Axis in all regions of the planet.

#Axis

Leadership is responsibility.

Bodile SONESSON Gallon joined Axis Communications in 1995. At that time, the company had only three offices: in Sweden, the USA and Japan.

Today, Bodil heads the Axis sales department, which employs 350 people, and the company has offices in dozens of countries.

— The global leadership of Axis Communications as a manufacturer of IP cameras is a fact recognized by almost all market players. A long way has been traveled since the world's first network video camera, Axis NetEye 200, was released in 1996. Today, it is simply impossible to talk about the network video surveillance market without mentioning Axis. But, as we know, a leading position can also become a heavy burden in other situations…

— Of course, it is always more difficult for the one who goes first. But I would put the emphasis differently: leadership is, first of all, responsibility.

And the highest, especially when it comes to the market segment that works to ensure security.

Because the leader largely determines the development vectors of the entire industry, and accordingly, the cost of error increases many times over.

— Has Axis had them?

— Of course, but fortunately, these were local miscalculations that did not have a significant impact.

From the outside, it may seem that our company took a big risk, — colleagues probably remember how skeptical many market participants were about the emergence of network video surveillance, — but we were confident in success, and life has proven us right.

Today, 15 percent of video surveillance systems operating in different countries of the world are IP systems. The process of transition to network video surveillance is gaining momentum. Moreover, it has become an objective reality.

— The TSB industry is quite conservative, specialists know well how difficult it can be to bring a new, even very good, product to the market. Axis has succeeded in this to the fullest extent, what is the secret of success?

— Our company has never hidden the essence of its marketing policy. I will say more, many competitors and colleagues from related market segments have adopted our experience.
There are three main points to note.

The first is the focus on network video. The second is the presence of Axis in all regions of the planet. For example, in the USA the company has only one office.

But we work throughout the country, there are practically no so-called white spots on the map of America for the company. And this is the case in all regions. The third is relationships with partners.

— If possible, please elaborate on this.

— We work with distributors, indirect sales are a rather boring model to implement, but we have been sticking to this for many years because we want our partners to trust us.
System integrators are our second-level partners.

Today we have 30,000 of them worldwide. 750 Axis partners are engaged in the development of various applications and software.

We also need to mention the company's consultants: architects, designers of buildings and other objects who help us in developing concepts for new cameras.

There are also technology partners – developers of telecommunication systems, data transmission systems, including wireless ones.

— What are the company's priorities today?

— They remain the same as many years ago, when Axis brought the world's first network camera to market — innovation and quality.

Judge for yourself, the functionality of each new generation of cameras increases significantly.

Recently, for example, we released a platform into which any applications can be integrated, including the most complex video analytics.

We have released an HD camera that produces such a high-quality image that it can be used to shoot professional films.

It is important to note that our cameras fully comply with the international HDTV 1080 (SNMTE) standard, which regulates not only the required number of pixels, but also such characteristics as color rendering and frame rate.

The HDTV format is used in all Axis cameras, from budget dome cameras to high-tech hi-end cameras for complex outdoor solutions.

Consumers in many countries have already become familiar with another new product from Axis — a thermal imaging camera.

It has excellent characteristics, and, most importantly, the thermal imager has become affordable, which means there is every reason to expect that its areas of application will expand significantly.

The thermal imaging camera is easily integrated into the system, just like a regular network camera.

Another new product of this year is the 5-megapixel camera P1347E. The camera produces very high-quality images, has a digital zoom, and several streams.

I would also like to mention the cameras of the new M11 series. These cameras are compact and affordable.

The equipment of this series has a single platform, and the user has the opportunity to choose the functionality he needs.

That is, cameras with different capabilities can operate within one system, depending on the tasks they perform.

And finally, Axis outdoor solutions, specially designed for countries with cold climates.
The Swedes, — Bodil laughs, — know what winter cold is no worse than the Russians.

These cameras automatically turn on their own heating, and the full operating mode begins when the temperature of the cameras reaches 0°C.
One of the company's priority areas of activity is the development of solutions for public transport.

This work began quite a long time ago, and today it is yielding impressive results. Just one example: 3,000 cameras have already been installed in Madrid buses, and this project continues.

Moving further in our professional development, we divide the security industry into segments: transport, healthcare, etc.

Business in each segment is developing according to a separate plan.
I cannot help but mention another important area of ​​the company's activity — the development and implementation of open standards for network cameras.

This measure is certainly a powerful catalyst for the maturation and expansion of the IP video surveillance market.

The Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF), formed by Axis Communications, Sony Corporation and Bosch Security Systems, now includes 180 partners, which is up to 80% of the entire network video market.

You must admit, this is not a bad result at all, especially considering that the first camera with ONVIF specifications was released only in November 2008.

— What do you think are the prospects for Axis Communications in Russia?

— We are very pleased with how things are going in your country. Opening an office in Moscow was the right and very timely step.

We continue to develop and invest in Russia.

One of the main areas of our activity in Russia, as well as throughout the world, is training.

This is very important, because the process of transition from analog equipment to network equipment is impossible without training people.

Normal development and the introduction of new technologies are mostly hampered by inertia and established stereotypes of people who are used to working on analog equipment.

That is why the company makes considerable investments in training and retraining of specialists.

We hold a lot of events for our partners of various levels, including end users.

We are in contact with them, maintain relationships, and exchange experiences.

I was recently in America and looked at their marketing plan.

Can you imagine, they held 90 events in the first quarter of this year. That is, every day there is an event.

Currently, our work is concentrated in Moscow, and our plans for the near future include broad coverage of regions.

We have begun to pay much more attention to second-level partners – system integrators.

There are very competent engineers in Russia.

Their experience and technical knowledge are also the company’s capital.

If we compare Russia with other developing markets, I can note the high level of training of Russian specialists.
If we take last year, the share of the EMEA region, which includes Russia, is 45% of all Axis sales.

Sales growth in the first quarter of 2010 compared to last year is 44%.

In the first half of last year, there was a slowdown in growth rates, but everything has recovered since the summer, and now sales are steadily growing.

Over the past three to four years, Russia has always provided annual growth of 60%.

During the crisis, the growth rate, of course, slowed down.

But we looked at the results of the fourth and first quarters and clearly understand that we can return to the previous, pre-crisis, sales growth rate.

Which is what we are trying to achieve.
We say goodbye to Bodil.

Looking at this fragile, charming woman, it is hard to believe that she is a top manager of one of the largest companies in the industry, in other words, one of the leaders of a leading company.

Is this burden difficult? — we ask Bodil.

— There are times when I get physically tired. Like this week, for example, which included trips to Moscow, Tokyo, Mexico, and the USA.

In general, work is a joy.

I find it easy to find a common language with employees.

Partly because I have been working for the company since its first days.

But the main thing is different: the Axis team professes three principles: always be open, think globally, one for all and all for one.

We are all enthusiasts at Axis.

That is probably why we succeed in so many things.