Huawei To Be “Top Three Global Position” in Video Surveillance

I love the attention to detail with the BDC markings on the reticle, although I think the weight and PoE+ requirement for the cameras will make them a poor choice for AI-based weapon platforms but you never know.

Shouldn’t we measure Huawei’s current size, (in the surveillance industry), by not only the cameras/recorders it sells, but by the SOC’s it sells as well?  

If Hanwha stopped selling IP cameras tomorrow, it wouldn't scratch their $60B in sales, yet they continue to invest in talent, technology, and manufacturing so one day it will be a significant part of their P&L. 

Hikau will have a major threat if Huawei takes the same approach and they are already producing complementary products. 

Oh come on! This is a famous move in Chinese “Art Of War” tactics.

In South East Asia, Huawei is known as Chinese PLA/Gov’ owned business, copying Cisco technology for long time.  Now that Hik banning move is increasing globally , i bet a large amount of Hik’s production will be transferred to Huawei. 

“Same wine, different bottle!“

I would give all of you 100 to 1 odds Huawei indeed achieves this lofty goal.
I'll state they overtake Dahua and land second only to Hikvision. 
This article indicates Hisilicon DSP represents 60% of the processor market in CCTV. I would opine more like 95%. I cant locate a single standalone NVR or DVR that isnt using Hisilicon. I am including Korea and Taiwan. 

I visit China on average 3-4 times a year and have done so for 19 years now.
I have seen Hisilicons DSP facility, have seen the mega structure of Huawei. I cant see Dahua even attempting to stop Huawei. Maybe this news explains why Dahua's share price has plummeted from 30RMB to 11 RMB in this last 52 week period. Think about that, Dahua has lost a stunning 67% market cap THIS YEAR.
In simpler terms, Dahua was worth 12.7 BILLION USD this year. They are now down to a market cap worth of 4.6 Billion USD. Investors seemingly know something we don't.

As IPVM so adeptly points out, Hik is partially owned if not controlled by the Chinese government so I view Hiks exposure to Huawei's mission as less severe. The Chinese government likely offers Hik some level of support to maintain their dominance. Dahua? Simply not as important to the government. 

End of the day?

If a Western company finds adequate funding, offers a solution other than Hisilicon, does so at a price the market can bear? They can take out both Dahua and Hik in the USA.
No worries on Huawei. Our government likely never lets them sell here in real numbers.
And that's a good decision. Huawei cannot be given access to the USA.

As we all know, the only requirement to buy/distribute/install Dahua or Hikvision is have a pulse. Zero barriers to entry. I've seen New/Current Dahua and Hik at fantastic prices for sale at Chinese flea markets in Shenzhen and Hangzhou. No joke. I passionately believe a Western innovator will emerge, maybe a silicon valley opportunist. If our industry truly does grow as anticipated, the opportunities are vast for a newcomer if standards set. 

I’m recalling a horrible entry by another networking company in years past - you remember - CISCO. They launched an acquisition under their brand name - and charged a premium for that name - for a horrid product. I think companies should focus on their core competencies and partner to expansion. Additionally, not being able to tap into the US market is definitely an immediate disadvantage. 

This would be relatively easy to accomplish.  

Buying Hik or Dahua outright would instantly make you #1 or #2...

Great Article. Huawei is a sleeper hit. Simply put, Huawei (via Hisilicon) has the upper hand in the low cost surveillance market already. They may not be the biggest yet, but for lack of better terms, they have all of the Chinese manufacturers by the gonads. This is what makes the market very boring right now.

Huawei pretty much already controls the market, but just in a second hand sort of way. They can easily dominate the market if they want to via hardware like cameras and DVR's. Most low cost IP cameras, DVR and NVR's have Hisilicon chips in them. 

Anybody that is familiar with the Chinese surveillance market probably has noticed that when new technology or a new feature comes out, every manufacturer seems to come out with the same exact features and technologies at the same time. This is usually because Hisilicon has come out with a new chip. All cameras and DVR do pretty much the same thing in China now. The only thing that differentiates Chinese manufacturers based on value now are:
#1) Quality of Housings
#2) User Interfaces

It wouldnt be anything for Hisilicon to put their chips inside some hardware and assemble a camera or DVR.  Chances are, it may even be a better product since they will program it to work how it was designed to work. The ball is in their court if they want to dominate and it wont be too difficult for them to do so.

Sean and Gerald,

Good feedback on Huawei. I agree with your points about Huawei's dominance in low-cost surveillance devices via their Hisilicon chips.

However, Huawei has repeatedly publicly stated a focus on large-scale video surveillance projects, i.e., the opposite of the devices / market that Huawei's Hisilicon chips have done so well in.

I do not disagree with you about Huawei's potential to be disruptive as a low-cost video surveillance box seller (i.e., finished cameras and recorders) but Huawei is not showing any public signals yet of going there.

Nonetheless, I agree with you, if Huawei did, they could be a huge threat to both Dahua and Hikvision, in particular, because as you both point out, they already control the core component to building those devices and have their own expertise at distributing products to mass markets.

I am not sure about the year 2023 but IMHO as chipset manufacturers, they have really high chances to move into Top 5 or even into Top 3.

I believe it is possible. For that reason recently we integrated Huawei cameras into IP Video System Design Tool.

In fact, I am surprised why they were waiting for so long. 

The interesting thing here is that we're now seeing a willingness for the Chinese to cannibalize their existing customers to sell more directly.

1. Hikua once sold solely through OEMs

2. Hikua launched branded product to compete against their OEMs and others

3. Now Huawei (Hisilicon) is selling cameras

What's next -- Do we start to buy straight from the Chinese government in 5 years?

Update: IPVM has received a response from a Huawei spokesperson about its aim of becoming a "Top 3" global video surveillance player:

"Regarding the reports of the Chinese media, the product team responded that they are more willing to deliver the best products and solutions to customers, and do not want to express more opinions on market share."

Hikvision has already responded to the possible competitive threat of Huawei entering the security market...

sounds like a sword fight on the deck of the Titanic ;)