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the
interview
it is conservative. Technologies and develop-
ment take time and things do not happen over
night. The trend with more cameras with wide
dynamic range, day and night functionality
and high resolution will continue, and 4K will
increasingly be adopted, although I suspect
it to be fairly gradual. A lot of companies are
developing solutions with H.265."
What are the biggest surprises on the market
in recent years?
"One of the biggest surprises I have seen is the
emergence of Chinese suppliers and the success
they have started to have outside of their own
home market. That is taking a lot of companies
by surprise."
What is your view on the Chinese market for
video surveillance?
"I think it is a very important market. We
forecast that by 2018, 40 per cent of the world
wide market for video surveillance equipment
will come from China alone. It is already the
world's largest market and it is also one of the
fastest growing markets. Leading suppliers are
expanding from their home market of China
to abroad and that is having a big influence
in those foreign markets as well. However,
the Chinese market is very different to other
markets. The government plays a very big role
in China and it sets five year plans should
there be a big change in the next five year plan,
that could really affect the market."
What is more likely, Hikvision, Dahua
and other major Chinese suppliers gaining
market share in Europe and North America
or Western video surveillance manufacturers
gaining market share in China?
"I think it is more likely that Hikvision, Dahua
and the like will gain in the West rather than
the other way around. I think Western sup-
pliers will expand their supplies in China and
sell more, but the rate is going to be much
higher the other way around. Hikvision and
Dahua have made big names in the Americas
and EMEA. We are currently updating our
market share estimates for 2014 and it appears
that both companies have gained market share
in the West. Based on what has happened so
far, you would expect their market share to
increase further."
Canon is acquiring Axis. What impact
will it have on the market?
"I think one of the major things that has hap-
pened in recent years is the success of full sys-
tem suppliers. Companies such as Avigilon and
Hikvision have tried to sell full video surveil-
lance systems to customers, not just individual
is due to fierce price competition, particularly
from Chinese vendors. Because of the price
competition, a lot of companies develop strate-
gies to avoid commoditisation of their products.
At the same time, the market is really fragment-
ed there are hundreds and hundreds of suppli-
ers. If you look at the top ten suppliers, they do
not account for even half of the market".
What do you think are the major trends in
video surveillance for 2015?
"I think the same trends as we have seen
develop over recent years will continue. One of
the big features of the security industry is that
Jon Cropley has a background in the automo-
tive industry and joined IHS some 13 years
ago as an automotive analyst where he was
involved in analysis of the market for video
technologies in vehicle safety systems. How-
ever, for the last 5-6 years he has been devoted
to the video surveillance market and he is
now Principal Analyst, Video Surveillance &
Security Services.
How would you summarise the state of the
video surveillance market today?
"I think the market continues to grow. But there
are signs that growth is slowing and much of it
The most striking news on the video surveillance market during the last
years is the progress of the Chinese suppliers according to IHS Principal
Analyst Jon Cropley. He expects more acquisitions to follow in the after-
shock of the Canon-Axis acquisition and in this interview, he also gives
his view on the major trends of the market.
By Henrik Söderlund
Jon Cropley, IHS:
"Chinese suppliers are taking a lot of companies by surprise"
Jon Cropley, Principal Analyst IHS.