Innovation doesn’t always mean utilising the latest technology but also – and foremost – being able to mix cutting-edge electronic solutions with old fashioned and yet highly reliable mechanical ones. In this interview, Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist at Abloy, shares with TowerXchange the latest from the company’s LatAm operations and reviews some of the unique features of Abloy’s products.
TowerXchange: Can you refresh our readers’ memory and introduce Abloy, its activities and updated footprint across CALA?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
Abloy is one of the leading manufacturers of locks, electronic locking systems and architectural hardware and the world’s leading developer of products in the field of electromechanical locking technology.
Abloy has been growing at a very good pace in CALA, helping to protect customers’ critical infrastructure in a variety of industries such as telecom, utilities, finance, logistics and transportation, mining and more.
Our footprint is extending day by day, led by our core team based in Abloy’s LatAm offices in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, and thanks to our local partners across the rest of the region.
TowerXchange: Since the inception of your activities, how has the demand for security products changed? And what has been happening in terms of innovation and R&D?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
Abloy has more than 110 years of experience providing high quality products to customers all around the world. That long-standing activity in the field equates to in-depth know-how and skills, matched with our ability to learn and understand new technologies and trends.
Abloy never slows down and is constantly striving to innovate and investing in R&D. This is true since the very first mechanical solution we offered back in the old days and remains valid these days, as we provide 100% electronic solutions to our customers. And our customers can expect the same high level of service, attention and quality as in the past.
Most of our customers are really excited to implement new technologies to protect and control their infrastructure. However, we really believe that the deployment of a new technology requires a strict control of production to protect them from the latest threat in the locking industry – hacking. Hackers have the power to disrupt brand new electronic locks and this is why we are extremely careful when adopting new technology.
TowerXchange: Are you serving towercos and MNOs mainly or also fibrecos and other types of infrastructure providers? And if so, how does the demand for solutions differ between the various segments of the ecosystem?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
We serve to the whole telecom and tele-media ecosystem. We protect infrastructure, optimise operations and improve efficiencies of towercos, fixed and mobile MNOs, fibrecos, data centre service providers and beyond. Abloy core business is to protect critical infrastructure, with telecom being one of our top sectors.
TowerXchange: How can your clients get the best out of Abloy solutions? What are some of the most common pitfalls they incur?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
Our main activities are focused in the B2B segment and our key customers are global companies who usually have a global framework that they then locally adapt to each market and its characteristics.
One of the top features we offer to our customers is our professional consultancy service, tailored to the needs of each industry and requirements. So while we are able to adapt to each local market, regulations and specific industry, we can also benefit from our global and interdisciplinary experience, which we offer to our customers as a consultancy service.
TowerXchange: Can you share with our readers a successful case study where Abloy considerably reduced opex by minimising theft at a site / across a portfolio?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
Abloy products provide high security access control solutions, thanks to a very robust hardware matched with a cutting-edge electronic access control device. We are not only able to minimise the risk of theft thanks to the hardware and technology we utilise but also to reduce the opex and capex of our customers.
While we cannot disclose specific information with regards to our customers and the savings we brought to their businesses, we are proud to say that thousands of our security products are making our customers’ operations safer while also ensuring opex savings and a more efficient use of their capex.
TowerXchange: How does the demand differ between different CALA countries/environments (eg. Rural versus urban)?
Juan Carlos Noriega, Telecom Vertical Specialist, Abloy:
Definitely the demand changes between countries, environments and type of infrastructure. In LatAm for example we have to work with different international standards, such as the ANSI from the U.S. and the EN coming from European markets such as Spain, France or the UK.
The demand for a certain solution or another also depends on the criticality of each site, which will determine the durability and security level of the chosen product.
Nowadays, telecom sites have dozens of locking points and customers are used to control electronically just a few of them. Many traditional base stations use a combination of mechanical and electronic solutions and this is why Abloy always strive to select the best technology fit for each customer and project.
