Despite its moniker as an old technology, surveillance cameras continue to be deployed by SMBs and enterprises alike to help keep an eye on things. Moreover, the invention of the network camera served to propel surveillance into the digital age, allowing the technology to maintain its relevance in our heavily networked world of today.

To gain a better insight in the use of IP cameras today, we approached Fredrik Nilsson, the general manager for Axis Communications in North America for an one-on-one interview with FierceCIO:TechWatch.

In his response, Nilsson explains why IP-based digital surveillance is superior over their analog equivalents and argues why businesses should not settle for consumer-centric IP cameras.

Nilsson also shared some recommendations for enterprises looking to deploy IP cameras.

FCIO: CCTV cameras have been around for a long time. What has changed over the years? CCTV has been around for half a century. At first it was mostly used for deterrence by installing big obtrusive analog cameras. But frankly the last true innovation in analog CCTV was the addition of color video. The first network camera was invented (by Axis Communications) in 1996, and adoption in the security industry began in the early 2000s.

Over the last decade the industry has undergone a technology shift from analog to IP video–with 2014 being the first year that IP is expected to overtake analog sales–and the emergence of software and storage players moved us into the forensics phase. But today no one wants a camera. They want a safer and smarter store, office, city, airport, et cetera. Some users even leverage video to build business intelligence and improve operations. […]

Source www.fiercecio.com