Axis celebrates the first ten years with network cameras

Axis Communications, the global market leader in network cameras, celebrates that it is ten years since the company introduced the world’s first network camera. In 1996 the network camera AXIS 200 was launched and one of the first steps of the technology shift from analogue CCTV to network video commenced. From the beginning Axis Communications has been the market and technology leader within network video, a market growing by 40 percent every year.

In the mid-1990’s, Axis Communications was known for print servers and a deep knowledge within network applications. The potential of network video occupied the minds of the company’s R&D engineers, who realized the many possibilities of image distribution over a LAN network or the Internet. The challenge was to develop a high quality camera that could easily be connected to the network.
The answer was the AXIS 200, launched in 1996. Equipped with a built-in web server, the new network camera enabled access to its pictures from any web browser in the world. The user friendly AXIS 200 soon rocked the world of video surveillance.
“At first, the AXIS 200 and its followers were mainly used for web attraction but it only took a few years until the benefits within security installations became evident. Since then, network cameras have become an increasingly important feature within professional security installations”, says Ray Mauritsson, President of Axis Communications. “Since our launch of the world’s first network camera, Axis has transformed from a company focusing on print servers into the global leader within network video. Looking at coming years, I feel very confident that we will maintain this position.”
Since the launch of the AXIS 200, Axis Communications has presented a large amount of network cameras and today has the market’s broadest product portfolio. Today’s development focuses on new solutions such as Intelligent Video, i.e. the ability to program the camera into recognizing unexpected events or movements. The market for network cameras and video servers is growing by 40 percent every year, underscoring the ongoing technology shift from analogue CCTV to modern network video.