the interview Martin Gren believes in IP audio and IP intercoms Axis co-founder Martin Gren is satisfied with the decision that Axis has taken over Canon’s sales of IP cameras. Meanwhile, he continues to look towards new product areas. ”I believe that IP audio and IP intercoms are situated where IP cameras were 20 years ago”, he says. By Henrik Söderlund In 2015, Martin Gren was one of the Axis’ major shareholders who sold their shares to Canon. He has described the decision as very sad but rational. Canon promised that the brand, business model and development centre would remain and they have kept the promise. In September last year, it was announced that Axis would take over marketing and sales of Canon’s video surveillance products in EMEA and North America. ”It was quite confusing that both Canon and Axis were exhibiting at security shows and trying to sell products next to each other. So, I am very pleased that we have finally come to an agreement on how to deal with it”, Martin Gren says. You already have a full range of products; do you really need Canon’s products? ”They have some products that we do not have, but there are also many products that are very similar.” How is your life today, do you work as much with Axis as before? ”Yes, I would say that there is very little change except that I travel and give speeches more often than before. But I continue to work with new products that are not IP cameras, for example both the intercom and the speakers that we have launched. I think IP audio and IP intercoms are in the same position as IP cameras were 20 years ago.” Talking about IP intercoms, why did you acquire the Czech IP intercom manufacturer 2N? ”2N was the first company that released a video door phone that was based on IP and today they have a complete portfolio of IP-based intercoms. They are the world leader in this field. The company has more than 200 employees and worldwide sales presence, but of course, only a fraction of sales people compared to us. We hope to leverage our sales channel and learn from each other’s technologies.” You have always emphasised the transition from analogue cameras to IP cameras. Today, the growth rate for HD analogue is higher than for IP cameras in some markets. What is your view on that? “I think it applies primarily to small, very independent systems, which basically is not Axis’ market. Analogue HD has clearly taken over much of the old analogue market. IP has always been relatively weak in the small independent stores segment.” Do you see any new trends in the market? “I think the major trend is that integrated solutions are increasing. This has been the trend for quite a few years now, and it has become more and more obvious.” What about technology trends? “Right now smart compression is the main trend. Then there are a few on-going trends: picture quality is becoming better and better, as well as light sensitivity. Also, the development of sensors is progressing really fast.” What will IP cameras look like in the future? “If you believe in Moore’s Axis co-founder Martin Gren is satisfied with the decision that Axis has taken over Canon’s sales of IP cameras. law, it is possible to predict what will happen with resolution and image quality. Video analytics is a trend that has been around for a long time but has not yet become very big except for in some retail applications. For security applications, thermal cameras should still be used for high reliability. We have taken a partner approach there and have been very happy with it, but now we take one step further after acquiring the video analytics manufacturer Cognimatics. We still believe that you have to choose the right type of video analytics.” What is the right type? “The trick is to start looking at the market need, and not choose those applications where there must be 100 per cent accuracy. Public transportation companies dream about being able to detect people laying on the tracks. For room for error.” Chinese companies, especially Hikvision, are growing very quickly and offer IP cameras with low price. How do you compete with them? “In essence, we have similar manufacturing costs as the Chinese. What differs is the cost of the service, support, training and quality.” Is Hikvision starting to enter markets where you have been dominating? “There is no doubt that Hikvision is becoming one of our biggest competitors. I obviously think Axis products are much better with a higher quality. Hikvision has very small, very low cost solutions. And if you only look at price, they are an option.” Will you become more serviceoriented in the future? The trick is to start looking at the market need, and not choose those applications where there must be 100 per cent accuracy. most people, it sounds trivial to tell the difference between a human and a train, but when conducting image processing, you realise that there are huge demands on reliability. In retail, it is not crucial whether the video analytics says that there are seven or eight people standing in a queue, but that there is a long queue that must be addressed. In security applications there is no “It is something that we are looking into and we have taken a few steps towards that direction. But we can not talk about it yet.” Is this a strategy in order to tackle the threat of low price products from China? “Well, I would rather focus on what the customers want and we know that they want services and therefore, we need to be able to deliver them.” Security News Every Day – www. securityworldhotel.com dete kto r in te r n at i on al • 25