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Is Axis the IP Video Surveillance Vendor of the Year?

by John Honovich, IPVM posted on Nov 30, 2009 About John Contact John

Frost & Sullivan has awarded Axis Communications the IP Video Surveillance Vendor of the Year award. The awards were given to those who "demonstrated market-leading revenue growth and business innovation ... and are continuing to succeed in challenging times."

What Do You Think?

 

Background on Frost Awards

The industry consensus is that Frost & Sullivan awards are pay for play. For background, read our analysis of Frost awards with extensive industry feedback.

I view these awards as a deceptive form of vendor advertising. In my experience, vendors are most likely to 'win' these awards when they are trying to boost sales (large companies) or lack real world success (small companies).

Axis Year in Review

The award certainly triggers an important question, "How well did Axis, the biggest company in IP Video Surveillance, do this year?"

First, let's take a look at the positives for Axis which centers around an impressive number of product launches:

 
On the other hand, Axis faces increasing challenges:
  • They are losing market share in IP cameras after years of gaining it.
  • Sales are declining year over year (measured in local currency terms). While the economy has impacted almost everyone, the drop in Axis growth has been especially sharp.
  • Practically every Asian manufacturer and incumbent analog CCTV supplier has decided to jump into IP cameras.
  • Despite Axis numerous product introductions at the high end, Axis has done little to address its weakness in supplying products for the cost conscious or budget segment of the market.





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