ZKTeco is a global leader in biometric verification technology. Its global presence is fortified by an intricate network of state-of-the-art research and development centers, bolstered by an extensive distribution of sales channels and service networks across diverse international markets. The company’s journey so far has been defined by unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence, resulting in a portfolio that redefines industry standards and propels it as a vanguard of modern biometric and security solutions, reveals Jiten Mahapatra, Vice President, ZKTeco Biometrics India Pvt. Ltd. Excerpts from an interview with ISR:
Q. Can you provide an overview of your company and its primary areas of expertise in the safety and security industry?
ZKTeco’s journey over the past several decades has been marked by significant milestones, culminating in the development of cutting-edge technologies in the biometric and security products segment. The foundation of this trajectory was laid when the visionary founders of ZKTeco introduced the pioneering fingerprint algorithm to the market. The resounding success of this innovation spurred ZKTeco to embark on a strategic exploration of biometric verification technology. This exploratory phase yielded a series of groundbreaking achievements, including the introduction of an array of fingerprint-based biometric systems, facial algorithms, and standalone access control devices. The years of dedicated research and development led to the establishment of ZKTeco, enabling it to become functional in the overseas market. This pivotal moment heralded the launch of a diverse portfolio of revolutionary products and technologies that fundamentally reshaped the biometric industry landscape. These advancements set the stage for a new era in biometric verification and access control technology.
Our path has been characterized by exponential growth, manifested through the establishment of strategic branches in numerous countries worldwide. This strategic expansion has solidified ZKTeco’s status as a global industry leader in biometric verification technology. The global presence of ZKTeco is fortified by an intricate network of state-of-the-art research and development centers, bolstered by an extensive distribution of sales channels and service networks across diverse international markets. Our products and solutions occupy the forefront of technological spectrum in the biometric and security domains, distinguished by unique capabilities and captivating features. Our journey so far has been defined by unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence, resulting in a portfolio that redefines industry standards and propels us as a vanguard of modern biometric and security solutions.
Q. What are the most significant technological innovations your company has introduced in the field of biometric attendance and electronic security solutions?
ZKTeco India has been the leading manufacturer of a range of Biometric Products and Electronic Security Solutions in the country. It has been a well-recognized enterprise with an excellent track record for the best customer satisfaction with its vast presence connecting several states of India through 12 primary cities alongside a Global R&D Center and a Global Technical Center as well as an ultra-modern Manufacturing Facility, all of which being located in the Silicon Valley of India – Bengaluru. In addition to these, it also contains Multiple RMA Centers and an extensive sales channel system with strong logistic network spread across the country. ZKTeco’s firm belief in indigenous manufacturing is reflected in its continuous support towards the ‘Make in India’ mission via its state-of-the-art production facility thereby contributing to the local content development. This facility houses advanced machinery and various specialized divisions including Raw Materials Section, Heavy Materials Assembly Line, Biometric Devices & Controllers Assembly Line, Packing & Finished Product Line Section, Quality Control, Warehouse, Service Section, etc., for delivering excellence.
The R&D Center represents a full-fledged design center for developing advanced solutions employing cutting-edge technologies such as IoT and Cloud Computing and serves as a technology hub for driving engineering and innovation underlining various industry-related trends to approach in parallel with the rapidly growing Indian economy while also focusing on new and emerging technologies. Given the unique blend of intellectual design and modernization with its state-of-the-art facilities, it offers tremendous opportunities for remarkable research outputs as well as revolutionary software solutions with skilled engineers and technology prowess as its core competency. For instance, Intelligent Time Cloud-Based Attendance Software, Cloud Visitor, Cloud Access, easy TimePro Web-Based Time Attendance Software and so on. Our products and solutions are established on system progressiveness and technology integration offering numerous advantages over conventional systems. In this way, we are advancing towards the next stage of growth-oriented development. Today, ZKTeco India demonstrates manufacturing leadership while driving performance to the new levels in science and technology as a world-leading solution provider in the fields of Multi-Biometrics and Smart Security Management.
Q. How do you see the current trends in security technology evolving, particularly in response to global health challenges?
The world of Biometrics has witnessed a dramatic transition from conventional fingerprint biometrics to a much more sophisticated Touchless Biometric Technology especially in the current situation as a result of Covid-19 outbreak. Touchless Biometric driven solutions such as Facial Recognition enabled operations could be the key for continued socio-economic activities especially in the Healthcare sector. In particular, Facial Recognition Technology not only offers convenience in terms of recognition speed and precision but also promotes safety and hygiene as the entire verification process is performed without any physical contact.
Facial Recognition is also one of the most attractive applications of Touchless Biometric Technology. Nonetheless, Facial Recognition in real applications still pose greater challenges due to the fact that face often undergo changes owing to various facial expressions, different appearances, and angles as well as environmental factors such as different light intensity.
However, with ZKTeco’s innovative technology in Biometrics together with Deep Learning and robust facial recognition algorithms, today it is made possible to verify an individual’s face regardless of the attire, facial expressions, facial accessories, and environmental factors including light intensity and shadow. In this regard, Visible Light Facial Recognition has become the most spoken word in the current Biometric Industry accentuating all the above aspects while focusing on Advanced Contactless Biometric and Security Solutions that could detect and authenticate individuals wearing mask along with body temperature measurement. This could be a key to enforce powerful safety measures and precautions.
Q. Can you walk us through the development process of one of your flagship products, from concept to market release?
ZKTeco has recently launched its most powerful web-based security platform yet, ZKBioCVSecurity, which incorporates state-of-the-art Hybrid Biometrics and Computer Vision Technology. This platform represents a significant advancement in our product lineup. It boasts a comprehensive suite of modules, including Personnel Management, Time Attendance, Access Control, Visitor Management, Parking Management, Elevator Control, FaceKiosk, Video Management, Mask and Temperature Detection, Online/Offline Consumption Tracking, Guard Patrol, Intelligent Video Analytics, Locker Management, Intrusion Alarm, and a dedicated Service Center, among others. A distinguishing feature of this platform is its utilization of micro-service development framework, which contributes to robust system performance. This framework ensures key attributes such as high availability, scalability of modules, secure communication protocols, and seamless integration with third-party systems.
Leveraging our extensive expertise in the domain, ZKTeco has seamlessly integrated video surveillance and intelligent analysis into this platform. This integration empowers real-time analysis of video content and the extraction of valuable metadata, facilitating the creation of a responsive early warning system. This system, in turn, enables timely and effective incident responses, bolstering the overall security. Moreover, ZKBioCVSecurity guarantees meticulousness to security incidents, thereby establishing a pragmatic and reliable security ecosystem. This platform adheres to international-level certifications and standards for information security management, ensuring the utmost safety and protection for individuals, vehicles, and properties.
Q. How do your solutions integrate with existing security systems and IT infrastructures in businesses?
At ZKTeco, we understand the critical importance of seamless integration to ensure robust and cohesive security management for businesses. Our solutions are designed with interoperability and ease of integration in mind, allowing for smooth integration into diverse IT environments and security frameworks. Here are several ways our solutions achieve this:
Our products support open architecture and industry-standard communication protocols such as TCP/IP, Wiegand, and more. This ensures that our solutions can easily communicate with a wide range of devices and systems.In addition, our Access Controllers are equipped with advanced functions including Global Anti-Passback, Global Interlock, Global Linkage Settings such as Fire Panel Linkage thereby enhancing the security and safety levels to new heights. Furthermore, the ARMATURA Hi-Tech Access Controllers offer ultimate performance with world-class design, multimodal authentication with enormous storage capabilities, high cyber security functions with OSDP protocol and AES standard data protection as well as BMS common communication protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and OPC.
ZKTeco also offers powerful and centralized all-in-one security software like ZKBioCVSecurity. This platform is designed to integrate multiple security functions, providing a unified interface for managing security operations. Furthermore, our solutions are highly scalable and customizable, allowing businesses to expand their security infrastructure as needed. Whether a company is upgrading an existing system or implementing a new one, ZKTeco’s solutions can be tailored to fit seamlessly into their security ecosystem without requiring extensive modifications.
By prioritizing interoperability and offering robust integration capabilities, ZKTeco helps businesses enhance their security posture while leveraging their existing investments in security and IT infrastructure. Our commitment to providing flexible, scalable, and easy-to-integrate solutions ensures that businesses can achieve a cohesive and effective security strategy.
Q. What are the primary concerns and needs of your clients, and how does your company address them?
Our clients primarily seek robust security, reliability, scalability, seamless integration, user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and regulatory compliance. We address these needs by providing advanced biometric and smart security systems, employing state-of-the-art algorithms for accuracy, offering modular and scalable solutions, ensuring easy integration with existing infrastructure, and designing intuitive user interfaces. Additionally, we also provide affordable to high end products that deliver long-term value and ensure compliance with major regulatory standards. Our comprehensive approach ensures that our clients can operate securely and efficiently, with solutions tailored to their specific requirements.
Q. How does your company ensure that its products comply with international safety and security regulations and standards?
Ensuring compliance with international regulations and standards is a fundamental aspect of our commitment to providing high-quality, reliable products. We implement a comprehensive approach to achieve this. ZKTeco rigorously adheres to internationally recognized standards such as CE, FCC, UL, and RoHS. Our ISO certified company encompasses all aspects of product development, manufacturing, and testing as well as BIS certification. Our dedicated QC Team regularly performs audits and inspections to ensure compliance as well as quality. Apart from these, we do have SUS304 Compliance, and our X-Ray Baggage Scanners are AERB certified.
We also have attained both national and international recognitions and awards through perseverance, excellence, and quality of our products and solutions. As a testimony to this, we have won the prestigious Engineering Excellence Award for our Best Innovative Products in the Biometrics & Access Control Category in 2022 and for Manufacturing Leadership in 2023. Furthermore, ZKTeco has been selected by the a&s Magazine as the “Top 14 Global Security Company” and it is honoured by also being selected as “Top 6 Multi-Product Group” and “Top 9 Global Security in APAC Region” at offering state-of-the-art biometric solutions and top-notch security products in 2023.
Q. What advice would you give to new companies entering the safety and security technology market?
Entering the safety and security technology market can be both challenging and rewarding. To succeed, it’s crucial for new companies to thoroughly understand the market needs. Conducting comprehensive market research will help identify specific customer requirements, allowing you to tailor your products accordingly. Innovation should be at the forefront of your strategy. The market is constantly evolving with advancements in technology, so investing in R&D to embrace emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and biometrics is essential for developing cutting-edge solutions.
Compliance with regulatory standards is another critical aspect. Familiarize yourself with the regulations and standards governing the industry in your target markets and ensure your products meet these requirements to avoid legal complications and build customer trust. Additionally, prioritize quality and reliability in your products. Safety and security solutions must be robust and dependable, requiring rigorous testing and quality assurance processes to maintain high standards of performance.
Building strong partnerships with other technology providers, integrators, and industry stakeholders can enhance your product offerings and expand your market reach.
Collaboration can provide valuable industry insights and create synergies that benefit all parties involved. Moreover, investing in customer education is vital. Educate your customers about the importance of safety and security technologies, offering training and support to help them effectively use your products and maximize their benefits.
Exceptional customer service can set you apart from competitors. Being responsive to customer inquiries, providing timely technical support, and building long-term relationships with clients will enhance your reputation and customer loyalty. As safety and security technologies become more interconnected, cybersecurity is paramount. Ensuring your products are secure from cyber threats will protect your customers’ data and maintain their trust.
Designing scalable and flexible solutions will allow your products to adapt to different environments and customer needs, accommodating future technological advancements. Finally, regularly gather and act on feedback from your customers and stakeholders. Continuous improvement based on this feedback will ensure your products and services evolve to meet the changing needs of the market. By following these guidelines, new companies can establish a strong foothold in the safety and security technology market, providing innovative and reliable solutions that meet the needs of their customers.