Omar Hikal

Home automation yesterday’s future is here today

Imagine being able to control the atmosphere and ambiance of your home with a single touch of a button. Automatically drawing the curtains, dimming the lights, turning on your music and setting the temperature, all from a conveniently located touch-screen… It might sound like a futuristic fantasy, but all this, and much more, is now possible. I sat with Omar Hikal, CEO of Archimedia; the home automation systems integration company that combines the world’s best audio, video and automation brands by offering chic, sophisticated solutions to provide ease and speed; the two fundamentals of modern day living...

Hi Omar, can you tell us a little about your background and what led you to the world of Archimedia?
Archimendia’s existing chairman was the one who actually brought a group of us together in 2003. At the time, he had been working in the high-end audio business for at least 10 years prior to the point of actually launching the company. The idea was because technology was moving very rapidly abroad. After attentively studying the market, it was evident that the region was prepared for someone to come in with a revolutionary, clear eye for system design, and understand how to integrate all these technologies into the home environment. So, he got us all together and we decided to set up in Dubai.

Why Dubai?
Dubai was primarily chosen because there was the beginning of a Real Estate development boom, and secondly we needed a regional distribution house, for importing and re-exporting, and Dubai had the market for this.

How would you describe this technology and its benefits?
We design a system that will benefit each individual client they way they desire and require.

How do you foresee the market for home automation in the upcoming years?
The market is developing very rapidly, and people are building and renovating their homes by incorporating certain features that were once considered as a luxury, and now accepted as a requirement. However, there are times where we’ve needed to interpose, and redirect the client’s requests – especially when they begin demanding certain things that are neither rational, nor necessary.

What kind of client is required to trigger mass-market consumption of Smart Homes in Egypt?
The Egyptian market is shrewd and very intelligent. The majorities of our clients are in touch and updated with what is going on abroad regarding technology advancement, and this is very important for us, because we need our clients to be aware and responsive by telling us exactly what they desire, and we as a company can help them.

Are the energy companies and the government accepting these solutions with open arms or showing any resistance? Do these solutions offer energy conservation?
Our systems – especially lighting control systems are very energy efficient. Lutron, which is a lighting control system, is extremely energy efficient, and this is one particular part of the system that actually pays for itself. For instance; the conventional dimmer makes the buzzing sound and can get very hot, this is energy that is being wasted. On the contrary, with the Lutron dimmer, if you take a lighting fixture chandelier down 25%, it
effectively consumes a quarter of the energy, so it’s a very energy efficient system, and we’ve had a tremendous amount of success with that.

Who does your company have to compete against?
The issue that we are mostly competing against is not other competitors in the industry. One of our biggest issues is; General lack of awareness. There are times where we’ve had some resistance from the old-fashioned consultants who may have had bad experiences with previous automation systems that used older technology, and accordingly – shy away from venturing or recommending their clients to us, and that’s a challenge for us. That is why we are expanding with new showroom in the region so the clients can come in and experience first hand what is happening.

I can see Archimedia as a worthy successor. But its uptake seems slow here in the Middle East. Why is that?
Basically it’s like everything – most of the technology is developed in the west. And this is the reality; we as the Middle East are lagging far behind when it comes to developing technology, and that is unfortunately the state of our affairs.

Do you agree with this statement? In most cases, the consumer influences trends, and the architects and developers accommodate the needs of the modern consumer.
No. I mean – most times, the consumer has no idea what they want. Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked my consumers what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse and carriage”. Or for instance the iPod – this device did not come out from consumer research. Most of these innovations are ahead of the consumer and this is what I find most exciting – the idea of constantly coming up with innovative ideas. In my opinion, the developers are ahead of the consumer – Apple, Bowers & Wilkins and Meridian are fantastic examples of companies that are ahead of the market.

So basically, you believe that developers that are able to identify the needs of their consumers, and cost-effectively address those needs through the right technology, will create a significant competitive advantage over those who do not.
Absolutely...

I read that you work with your clients to design and put together a system that considers the size and shape of the room, its acoustic and light qualities, as well as its interior décor.
We like to spend time with our clients to understand more about their lives. People are different – and they have different expectations. We actually have a questionnaire that we go through with the client to help recognize what they want. In fact this is a very fundamental and important aspect of what we do. For instance; the dedicated home cinema is a room that entirely reflects the clients inclination, and to make this unique space become the clients favorite room in the house, we need to spend some time with them.

When is the best time for Archimedia to become involved in the configuration of my home?
A lot of the stuff we do involves civil work, so definitely as early as possible.

Do clients generally come demanding detailed Archimedia audio systems? Or do you usually need to introduce them to the best names in the industry? Be it, Bowers & Wilkins speaker systems with Classé and Rotel electronics.
We have certain solutions that we offer, because we almost exclusively feel they are the best for the application. Most clients don’t necessarily come demanding any particular brand – but they are more concerned about discussing the aesthetic considerations.

Thanks for answering our questions Omar. Where should our readers visit to find out more about Archimedia?
We have showrooms in Dubai, Cairo, Designopolis, Bahrain and our Riyadh showroom should be open by April 2011. We also have our website, and people can find us on face book and twitter fan pages.