. Additionally, V'nes features an open path to deliver extensive network capabilities. It allows the integration of IP products from various manufacturers with any selection of V'nes components and software.

Q. How is AFI positioning itself in this changing technology and business model climate?

A. We are actively repositioning American Fibertek -- now simply referred to as AFI -- as the industry's only comprehensive source for security-specific transmission solutions. The introduction of V'nes signals a significant evolution for American Fibertek and we believe the industry as a whole. It is a transition to a more advanced and comprehensive transmission solution that integrates technologies previously relegated to parallel industries such as IT. As the security industry continues to evolve, it continues to assimilate more of the characteristics of IT networking such as providing a common platform for hardware and software integration. This is the heart of V'nes.

However, we also recognize the continued need for high-performance transmission solutions for analog systems. With this in mind, the introduction of V'nes and all that surrounds it has not clouded our perception of who we are and where we came from. As a result, AFI will continue to develop and expand its core point-to-point, fiber-optics products while actively pursuing innovative ways to enhance transmission technologies. By expanding our solutions set to include V'nes, along with our proven fiber line of analog and digital point-to-point transmission devices, AFI is in a unique position in the security industry.

Q. What challenges do you foresee for AFI moving forward?

A. The development of new network solutions involves input and cooperation of many different companies working together with our new product development and engineering team. This requires a great deal of coordination behind this effort to ensure that all parties involved are in tune with the latest developments affecting overall operational parameters of new products in development. We have been fortunate to partner with some of the biggest names in the IT marketplace throughout the development of V'nes. We will continue to work with existing partners and cultivate new relationships to develop new network solutions. Although a challenge, we see this as a tremendous growth opportunity for the company.

Q. What does the future hold for AFI?

A. We believe the new direction is on track from a business perspective as V'nes and the core fiber product lines continue to evolve concurrently. From a technology perspective, AFI now offers the security industry a comprehensive range of transmission solutions for any system platform, as well as new and more efficient means of implementing a network infrastructure with unique capabilities. The diversity of transmission solutions AFI now offers with new feature capabilities and functionality provides an opportunity for continued growth and additional, new business development.