Our programmes allow partners to grow with us!

Oh Tee Lee,
Regional Director,
South APAC Region,
Axis Communications

What are the market trends when it comes to surveillance & security?

According to the 2010 edition of the annual IMS research report, the network video equipment market in India in 2011 is expected to grow by 54.3%, compared to 2010. The report also states that video surveillance equipment in India is currently valued at $204.2 million in 2011. The network video equipment market in India is currently valued at $38.1 million and is poised to grow to $127.7 by 2014. 

Over the last one and a half years, we could see that the drive towards network video surveillance adoption has been more prominent. Including Axis, most of the top manufacturers have launched or are in the process of launching products according to HDTV standards. Faster and better computing inside the cameras is helping manufacturers deliver very high content HDTV video at full frame rate and resolutions. Improvement in storage and recording server specifications and in the video management application system abilities to handle high-resolution streams is helping drive this adoption. 

Axis has already launched the Axis Camera Application Platform (ACAP) on its latest cameras and we already see a few over-the-shelf applications available. Embedded or onboard applications like tripwire/people counting/traffic density, etc., will help build more value around the solutions being provided. As the market moves ahead on technology, we will see very little differentiation at the product level, since the USP will now shift to application level. From a user perspective, it will mean solutions will be delivered after translating product features in to user requirements. 

What's your current market share?

Axis is the global market leader with focus on security surveillance and remote monitoring, based on innovative, open technology platforms. Around 1 million professional network video products and more than 3 million networking products are installed globally. Also, we are involved with the retail-related organizations like Advisory Board of the Loss Prevention Research Council. In India, Axis Communications known as Axis Video Systems India Private Limited is distributed by Ingram Micro and Anixter. The key strategic partners include G4S, Honeywell, Tyco and Siemens.

We cannot share numbers, but we can say that we have grown to our expectations. This growth has been fuelled from our focus on the technology and partners. India is also a major contributor of the Asian market revenue which contributes 11% to our revenue worldwide. We do not have any inputs on India-specific market share since the figures are not being tracked by anyone currently. But we have a projection of 40% year-on-year growth in India which is aligned with IMS forecast of 59%.

What are the opportunities for the channel?

Axis' product portfolio consists of a wide range of network video solutions for a number of applications, specializing in professional network video solutions for surveillance and remote monitoring. It includes network video cameras, video encoders, video management software and accessories for entry-level to professional installations.

Axis is a completely channel-driven company and has over 735 certified channel partners in India currently. Axis has major plans to expand this number to 1,000 in the coming year. The company's main focus is to foray into tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the coming months. To achieve this, we will expand our partner network and continue focus on partner education and training to keep them updated on the company's latest technology products. We encourage them to be partners in profits and constantly do knowledge transfer and consider them as an integral part of our business.  

Who are your customers as of now? 

Axis prioritizes six primary end-user segments for products sold under Axis' own brands:

*     Education

*     Banking & Finance (post offices, insurance companies)

*     Retail (gas stations, supermarkets) 

*     Transportation (traffic surveillance)

*     Government 

*     Industrial (process industries, engineering, pharmaceutical)

Some of our Indian projects include international airports at Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Indian Navy, Vizag Sea Port, Reliance Oil & Gas, D. Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Shivajinagar Bus Terminus in Bangalore, Reliance Internet data centres - Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, BPCL, NTPC, ITC Welcome group Hotels and Taj Mahal Hotel. In terms of target industry verticals, Axis is betting big on the transportation segment which, as per Frost & Sullivan, is estimated to spend $3.6 billion on security by 2017. With increasing investments in government sectors, the infrastructure sector also looks quite promising. 

In terms of real estate, over the past few years, we have observed rise in nuclear families and double income households. Thus, security is a concern. In a connected world, remote surveillance using IP surveillance cameras provides us with the peace of mind that our near and dear ones are safe and gives us the added advantage of checking on their well being from anywhere in the world.

For more contact:
Syeda Beenish
beenish@varindia.com