Anixter, Citing Axis, Sets Industry Back Years

Anixter declares, "The biggest business driver is that an IP based solution is less expensive than an analog solution." Not only is this factually wrong, it is terrible advice that would hurt both buyers and sellers of IP systems. Alas, this is central to Anixter's mega marketing campaign for ISC West. Watch this one minute video as they pull Axis into this:

If this sounds familiar, this is a follow up to the recent 'white paper' misrepresenting 5 advantages of IP video. Indeed, this one makes the first look sophisticated and modern.

Emphasizing Cost?

While Axis had a TCO study nearly 3 years ago (that we debunked), Axis no longer leads with cost or TCO. Take a look at Axis' "10 reasons to switch to IP-based video" Reason #1 is high resolution. Where's TCO? Way down at number #9. The same pattern is found in Axis's industry solution profiles - where benefits and new features are the core value proposition. As IP's benefits have increased, the need to market based on the flawed foundation of 'better TCO' has disappeared.

Ironically, we just had a discussion on whether IP Video had lower TCO where each commenter scoffed at the proposition.

You Can't Win On Cost

Literally, it is not possible for IP video to win on cost in a real competition. There's just so many low cost analog cameras and DVRs that it is mission impossible. You have to resort to tricks, flawed or way out of date comparisons to analog.

And even if you were crazy enough to lead with 'less expensive', Anixter's approach focuses on back end savings - servers, storage, scalability. While we think the Arecont/Avigilon claims of MP replacing dozens of cameras is comical, it certainly has more appeal and grounding than what Anixter advises.

Minimize Cost, Focus on Benefits

Cost is the crutch of any poor sales person. Indeed, a colleague I mentioned this to immediately retorted, "It's Anixter. What do you expect? They're box pushers."

You cannot win with IP by claiming its less expensive, just like you cannot sell smartphones over flip phones based on cost.

While minimizing the cost gap is important, the real power comes from advocating the greater advantages that IP delivers - most importantly, as pretty much everyone agrees (except for Anixter) is higher resolution, the true game changer in today's market.