1. What is the core focus of activities for Axis today?
Our main focus is on building ‘intelligence on the edge’ in all our solutions. We are also focusing on various verticals where we are witnessing increased demands including – city surveillance for traffic and incidents monitoring, hotels and bars for better employee security, airport security, BFSI, malls and multiplexes, manufacturing facilities, college campuses, residential and commercial complexes etc.
2. What kinds of security challenges people may face in the future in India and how can surveillance help to face the challenges?
India’s population is increasing on a constant basis. In such a scenario, it becomes challenging to keep track of security and safety. Citizens are scared to walk on the roads due to the increasing crime rates.These issues get complicated further due to lack of evidence. This is due to lack of CCTV cameras around the city. Additionally, the cameras are usually analog, which do not produce good quality images. Good quality, IP based video surveillance solutions will not only help deter crimes, but will also help police investigate untoward incidents, making the cities safer for people. On the tourism front, surveillance will also keep an eye on the tourists and control traffic and crowd. To break down further, surveillance can help in following ways –
Traffic surveillance – With countless roads and streets in each city, monitoring traffic violations and accidents can be a challenge. Surveillance can help scrutinize traffic violations, accidents, suspicious vehicles, smuggling, etc.
Monitoring population/ People counting – Surveillance solutions can help to keep a headcount of a particular area, traffic in the area, etc.
 Crime detection and prevention – With real time alerts and updates, the city police can track suspicious individuals which will help prevent terror attacks, burglaries, kidnapping etc.
Unexpected occurrences – During unfortunate calamities such as fire or flood, surveillance solutions would help monitor how many people are stuck in an area and where the rescue team should focus on.
 Crowd monitoring and control – When political meetings or riots and protests occur, surveillance can help in observing the crowd behaviour.
Monitoring critical infrastructure, transport and other facilities – Places such as malls, railway stations, airports, sea ports, legal establishments and stadiums are high risk areas which face constant threat from terrorists and thieves. Surveillance will help control the crime rates and nab the offenders.
Thus, surveillance can improve the lives of the people and enable the authorities to fight crime and create a secure environment. This will not only reduce the investigation time, but also improve the city’s image and in turn the local economy.
3. Where do you see more surveillance business in the future- Government, Enterprise or Domestic?
India has witnessed several acts of terrorism, social crime and data theft in the past couple of years. These issues are emerging as the most serious concerns for the Indian governments today, resulting into increased demand for video surveillance systems. Government bodies, financial institutions & private organizations are also enhancing their budgets for video surveillances and network security. This in turn is driving the demand for video surveillance systems.
In addition, the need to secure data in offices is also generating huge demand for video surveillance systems. With the advancement in technology for IP/Network based video surveillance an enormous demand is generating in India, especially in defence and commercial sectors. Retail and residential security end users are also expected to be growing heavily due to growth in commercial and residential infrastructure market, where IP/Network based video surveillance demand is expected to grow in next five years.
4. How do you see the future of digital IP cameras when compared to traditional analog CCTV cameras?
Though the Indian surveillance market promises a huge opportunity, there are a few challenges and issues that we face in the market. The principal challenge that we face is the awareness among the consumers about security and surveillance on the whole. Poor connectivity and network is another major challenge for adopting IP surveillance solutions. The Indian customers are very price-sensitive, therefore it is important to educate them and enable them to understand the benefits of the solutions.
IP surveillance system provides a host of benefits and advanced functionalities that cannot be provided by an analog video surveillance system. The advantages include superior image quality, remote accessibility, distributed intelligent video capabilities, easy installation and integration, and better scalability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
5. Why makes Axis a better brand in Surveillance than the rest?
Axis is the world leader in network video and offers a wide portfolio of products for professional IP video surveillance. We offer customized and localized services with extended functionality and integration. Our systems are very easy to install and manage even for casual users.Axis network cameras connect to any kind of IP network, including the Internet, and enable remote viewing and recording from anywhere in the world. They also provide advanced video analytics features, such as motion detection, audio detection and tampering alarm.
Axis products are also designed, from the first draft, for reliability. The best components and materials arechosen for every purpose. Our products are tested for their ability to withstand mechanical wear-and tear,water and humidity, vandalism, extreme temperatures, vibration, and so on. They are certifiedagainst external standards, and every single unit is tested thoroughly during production. All these effortsare made since quality is something that does not necessarily show up in the datasheets of a product. With Axis’ quality assurance, reliability and quality is carried beyond standards and datasheets.
6. What kind of after sales support Axis provides to its clients?
We provide 5 days a week 9 to 6 Phone & Email Support. 24×7 Chat Support. We have 1 RMA Center based in Bangalore managed by Axis directly. We repair or replace the cameras within 3 working days.
7. How does the company look at the current focus of the government towards smart cities? How can Axis participate in these projects?
Multiple smart cities projects are going around and Axis Communications is planning to get involved in multiple projects. Axis is proactively involved in these projects by deploying surveillance around the cities. We provide smart video surveillance solutions that will help smart cities protect residents, keep an eye on the tourist attractions and control traffic and crowd. Not only that we also provide solutions to help in intelligent disaster management, faster response systems and forensic analysis apart from other applications.
8. What kind of growth are you looking at from India?
We are likely to witness growth from across all the verticals in India such as city surveillance, airports, seaports, metros and other greenfield projects, the infrastructure sector looks quite promising. Authorities have also encouraged and emphasized the importance of installing CCTV cameras in malls and other retail outlets to curb miscreants. Real estate is also seeing increased adoption of surveillance solutions to ensure safe household. Hospitals also have known the importance of CCTV’s preventing crimes and have increased their investments on the technology. Overall, the response is quite encouraging and we are seeing high momentum in terms of increased demand and growth in the coming years.