For the last four years, Axis Communications Inc., Chelmsford, Mass., has hosted the members of its A&E program at an annual technology summit. This year, the Axis A&E Technology Summit 2011 begin at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla., and then took to the high seas, as attendees enjoyed a three-day cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas vessel.

There was an interactive, invested mentality present in the nearly 100 architects and engineers (A&E’s) attending the event. The representatives of 14 technology partners participated in two technology panels and held an Axis partner exhibition and solution display to

complement all the information being shared at the summit’s workshops (some of which were eligible for ASIS credits) and general sessions. The Axis ecosystem partner participants interacting with the A&Es throughout the event included Allied Telesis, CommScope, Firetide, Iomega Corporation, Veracity, Video Insight, Salient Systems, OnSSI, NICE, Aimetis Corp., Exacq, Genetec and Milestone.        

The conference featured keynote Domenic Flores, senior project manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise LTD, Miami. Floreshas participated in 18 newbuild, seven retrofit, and 45 drydocks, and managed a fleetwide security video upgrade project of 14,000 cameras across 32 ships. “We only install IP,” Flores said while discussing the cruise lines’ security philosophy. Any analog cameras on the ships (there are still about 6 to 7,000) are from original builds. The security video systems on the ships are not for active surveillance, rather they are “post event driven, designed to protect guests and employees from false accusations of wrong doing,” Flores describes. Flores’ presentation illustrated one simple message from Axis and its partners during the cruise – IP adoption is moving full steam ahead with stronger business a previously missing, now-attractive price tag that matches the added features and functionality of IP-based systems.

Watching the Super Bowl on the ship on a high-definition (HD) flat screen seemed only fitting. Axis Communications is highly invested in bringing HD from the consumer world into security, and according to IMS Research’s latest report, “The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment - 2010 Edition,” by 2014 more than 50 percent of all network cameras shipped will be HD or megapixel resolution. That makes the growth of HD video surveillance equipment one of the key trends shaping the video surveillance market. At the summit, the A&Es tapped HD as generally having more application possibilities than megapixel.

Standards and certifications are the mandatory wave of the future. They both came up in multiple sessions and in many conversations. More A&E’s are stressing that they won’t just specify the product anymore – they also will specify the certifications and professional designations an integrator needs to have to be eligible for the job. Also, they’re asking that companies no longer be certified, but the individuals actually performing the jobs be certified instead.

The Axis A&E Technology Summit 2011 touched on many current and upcoming trends and explored changes in the video surveillance industry, providing its attendees the opportunity to both listen to and participate in the conversation.

The Axis (Architect and Engineer) A&E program is open to qualified independent network architects, engineers, consultants and end users who design and specify IP-based security systems. It is a gateway to active support from Axis, and gives access tools such as A&E Specifications, Visio and CAD drawings, and continuously updated online information, as well as access to advanced education and other opportunities. For more information, visit www.axis.com.