Jonas Andersson, former ONVIF Chairman and Samsung Techwin’s new senior VP for product planning, recently shared his thoughts about integration, open network security, and the strong demand for analogue systems. Andersson — also former Axis Communications Business Development Director — is excited. He’s excited about a new challenge and excited about working with the team at Samsung Techwin.
I was inspired by the levels of enthusiasm of the people I met, all of whom were determined to ensure that Samsung Techwin could take up the No. 1 market leadership position.
Since leaving Axis Communications for Samsung Techwin, a decision that surprised many in the industry after 18 years at Axis, Andersson has set his sights on positioning Samsung Techwin as the No. 1 in the security technology industry.
And it is a combination of Samsung’s history with analogue products and the development of a comprehensive range of IP network solutions that he believes will enable this:
It is clear is that Samsung Techwin continues to enjoy a significant share of the traditional analogue-based security solutions market, and in many European countries it is the No. 1 analogue brand.
Working closely with independent software vendors is part of our Smart Security philosophy, which is about making it easy for customers who are looking for a gradual transition from an existing analogue system to a full IP-network-based surveillance solution.
There is still a strong demand for analogue-based solutions, and this is reflected in our product portfolio, which provides customers with the flexibility to choose the best solution for the job in hand. In fact, the recent development of 960H recording technology has enabled us to launch a new range of DVRs, which when added to an analogue system can provide an instant and dramatic improvement in the display and recording resolution of images captured by industry-standard analogue cameras.
I would expect to see this method of upgrading an existing analogue system to be very popular among end-users who do not yet have sufficient reason to change to a video-over-IP system. Whilst we will continue to provide support for projects where an analogue solution is still required, there is no doubt that the longer-term future is all about offering integrated security products and systems which take full advantage of the benefits afforded by IP network-based solutions.
ONVIF
The development of an open network surveillance interface that would enable installers, integrators, and security managers, to choose from a wide selection of products that are interoperable is something that is close to Jonas Andersson’s heart.
Andersson was the Chairman of the ONVIF Steering Committee from its official launch in November 2008 until December 2012, in which time he oversaw a huge growth in adoption of ONVIF-compliant products, estimated to be over 3,000.
Samsung has been working with a range of video management software developers, including Genetec, Milestone, and Axxon, because of their ability to offer open software designed to facilitate integration of multiple-manufacturer systems.
Users are increasingly looking to gain maximum benefit from their investment in security, and this means a requirement for an integrated solution where different systems are able to interact with each other and be controlled and monitored via a single display screen.
With this in mind, Samsung Techwin has an ongoing programme to integrate with leading ISVs [independent software vendors] that offer ‘open’ software specifically designed to facilitate the integration of equipment and systems from different manufacturers. This provides customers with the flexibility to choose the perfect combination of security products to match their specific requirements.
No two businesses or organisations will have the same operational requirements, and different market sectors — e.g., education, transport, healthcare, military, local government, etc. — will face varying levels of threats to their people, property, and assets.
The use of video surveillance beyond security is becoming a major theme among manufacturers, and Axis Communications and Samsung are both fighting to take a leading position in the relatively burgeoning area of business benefits for video.
Andersson is proud of the benefits of Samsung’s products to combat crime and terror, but he also believes that cameras used for health and safety compliance, process control, and assembly line efficiency are important for the manufacturing industry, while the benefits of video analytics for a retail market in customer behaviour analysis have been well documented.
Almost five years on from the foundation of ONVIF, it will be interesting to see whether it is Andersson’s former employers or his current ones who manage to corner the market in surveillance uses beyond security.
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While the tide has likely turned for new systems, or systems of a certain size and complexity, there’s clearly still a huge demand for analog cameras. And we’re not talking about high-end analog, or HD-CCTV. Plain old NTSC/PAL analog cameras with chunky old 3:4 images and BNC connectors. The problem with this as a business model is that it is very price sensitive. People are staying with CIF/2CIF/4CIF resolution because it works for them and it’s cheap. And they’ll buy the equipment that is cheapest — after all, when was the last time you saw a really bad looking new… Read more »
Indeed, the ‘traditional’ (read: old) analogue model of cameras obviously still has a market. From my understanding Samsung Techwin are staking a lot on IP now, and are as keen as anyone to be seen as the market-leaders in this area.
I think at the end of the day all the cctv cameras will be digital cameras. If we look to the normal analogue cameras we see the start is digital (charges on the sensor) converted to analogue signal and at the receiving end the analogue signals converted into digital to be stored (DVR) so what is left is only the transmission part. I think the main reason for analogue still alive is the type of customers, that know about CCTV only from TV or asking friends or neighbors, and from so much small companies that know only about analogue CCTV… Read more »
It’s certainly true there are still installers out there who don’t know about IP and don’t want to learn. Truly, they need to respond to customer demand. If they’re finding enough customers who only want and need analogue, then great. But it seems daft to be missing out on customers who want IP solutions because you haven’t got the expertise.