Andrew Percival, Excel
interview
How do you view the network infrastructure industry right now? I think we are almost in recovery mode. We are certainly seeing more in the pipeline compared to 12-15 months ago and we are seeing better quality in the pipeline in terms of the scale of opportunities and the type of customer spending money. We are seeing more in the private sector but obviously this is balanced out by the slight drop in the public sector. We are seeing more confidence in our customer base but I think quite a lot of damage has been done to the market pricing and the value associated with certain services and products. I would include in that pre-sales and other professional services and support, the value of trained engineering, the value of correctly tested and documented networks and systems. I think there have been a number of cutting exercises that have taken away layers of value that the end user used to receive more frequently. I also think there are organisations within the vendor, distributor and integrator sectors that have invested in product and people development and as a result are more likely to experience quick growth as the market picks up.
Are there certain trends that you are seeing this year and what trends do you expect to see in the future? From a cabling point of view I certainly think there will be higher demand for Category 6A solutions and fibre. Where I think there are opportunities for organisations involved in structured cabling installation are in the growth of devices that sit on the network – particularly IP security, including access control, cameras, recording equipment etc. I think this is a logical progression for companies installing both small and large cabling systems to move into this area as well. Similarly I think remote, centrally managed building management systems that control lighting, air conditioning, environmental monitoring etc. will offer an opportunity for installers. The technology and products are coming through from the
Talking it over
As Excel unveils its new look product branding, Michael Crane takes the opportunity to speak to managing director Andrew Percival about the network infrastructure industry and the reasoning behind the refresh.
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