Axis highlights ME's importance as an IP-based video solutions market

Bodil Sonesson, vice-president for sales of the Swedish-headquartered Axis, said the Middle East revenues, the bulk of which came from the UAE commercial capital of Dubai, increased more than the company's global sales growth of 40 per cent year-on-year since 2005.

She added that key officials of Axis, whose network video system has an active tampering alarm capability, will visit Dubai by the end of this month to further promote the company's products especially among businesses in the retail and transportation sectors.

"It would surely be good to tap these growing markets," she said in an interview on the sidelines of the three-day Axis Press and Media Event 2007, which began here on the Danish capital on Tuesday. She said the system prevents shoplifting and other forms of theft.

Sonesson said that Axis's three people in Dubai, where the company has maintained a regional office for the whole MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region since last year, will increase to 15 employees by the end of this year.

"We're getting into the setting up of more regional headquarters," she said, adding that Axis opened another headquarters in India in August and is also expanding to China's commercial city of Shanghai.

She said that from 140 new sales people today, Axis will have a total of 250 people selling Axis products by next year. Founded in 1984, Axis has 500 employees in 18 countries and sells its products to 70 countries.

The president and CEO of Axis, Ray Mauritsson, said the present Dh18.4-billion ($5 billion) global market for various video surveillance equipment is set to increase to Dh29.4 billion ($8 billion) by 2010. "That's a big market opportunity for us," he said in a study entitled Axis' Vision for the Rapidly Growing Network Video Market, which he co-presented with Sonesson.

Sonesson said Axis has a global penetration for network camera of 15 per cent, and would increase that to 50 per cent by 2011. She added that the Middle East and African region is one of the top areas where Axis has a high penetration rate.

"The need for security surveillance is driving the market," Mauritsson said, noting that purchases of surveillance cameras have increased tremendously over the last two years. He added that the forecast development for network video was placed at 42 per cent for 2006.

Sonesson said Axis will forge more partnerships with distributors in the UAE and other Arab countries for its latest network video product which provides a wider angle frame and sets off an alarm if being tampered, or redirected, defocused, blocked or sprayed upon.

"This alerts the operator of attempts to disrupt normal camera operation," said Anders Laurin, executive vice-president of Axis, in a presentation. He added that Axis now has the technology that makes network cameras and video servers follow the movement of their subjects for a better remote monitoring and security surveillance.

Baraa Al Akkad, sales manager of Axis for MENA, said the company is keen on tapping the Middle East market which, together with Europe and Africa, or EMEA, accounted for 45 per cent of the latest annual global sales posted by Axis.

He said his company has partnered with Anixter International, a global distributor of network infrastructure products, to sell Axis products in the UAE and Turkey. He added that the Dubai-headquartered Network Information Technology (NIT) is another Axis partner.

He added that Axis regional managers work with distributors, resellers and system integrators to reach the end users of Axis products.