Video surveillance firm sees potential as well as challenges

A senior executive from a video surveillance firm said Tuesday that the safety surveillance market in China is huge, but the different standards of industries pose a challenge for its business.

Ray Mauritsson, CEO of Axis Communications AB, a Sweden-based video surveillance solution provider, made the remark in Beijing on Tuesday, which was also the company's 30th anniversary.

"The average growth rate in China of the company in the past five years is about 40 percent, which is mainly due to the market demand expanding and the technology updating," said Mauritsson.

According to Mauritsson, the company has more than 1,500 partners across the country, with most customers in banking, retailing, and transportation. It also recently launched a AVMS video management software targeting the Chinese market.

Mauritsson said that different industries in safety surveillance are diversified, and this could be a challenge for the company's further development.

Mauritsson's views were echoed by market insiders.

The safety surveillance, fire extinguishing and protection, and building control systems are all separated into different systems without sharing one protocol in China, Fan Na, a market insider who has nearly 10 years of experience in safety surveillance, told the Global Times Tuesday.

The ideal environment in China would be that all the industries using safety surveillance systems could share the same standard, which will benefit the further development of the industry, but the reality is different. For instance, the power industry and police sector have their own standards, even in different regions, said Li Ming, sales director of Axis.

"Some companies do have a uniform standard, but these companies' connections only work with a third party," said Na Ji, a technical manager from the intelligent building products business unit of Beijing-based Xiaotong Networking Technology Co.

According to IHS, an information provider, global growth in network video will be approximately 22 percent yearly over the next five years. By 2018, network camera sales are forecasted to account for approximately 70 percent of total worldwide security camera sales, compared to about 60 percent in 2013.

However, Mauritsson still holds a positive view about business in China.

To further tap the market, the company set up a R&D center in Shanghai in 2010, which is the second overseas R&D center after its headquarters, and is an important move in making its products more localized.