Axis Communications’ Fredrik Nilsson Addresses 2012 IP Trends

Politics and Legislation

Nilsson: Standards usage and development will be both a change and opportunity in 2012. The Video Quality in Public Safety (VQIPS) group, for one, is a DHS-funded, forward-thinking association that combines professional experience with standards development. They are creating tools to help all American municipalities determine proper video quality for their surveillance decisions. Keep an eye on this movement. Furthermore, as the government moves toward an all-IP, soon-to-be cloud-based infrastructure, there are standards developments in place via the Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management (FICAM) roadmap that will affect video surveillance. Proper credentialing and authentication techniques in IP video surveillance will become more of a prevalent issue, especially in the government market.

Risks and Threats

Nilsson: There are two quote-unquote surprising trends, and both are directly related to the market shift to IP. Trend one: the overall landscape is changing. Established players are giving way to new players, both in the vendor and integrator worlds. This rise of new market players has a lot to do with the pace of technology innovation, driven by the effects of Moore’s Law. The speed of product development is trend two. It seems like at every tradeshow there’s a newer and better product. Unless you’re able to attend all these shows, it can be staggering to learn about new product capabilities even if you stop paying attention for only a few months. Stay vigilant with technology updates so you’re not caught off-guard.

Ongoing Challenges

Nilsson: Ten years ago, post 9/11, the video analytics industry found itself under a bright, hot spotlight. Expectations were sky-high, but execution fell flat. Video analytics are getting much better and have proven more scalable, but there’s sti
ll the risk of unrealistic expectations. Again, it’s our job as industry professionals to make sure this doesn’t happen by understanding the technology, what it can and can’t do, and when to deploy it. We’ve talked about the importance of proper certification and education. That’s a given. But how do you know if you’re enrolled in the right courses? A little research into the types of educational programs that you and your colleagues are taking will go a long way. There are many great professionals throughout security. Start a conversation and find out what they think are the most respected programs.

Projecting 2012

Nilsson: Even though we’ve been living through a tight economy these last few years, innovative security companies have experienced strong growth. The ones that are adapting to and accepting change — like the shift to IP, hosted video and new technology innovations — will have another great year.

Final Thoughts

Nilsson: In a tough economy it becomes even more important to evaluate the partners you work with. Do you want to invest in a long-standing partner, or one who runs the risk of not being around in a year or two? Is there a chance the particular division you work with could close down? Long-term partnerships are a major strength of the security industry. Don’t lose that perspective, especially when times are tough.

 

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About the Author

Contact:

Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].

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