When Motorola Solutions outlined its plan for 2020 in Latin America, it did so with a GDP growth forecast of 1.4%. The current scenario anticipates at least a 5% drop, with various impacts on the businesses in which the company operates: public security and government (which in some segments increases its demand for products from the Motorola Solutions portfolio), manufacturing and hospitality (both badly beaten); and retail (which will renew its demand in the return to the “new normal”, with unthinkable protection needs).
Alex Castañeda, last May appointed as VP and General Manager of the company in the region, told Convergencialatina that a good year had been planned for operations in Latin America, but now they are facing a context without financial support, so the company will focus on the segments with the highest demand. "Emergency calls around crime fell considerably due to confinement, contrary to medical emergency calls, which -as expected- increased by around 50%, even reaching a peak of 200% during the initial phase of the pandemic," he stressed.
In the security and government sector, the priorities turned upside down. There are clients who have decided to interrupt investments in communications, because they must first focus on other critical situations, and in parallel, others are focusing on specific needs to strengthen connectivity. In the latter case, Castañeda expanded the number of seats or licenses to answer calls; public safety agencies asking for more radios to communicate; or the urgent need for personal accessories and batteries for security personnel, so they do not share the equipment.
For example, Police of Chile have incorporated 300 body cameras from Motorola Solutions to record police procedures at all times, collect film evidence and provide evidence. “The pandemic prompted the need for cameras that not only serve to record, but become an intelligent sensor. With this we aim at machine vision sensors: the value of data is in giving them context, suggestions for action. As a result, they are capable of capturing, evaluating, analyzing and based on taking an action,” said the executive.
As for the retail segment, which is preparing for a possible reopening, Motorola Solutions sees the greatest growth potential in the two-way radio accessories portfolio, based on a survey of 200 of its channels in Latin America.
Lastly, Castañeda pointed out the use of push-to-talk (PTT) broadband for interoperability in mission critical systems, between LTE and the traditional world of radio communications. The company offers this solution - developed by Kodiak Networks, one of Motorola Solutions' recent acquisitions - for Covid-19 test centers, and in a country of the region not yet identified it is already being used.