As the company marks the 20th anniversary of the first IP camera, developed by its founder, Martin Gren, Axis Communications introduced – in fairy tale format – a series of new products at a pre-show breakfast yesterday morning.

In the prologue, Gren talked about that very first IP camera, the NetEye 200, with Fredrik Nilsson, the company’s general manager, North America, chiming in that in those days “life was easy” because if someone wanted an IP camera, they had one choice – a point that would return later on in the story.

Nilsson then took over the show, introducing the “Goldilocks” theme of finding the solution that’s “just right” with a graphic featuring three chairs labeled S, M and E – small, midsize and enterprise customers. While Axis has traditionally played mainly in the enterprise space – and a little in the midsize range – the company has done little in the small business space. Until now, that is.

That’s because Axis introduced a line of solutions aimed specifically at small businesses, which make up nearly 80 percent of the companies in the U.S. The two recorders and three cameras that comprise the new Axis Companion line of products are designed to simplify the purchase, installation and operation processes for smaller customers in the one to 10 camera range. To that end, the products don’t follow the traditional “numbers and letters” naming convention, which can be confusing and a bit overwhelming for less savvy end users. With only one version of each camera form, Axis is making life easy once again by simplifying small businesses’ choices for video solutions that will meet their needs.

The new Axis Companion line consists of the Companion Recorder (2TB and 4TB models); Companion Dome V Network Camera, Companion Eye L, Companion Eye LV and Companion Switch.

Among the other products Axis is introducing at ISC West are:

• Camera Station 5, an enhanced version of its video management solution designed for the midsize market.
• Zipstream technology, now available for PTZ cameras
• Design Studio, an integrated design platform that improves workflows for complex and enterprise systems.
• Site Designer, a solution that offers an efficient way to design complete surveillance solutions for small and medium-sized installations
• M30 Series mini dome cameras, featuring wide dynamic range to adapt to variable lighting conditions and Zipstream technology to reduce bandwidth and storage requirements
• Perimeter Defender, a scalable and flexible video analytics application for intrusion detection in the enterprise market
• P37-PE multi-sensor panoramic camera, featuring four image sensors to provide 360-degree coverage
• Q3708-PVE multi-sensor panoramic camera with three image sensors for 180-degree coverage

To view the new solutions, as well as the full range of Axis products, visit Booth 14051.