Retailer Midwestern Supercenters Installs Network Video System

Chelmsford, Mass. – Axis Communications, the global leader in the network video market, announced today that Axis network video products are being installed by a Midwestern retailer to monitor the company’s entire chain of 210 supercenters. The network video system integrates the video with a point-of-sale system which helps the stores’ management to monitor anomalies in the sales process. The deal is valued at approximately $1 million for Axis.

Spiritech, a security integrator and an Axis partner, designed and installed the system using approximately 16 AXIS 240Q Video Servers in each store. The video servers digitize video feeds from the stores’ existing analog cameras and to integrate the footage with a network video recorder (NVR) and Spiritech’s Revelation Software, which includes the point-of-sale technology.

“The customer recognized the advantages of moving to a digital system,” said Whitey Helberg, president and CEO of Spiritech. “However, the company did not want to write off its existing investment in analog technology. The Axis video servers were a cost-effective way for us to upgrade the system.”

In addition to point-of-sale monitoring, the network video system helped the supercenters to more efficiently record, store and manage video feeds. With up to 100 analog cameras in each store, the company previously used racks of VCRs to record the footage. Tapes had to be manually changed every eight hours, and the stores had to dedicate large amounts of space to tape storage.

“Axis has seen an increased demand for network video systems in retail environments,” said Fredrik Nilsson, general manager of Axis Communications. “The technology integrates easily with many other systems found in retail stores, such as point-of-sale and access control systems, so retailers are able to better manage inventories, loss and fraud.”

With the network video system, all of the images are recorded to standard servers, so there are no tapes to change and store. In addition, managers can locate and scan video based on incidents and time and date information, rather than having to manually wind through hours of video tape. The network video rollout is expected to be finalized by September 2006.

Axis Communications is on the web at www.axis.com. Spiritech is online at www.spiritech.net.