Axis / Canon Conflict

Axis is coming out with a dome that can use limited pan & tilt functionality for installation assistance just like the Canon model that has this. I am sure we are going to see the two lines merge, albeit slowly, probably with the Axis name eventually going away.

Maybe in Japanese tradition someone or some people were expected to resign for the benefit of the company, but ended up not happening and those people are still hanging around and keeping the other brand alive.

I chose 'other' because it really doesn't matter which brand they pick. They just need to pick one. And then fuse their strength at the top end of the market and attack that full force. Maybe grab a smaller company that lets them attack the low cost SMB range and make a singular global competitor that can seriously compete with a state-run behemoth like Hikvision.

Get serious, pick a brand and get busy building a global infrastructure and keiretsu around it. What the hell is so complicated about a premise like that a few years in to a multi-billion dollar deal?

Usually in bid situations, or being evaluated for specs, especially in government, aren't there rules about disclosing ownership by an entity owning multiple entities involved in the process? Could there be a risk in a bid situation where Axis, Milestone and maybe even Canon are being evaluated for bid specs or even being offered in competing bids, where the purchaser may not be aware of the common ownership between them initially but when they find out may cause a problem for the seller/integrator......?

Plenty of companies have competing lines, such as Chevrolet/Buick/Cadillac, VW/Audi/Porsche, and Toyota/Lexus.

Keep Axis' high quality, price point, and presence in the IT industry. Meanwhile, hit the mid- to low-end market with the Canon product.

In my opinion, the challenge for Canon integrating the two lines is Canon seeing themselves as a company that offers quality or best in class (cameras & lenses) even though that's not the case with security cameras. To relegate their Canon line to the "low cost offering" seems to run in opposition to the company culture. As difficult as it is to merge companies, if you picked the best people from Axis, Milestone & Canon, they might be able to develop a winning strategy and product offering.

Personally I think that everyone here is thinking like a "Westerner". As in- "Why are they not doing something right now!" The Japanese operate on a much longer business cycle. They probably have a 50+ year business plan, one year is barely scratching the surface. Emails haven't even been sent on this lol. Some guy at Canon is figuring this deal for his grand-kid...

That sounds like a joke. But I am actually serious.

Go the Hik path, provide one product line with a choice of OEM branding and give distributors / end users their choice.

In entering the access control space, AXIS is known for low quality and low price.

Really? First, I'll argue that Axis is low price in the access space. A controller still costs ~$500, when other IP-based units (ie: HID Edge EVO for one example) are at least $100 less. The accompanying reader and video intercom aren't low priced either, so I am confused.

And the low-quality statement really surprises me. In terms of hardware design, the controller units we've used are as good as what you see in the camera portfolios.

We have one of the first A1001s released in the US that we used for early testing (ie: Testing Axis Access Control) and I am actually more surprised that despite being an initial release product, there weren't major bugs or revisions.

I'm no fanboi, but we use that unit frequently. I just don't agree that it is low quality.

Not to derail the thread, but Axis didn't spontaneously enter the access market on a whim. Rumors about their entry into access were years in the making. In talking with their design team, they understood the hardware role/demands well.

The access market itself is different than video, and that may be the cause of tepid success. But then even Axis expected this: Axis Admits Access Control Expectations Low

Canon has a lot of experience with lenses and large mega-pixel imagers for consumer and commercial cameras. Can't Canon take some of this expertise and apply it to the high end and specialty camera market.

Axis produces good cameras at a reasonable price.

Canon could product special need/special application cameras at a premium price.

They wouldn't compete with each other. They could compliment each other. And then Canon could incorporate some of the Axis technology into Canon cameras without infringing on the Axis market share.

Combine the two, essentially dropping the Canon branding at the higher end of the market. Axis with Canon optics, for instance. Better integration with Milestone. Using the Canon brand for a mid to low end dilutes any stature for the Canon company, so not a good plan. Launch a new line of "Axcon" cameras for the mid/low end, available with add-ons like improved Canon optics (for a price adder, of course).

Canon R&D still running at full 'tilt'

Canon Europe Unveils Eight New 2MP Network Cameras At IFSEC 2016

The new range includes an outdoor 360º endless panning model with 30x optical zoom and fast autofocus, and two new fixed box “bullet” models with 20x optical zoom, a first for Canon.

All eight new models will be on display alongside the recently announced VB-H651V and Canon’s flagship low light network camera, the VB-M50B, capable of recording bright, clear images in low light conditions, particularly at the telephoto end.

I'll say right upfront; I work for Canon.

"models are not new and are already widely shipping, at least in the US"

They may be in the US, but there is a world outside the US, and they are not yet shipping in the EU. And IFSEC may call itself 'IFSEC International' it is however predominately an EU show so therefore it is news and worthy of the announcement and coverage in my personal view.