business news Axis’ CEO is pleased to take over Canon’s sales of security products: ”It was not good for us, and therefore not good for Canon” Canon’s decision to hand over sales and marketing of its security products to Axis creates clarity in the market for both end customers and partners according to Axis’ CEO Ray Mauritsson. “It was our initiative, because we thought it could work much better”, he says. Now, Axis takes a glance towards the video door station/intercom market and wants to become more service-oriented. By Henrik Söderlund Axis’ CEO Ray Mauritsson in front of the company’s headquarters in Lund, Sweden. A new office for 1,400 employees will be ready in 2019. Axis has recently taken over the marketing and sales of Canon’s products in the EMEA and North America. Ray Mauritsson says that Canon took the decision after pressure from Axis. “First of all we are there promoting our cameras, and then Canon, which everyone knows is the main shareholder in Axis, comes along and promotes their products. As an end customer, who do you believe? It was not good for us, and therefore not good for Canon”, he says. The problem came to light immediately after Canon acquired Axis in 2015. However, now only Axis will approach customers and partners and manage support, except in Asia, where Canon has not yet taken any decisions on the way forward. Canon’s customers are important What will happen to Canon’s product development has not yet been communicated and several of Axis’ and Canon’s products are similar. Ray Mauritsson says: “There is quite a lot of overlap in the product portfolios, even though there are some products that stand out. But above all, there are a number of established customers who have chosen Canon and it is really important that they continue to buy. Our commitment is to serve Canon’s customers.” He believes that Axis should take advantage of the Canon products that complement or add something, but admits that Axis sales people will be more comfortable with selling their own products. The view on how well Canon’s products will sell is not yet very clear. “We do not have all the information, we might get to know a group of customers where Canon has been successful and where we can grow in a completely different way thanks to our presence. Not worried about patents The primary benefits for Axis being part of the Canon Group have so far been more effective purchases and a greater sense of safety when it comes to patents. “Being able to work with Canon gives us robustness for the future. Canon has many major licensing agreements with other major players and it makes us a little bit safer in the sometimes stormy world of patents”, says Ray Mauritsson. He makes a comparison with the telecoms industry where it is crucial to hold patents and says: “There, the big players are fighting each other and our industry could also become like that. But if that is the case, we have achieved a good position where we can also get help from Canon.” He recognises two challenges with patents: companies which only acquire patents in order to file lawsuits against other companies – often called patent trolls – and companies that use patents as an instrument to prevent their competitors from expanding their business. A couple of years ago, the video analytics company Object Video sued several major manu- facturers for patent infringement. Subsequently, Avigilon acquired Object Video, and some people in the physical security industry were concerned about how Avigilon would handle the patents, but it did not worry Ray Mauritsson. “No, I am more worried about patent trolls. I feel pretty safe when it comes to our competitors – we hold at least as many good patents that are interesting for them. From that perspective, it is better for us that Avigilon holds the patents, Object Video did not care about our patents because it did not manufacture security cameras”, says Ray Mauritsson. More service-oriented Ray Mauritsson does not think that the market has changed very much during the last year. However, it continues to mature and the Chinese manufacturers Hikvision and Dahua are growing rapidly from their domestic base. At the same time, Axis’ growth rate is about 10 per cent. “What do you do in a maturing market? Well, we are looking for things that bring value to the customers and we want to take a bigger responsibility than just for the product itself. We do this based on our various end-user groups and by becoming more relevant, rather than simply by saying that we have the world’s best security camera,” explains Ray Mauritsson. In other words, Axis wants to become more service-oriented, although it has no plan to become a pure service provider. Ray Mauritsson imagines a parallel scenario, similar perhaps to that of a truck manufacturer renting out their trucks instead of selling them. Less players, more differentiation Axis’ CEO believes that the number of security camera manufacturers will decline. “We are one of the top players in terms of volume and we think it is time to start adding other products in order to increase growth, so one can only imagine how players number nine or ten feel about the competition”, Ray Mauritsson says. In recent years, Axis has launched an access control solution, a video door station and IP speakers. This spring, Axis acquired the Czech company 2N, which has about 200 employees and is the market leader in IP intercom/door phones according to IHS. “The acquisitions we have made in the past were small distributors, creating a way to establish ourselves in a new country. But with this acquisition, we broaden our portfolio considerably and we enter a new field”, confirms Ray Mauritsson. The market for video door stations/intercom is much smaller than the security camera market, but is at a similar stage of transformation that the security camera market was at during the transition from analogue to IP. “Today, the market is roughly where network video was 20062007 and the growth rate is 30–40 per cent. We are growing from low levels, but it looks promising”, says Ray Mauritsson. Security News Every Day – www. securityworldhotel.com 14 • d etektor internati onal