Currently, There is a Lot of Buzz and Demand for Smart Cards

HID Global has always focused on bringing in new technologies that can power trusted identities of people, places and things. In India, our entry-level product range and our enterprise range have been well received states Lalit Agarwal, Sales head, South Asia Secure Issuance, HID Global. During an elaborated e-interaction the veteran unveils the prominence of Smart Cards, its future and their expertise. Edited Nub Below.

Q. How Important is India as a market for HID India and what key areas are of HID’s key focus?

India continues to remain a key market for HID Global worldwide and we are a growing company with a sizeable presence in the country. With continued focus and market demand for holistic security, we are seeing a strong upward trend for deploying our trusted identities solutions in India. To meet this growing demand, we plan to grow our business both organically as well as inorganically.

Q. Kindly share an overview of HID India and its play in SI?

HID Global has always focused on bringing in new technologies that can power trusted identities of people, places and things. In India, our entry level product range and our enterprise range have been well received. By leveraging decades of experience in document engineering and manufacturing, we are able to balance high security with ease of implementation and custom design capabilities to meet demands in this market. With respect to Secure Issuance, we recently launched the HID® FARGO® HDP6600 and HID® FARGO® Connect, both have been well-received globally and in India.

Q. India has major plans under ‘Smart Card Scheme’, what key opportunities does it incur for HID India?

Currently, there is a lot of buzz and demand for smart cards. With the introduction of the ‘smart card scheme’, this demand is only expected to spike in the coming years. The BFSI sector, in particular, have been quick to make the transition from chip-based cards to advanced versions that come with fingerprint features; this will be a business opportunity for us. Additionally, with India’s thriving corporate market and increased government focus on end-to-end id card issuance, we anticipate our re-transferable printer solutions to do well. We are also seeing cloud-based card issuance market steadily picking up. Where in individuals, large corporates and governments have started to prefer cloud-based card issuance.

Q. During the recent Smart Cards Expo 2019 held in Delhi, HID India centre-staged trusted identity solutions, its competence in latest secured identity solutions? What are the salient features/advantages that provide a competitive edge with these new offerings?

At the Smart Card Expo 2019 event held recently in Delhi, we unveiled the following products for the first time in India some of our key products under Secure Issuance. Additionally, to enable our strong partner network to experience our products first-hand we also showcased the following at a recent Partner Meet held in Goa:

• Secured card personalization solutions: HID® FARGO® HDP6600 is a high definition printer/encoder designed to save customers time, money and energy by cutting in half the time it takes to print the first ID card while doubling overall throughput as compared to many alternatives.
• Powerful cloud printing solution: HID® FARGO® Connect is a revolutionary cloud-based card issuance solution that takes seamless on-boarding and credential issuance to a new level.

Q. Tell us about your R&D strength?

We have a strong focus on R&D. We closely study the market to anticipate trends as well as demands before we decide on our product roadmap. This technology-led approach has helped us to continuously innovate and stay ahead of the competition.

Q. What keeps HID India different from other manufacturer of secure identity products?

Apart from our bullish focus on R&D that help us tap into the right market opportunities, another aspect that sets us apart is our conscious effort towards greener and sustainable solutions. Like our new range of printers come with built-in intelligent temperature control that allows for a significant reduction in energy consumption and therefore are Green Circle certified.

Q. How has Cloud, IoT or the lingo used currently (SMAC) has impacted Security and Identity technologies?

IOT and SMAC have hugely impacted identity and security sector. Mobile phones are key to user identity today and people may forget their identity cards but would not step out without their mobile phone. Understanding the changing environment and demands, HID has worked towards offering solutions to enhance user experience which is customised.

Q. How challenging it is to cope up with customer-demand in this dynamic changing technology territory?

We are geared up and on par with the dynamic market situation. The R&D teams are constantly working towards identifying upcoming trends and developing solutions to the ever changing needs of our customers.

Q. Key business models to cater the domestic market and your partners strength?

Our top priorities are channel development and strengthening the channel. We constantly work towards helping the channel partners in providing the right solutions to their customers and remain relevant at all times.

Q. According to you, which are the most important trends in the market?

The important trends that we are observing are Identity over cloud and subscription based card issuance.

Q. How was the year 2019 for HID India and ahead plans of HID India in 2020, major announcements, strategies etc.?

We are witnessing a healthy growth and are bullish about 2020. Our strategy will be focussed towards providing new solutions which will give us an edge in the market. Our re-transfer printer hdp6600 which has been launched in the india market is a unique solution in its category and offers all together a different experience when it comes to identity badge issuance. We shall further announce new solutions in 2020 as we progress.