Axis Communications has announced that as of Oct. 1, it will sell, market and support Canon’s entire network video product portfolio in North America. “The plan is to have Axis represent both product portfolios when it comes to sales, marketing, tech support and training,” explains Fredrik Nilsson, VP Americas for Axis Communications.
Axis is already serving the same role in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as of today. According to a press release, Canon will continue to sell their network video product portfolio in the Japanese market, and will, in addition, become a partner to sell the Axis product portfolio.
Canon officially acquired Axis in April of 2015, sparking a range of industry reactions and predictions. Among them was speculation on an eventual combined product line. “In the market, people would ask: ‘if Canon owns Axis, why do they push their own products and Axis pushes its own products — you look like competitors,’” Nilsson says. “This is clarifying that message and saying that Axis is taking the lead. Canon products will be shown in the Axis booth, they will show up on our price list, and they will be sold through our distribution.”
This new sales and marketing framework provides an effective means of maximizing the synergies of the Canon-Axis combination, according to the release. “Our sales team will have the complete portfolio to go to, so they can sell Axis or Canon cameras. They will be paid the same way, and it will be seamless out to the integrators and distributors,” Nilsson says.
While Axis will assume the sales role of the Canon products, the Canon branding will be maintained. “They have good cameras and some unique applications where they have been successful,” Nilsson explains. “If you look at their list of customers and partners, it is very similar to ours. We have a broader partner setup because we’ve been in the market for a longer time, but (the cameras) will still carry the Canon brand name as before.”
In North America, effects of this announcement will be felt on the product distribution side of the equation. Axis has more limited distributors than Canon has had in the past, according to Nilsson. Distributors who buy directly from Axis — Anixter, ADI, Tech Data, Ingram Micro, ScanSource and Wesco CSC — will carry both product lines. “Anyone else who used to be a Canon distributor does not necessarily become an Axis distributor,” Nilsson says.
As far as Canon’s dealer and integrator partners, they can all buy the products through the Axis Channel Partner Program, which also means the full Axis product line would now be open to those partners who worked exclusively with Canon.
According to the press release, options for the handling of Canon’s network video portfolio in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region are still being explored.
Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine. Access the current issue and full archives at www.secdealer.com.
