The SecurityHive.com community voted during the summer of 2014 and selected the Physical Security and Video Surveillance industry’s Top 12 Influencers. – This Profile is one in the series of 12 making a difference in our industry

Larry Newman is the director of sales for Axis Communications in North America. In this capacity, he manages all North American sales, offices and channel and program activities across Axis’ entire product line including network cameras, access control, encoders, software, systems, accessories and more.

Mr. Newman joined Axis in June 2003. In that time he has led the company to tremendous sales growth. He was also instrumental in creating and implementing Axis’ channel partner strategy and built a 100+ person sales organization.

Mr. Newman has more than 25 years of sales experience in the information technology industry. He previously served as the VP of Sales and Marketing for ZOOM/Hayes Telephonics, and has worked for companies such as Agfa Corporation.

A community of over 8000 industry professionals has just selected you as one of the Top 12 industry Influencers for 2014. What is your reaction to that?

Of course, I am flattered and honored by the recognition and would like to thank all who participated in the process.

How long have you been active in the physical security/video surveillance industry and what brought you into this industry?

I have been in the physical security industry for about 12 years. Honestly, I was attracted to Axis and its potential as a growing company in a growing industry. I am certainly glad I entered such a dynamic industry.

How did you get started (what was your first job) in this industry?

I was fortunate that Axis brought me into the industry to assist in building and scaling their sales organization and channel programs which naturally brought me into the physical security industry.

What are some of the changes in the industry that you saw coming and are most proud about being accurate?

The convergence and move from analog technology to the digital world as well as all of the benefits the standardized digital world has to offer such as intelligent systems, improved image quality, analytics, interoperability, product quality and ease of installation.

As processing power increases it will yield the ability for our products to be more intelligent allowing increasing capabilities on the edge.

At Axis, I feel we have been an integral in helping guide the industry towards network video and all of the benefits it has to offer as identified above. Much of this change has been accomplished by fact-to-face training and the creation of many practical tools to assist in the transition from an analog to digital world. These tools include: white papers, bandwidth and storage calculators, technical guides and more.

How have you seen the industry change over the past few years?

Over the last 12 years, I have seen tremendous change in not only technology, but also the channel as well. Additionally, the competitive landscape is constantly changing. While more and more manufacturers enter the industry, there is consolidation as a result of acquisitions. Being at Axis, I feel we have helped drive some of the change, particularly in terms of product, channel, support, education and more.

What do you see has been the single most impactful technology in the industry?

While it is hard to pinpoint a single technology, I would say it’s the ever increasing power of digital processors such as the Axis ARTPEC chipset that provide horsepower to support increasing sensor technology, intelligence and other feature sets.

As an industry influencer, can you share with us a business success story or case study that you are most proud about?

At Axis, we are fortunate to have some of the best products the industry. As we all know, having the best product does not mean it will necessarily sell the best. We have built a channel model of how we go to market which is a bit unique. While I do not want to give away all of our “secret sauce” surrounding our model, I will clearly tell you it is a two tier distribution model which is unyielding in its execution. The simplicity of the model and its design have created a channel that implicitly trusts Axis, and creates loyalty like no other. Additionally, we have built not only the largest sales team in the industry but the strongest technically in the ability to manage all facets of the channel to bring our products to the market efficiently.

Please share with us your visions of this industry and what it will look like for manufacturers, integrators, installers, central stations, and end-users in the next few years:

The future in our industry is ever changing. It was not that many years ago when Martin Gren (our founder) had the vision to attach a camera to the network which has helped shape our industry to what it is today. What the future holds is almost boundless. I am sure items/products will be network attached (wired & wirelessly) that we cannot even fathom today.

What I am sure of is the fact that technology will not stop evolving. As processing power increases it will yield the ability for our products to be more intelligent allowing increasing capabilities on the edge. Additionally, our products will continue to take advantage as technology moves in the consumer electronics market and professional sector.

Tell us about a current industry FAD or trend that you do _not_ see being around in the future (i.e.: NFC, gesture technology for access control, body worn cameras, patient biometric authentication, etc). Are there any current trends you think will be short-lived? If so, why?

I am always excited to see what tomorrow will bring and the pace at which we see advancement that will alter our industry will be ever increasing.

I am not sure about calling a trend short lived as in any innovative industry you should encourage “out of the box” thinking and creativity which at times lead to both successful and unsuccessful ideas. I find it interesting that the general term “analytics” (some obscure and some not) have been discussed for years. In some respect the ideas were great but they were before their time as the current technology platforms could not efficiently process the data. However, today (years later) the technology is catching up and some analytics are just now being implemented effectively.

Tell us about a newer technology that you think is going to significantly alter the industry landscape:

This is a very complex question. Rather than speaking about any individual feature that may be a technological force for our industry, I feel overall that the ever-increasing development of the “cloud” (public, private, etc.) along with the internet, social media, etc. will impact our industry and lives in a fashion that we can hardly fathom. I am always excited to see what tomorrow will bring and the pace at which we see advancement that will alter our industry will be ever increasing. As far as a specific technology it is hard to guess but as resolutions increase, processing becomes more powerful and compression becomes more efficient perhaps many of the “CSI Special Effect” we see on TV and in the movies to may become a reality.

What vertical market do you think is going to witness the biggest impact of industry advancements and why? (Airports, Seaports, Campus (K12/Univ), Hospitals, Law Enforcement, Banking, Oil/Gas, Retail, etc)

One of the most interesting and exciting aspects of our industry (network cameras, VMS software, etc.) is the diverse and varied needs and uses of the technology. In my experience, the educational industry has been a tremendous benefactor of the use of video and access control. I can remember when I was taking my children to look at colleges and universities to attend, each of the institutions were proud to showcase their technological infrastructure (primarily wired and wireless networking) to enhance the learning and educational experience. A natural extension of that was to then leverage this existing network infrastructure to provide physical security in terms of video and access control. As a result of this, the educational vertical was an early adopter of network video.

I find it interesting that the retail segment has also taken a major step forward in adoption of network video but they did it in an opposite way to the educational market. First, they installed network video solutions for loss prevention, and security reasons which now has been expanded into using the video for marketing, people counting and other non-physical security reasons.

In my opinion, the banking and finance industries may be the next to benefit from industry advancements as the ever increasing amount of data captured, electronic transactions, etc. will lead to the new enhanced capabilities of physical security solutions.

Privacy issues are always at the forefront in this industry. What is your position on where the privacy line is located today and where you see that line in the future and do you agree with those positions?

My personal opinion is that there is a fairly fine, but defined line surrounding privacy issues today. Overall, in areas that are deemed generally private (inside one’s home, hotel rooms, washrooms, changing /fitting rooms, etc.) there should be a reasonable expectation of privacy while the opposite should be expected in areas deemed general public.

What are your thoughts about technologies that may be intersecting with more individual/personal applications (i.e.: cloud, IoT, wearables, etc.)?

Today, much of our technology seems to be used in a reactive nature. Video is often stored and reviewed forensically. I feel in the future as technology is driven forward, it will be used in a more proactive manner. Instead of viewing an event after it happens, perhaps the technology can anticipate when an event is about to happen and thus be used in ways we have never thought of before.

It seems that ecosystems for physical security are expanding rapidly and are requiring deeper integration with different types of partners, providing new market opportunities. How can the industry support or accelerate these synergistic partnership opportunities?

To support the rapidly expanding ecosystem within the physical security industry, working to accepted “open industry standards” in product development to ensure interoperability between products and systems is essential.

Additionally, in a world of open standards it pushes manufacturers to strive to produce best in class products as it will allow end-users, integrators, etc. to substitute one product for another. Becoming an “expert in partnering” is essential in an open world which can be difficult as often there is overlap and conflict. Knowing that this conflict can never be 100% eliminated it is imperative that one be able to anticipate and manage any conflict quickly.

The industry has seen a significant increase in the merger and acquisition activity lately. What M&A activity do you think has been significant and what do you see happening with companies in the near future?

Consolidation is a fact of life especially in a market that is a large and fragmented as ours. Especially in an open environment where everyone is jockeying for the same customer, market share etc. I am sure this activity will continue. On the other hand, I think it is healthy to have many newcomers with new ideas, etc. enter the market to continue innovation. While I do not want to comment on any specific M&A activity, it is only my hope that any mergers actually help to strengthen and drive the industry rather than slow down the pace of technology.

Is there anything in the “lab” that you’re currently working on or involved with that you would like to share with our readership?

Axis is fortunate in that it puts back a large portion of revenue every year into Research & Development of new technologies, future products and more. While I am not the person to discuss specifics of the next great product or innovation, I can assure you that we listen closely to the market, our partners, customers and more to lead us in the proper direction.

Who do you look to as an industry influencer?

In my position here at Axis I am proud to be working with some of the industries best and brightest both within and outside Axis. If I had to choose one individual I would choose Martin Gren, founder of Axis, who is credited with the invention of the world’s first network camera which in my mind has spawned one of the most exciting and necessary industries to ensure a safer world.

Who or what resources do you follow or find influential?

The main resource I look to for industry information and needs are the customers (distributors, integrators, end-users) of Axis and other manufacturer’s products and systems. I spend a tremendous amount of time traveling to actual customer sites, offices, industry and trade events to listen and constantly have a two-way dialog to understand the industry’s needs.