by Christina Ruhngård

“The first chip we made was back in -87”, says Axis´ co-founder Martin Gren, “it all began in the IBM print server business … by shrinking all components into a single chip, we saved cost and added a lot of performance, such as higher speed and lower power consumption, and we were a year ahead of our competitors.” At the time it was not possible to buy the chips elsewhere, the technology had to be invented. And innovation has continued to be Axis trade mark.

In 1993 Axis released ETRAX 1, the world’s first 32-bit RISC processor with on-chip Ethernet and Token Ring controllers. It was the first in a succession of chips designed to support networking. The most recent chip, ETRAX 100LX Multi Chip Module, was launched in 2002, and is essentially a Linux computer in itself, in a single 27x27 mm package.

“We will absolutely continue to develop our own chips” states Martin Gren firmly. The in-house developed chips technology has been essential for Axis, and will continue even though the cost for the development has risen from 0.5 MSEK back in 87 to 10 MSEK today. The advantages are greater. Just by having an application in mind when developing a chip makes for better performance and optimization possibilities. That is why Axis’ network cameras use one board of electronics as opposed to three as some of their competitors do.

Market leader

Axis Communications was founded in 1984 and has stayed true to its business concept of adding value to the network. The company started out with print servers and protocol converters, in 1995 it added a CD-ROM server to its product line, and in 1996 it was the first company to introduce a network camera for Internet/Intranet systems. It has since then become a recognized market leader in the network camera and video server market.

Network cameras and Video servers is an up and coming business. “People are starting to accept and understand the benefits of IP-based digital video systems, most of the security cameras out there are in the old analogue format, that’s where a lot of the upside demand has come from” explains Lawrence de Guzman, Director of Marketing and PR. Analogue cameras are expected to be replaced by IP-based digital solutions, and Axis, as the market leader, is driving the technology shift towards network video solutions.

A remote eye

“By using network cameras, you save on the cost of cabling and you get the remote monitoring possibilities which you really don’t get with the traditional cameras” says Martin Gren. Later on this is demonstrated to Øresund IT Magazine when Martin connects to the Internet with his mobile phone and gives us a tour of his home.

Remote monitoring possibilities can make affordable video surveillance a reality. The Axis Subscriber Technology System (STS) is a solution designed for telecommunications providers, Internet Service Providers, and mobile operators, enabling the service providers to offer their customers cost-effective, managed IP Video Surveillance service.

Singapore Telecom broadband has partnered with Axis and can now offer their customers STS. Customers get live viewing of video via Internet and can receive notification by SMS and emails when an unexpected event has been detected. They can then connect to their surveillance camera at their office, home or store to see what has triggered the alarm and decide the appropriate action. There is also the option of offsite recording of video sequences, prior and after an alarm, thus giving customers an opportunity to document incidents. All that is needed is an Axis network camera connected to a network, and then video monitoring from any PC connected to the Internet is a reality.

This article was originally published by Øresund IT Magasine (nr. 6 - 2005). You can download the magazine in PDF format on Publications.