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Security Dealer & Integrator
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Looking for more Growth in IP Camera Sales
What hurdles are preventing network cameras from overtaking analog?
By Tom Galvin
ACCORDING TO IMS Research, IP Camera sales are growing at an annual rate of 40%. However, sales of network cameras still represent only a fraction of the overall security camera market. By some estimates, IP cameras currently account for 12% of the sales in a nearly $1 billion surveillance camera market in North America .
Swedish-based Axis Communications first introduced a network camera in 1996. Since then, Axis has grown into the fourth largest overall camera company (including analog and network-based) with 2006 sales of $163 million (US). The Axis business has regularly grown at 40% year-over-year, and they are not alone. Today, nearly every major manufacturer of security cameras has introduced IP camera products. Bosch, Pelco, Sony, Panasonic and many others have all joined the fray to provide IP cameras.
Why hasn't this commercial success and manufacturer focus resulted in even larger growth in the commercial security markets? What hurdles remain for network cameras to become the standard over analog cameras?
I recently asked the chief marketing executive of a major IP camera provider to name his top rival. I expected him to name one of the IP camera leaders. To my surprise, he did not hesitate to tell me that his top competitor was the analog security camera.
IT Concerns
IT managers are inherently conservative about what goes on their network. After all, they are in the line of fire when viruses attack, systems go down or an application hogs the network's bandwidth which prevents other mission critical applications from functioning properly.
Solution Complexity
The current IP video solutions are complex and most require a “systems” approach. A typical system may require installation of a network switch, selecting the appropriate server and storage solution and then installing and configuring video management software. It's also likely that all of these components are provided by different manufacturers.
While this systems approach makes sense for many high end enterprise applications, it can start to lose its appeal to a security dealer who can provide an alternative surveillance solution by plugging in a DVR and a handful of cameras.
