Acceptance of certified security solutions developed well in emerging markets

”Customers are becoming aware of the importance of certification. Earlier, no-one was asking for it. But now it’s becoming a real competitive advantage.”

Tarek Noureldin, the managing director of Techno Egypt Integrated Solutions (TEIS), is an experienced security professional. Having worked with Kaso since 1990, he has had an unique vantage point to see how the Egypt market has evolved. Earlier, the market was dominated by untested and uncertified products, but times have luckily changed.

Uncertified products losing ground

In the Egyptian banking sector, there are typically three stakeholders in the buying process: engineers, hired consultants and the purchasing department all need to be convinced.

”But whatever their position in the process may be, people are always astonished to see real-life pictures of uncertified vault doors, safety doors or safety deposit boxes, all of which have been broken in with ease,“ Noureldin says. “The photos really open their eyes to the real case.”

TEIS has supplied Kaso vault doors to many leading banks across Egypt. As a sign of trust, nowadays many security consultants ask Noureldin and TEIS for advice on how to make a good Request for Tender.

“By choosing ECB-S certified products, our customers always know exactly what they are paying for.  There are no hidden surprises in the construction of the vault doors or other items as might be the case with uncertified products,” Tarek Noureldin claims.

”The Egyptian market is on the rise as there are not enough bank branches in relation to the populations needs.  And we have had two revolutions in the recent past, so there is no question whether security is an issue or not.”

According to Noureldin, the cooperation with Kaso has been very flexible. ”Kaso has offered us excellent support with a swift response, whether it’s a technical or a pricing related question. And what’s most important, is that they have also been able to fine tune the products to meet the customers’ exact needs.”

Focus on educating the customers

For the businesses considering of becoming a Kaso dealer, Noureldin has a sound piece of advice.

”You need to be willing educate your potential customers on the value of the European standards and testing procedures. You really have to make sure that they understand the difference between a certified and uncertified products. Once the common understanding and mutual trust is gained, business will be so much easier.”

Specializing in physical security solutions

TEIS is a privately owned business specializing in physical security solutions for the banking and IT sector. Around half of the TEIS business comes from Kaso vault doors, safety doors and safety deposit boxes. TEIS was the first company in the Egypt market to offer products that have been certified by the neutral European Certification Body (ECB). ECB-S certification mark guarantees that the product has been tested according to the strict European standards.

“By choosing ECB-S certified products, our customers always know exactly what they are paying for.”