IP surveillance cost drops below analog for midsized CCTV installations

An independent study conducted by Lusax - a research group at Lund University in Sweden, specialising in understanding the dissemination of new IP- and IT-based technology within the global security market - has concluded that midsized IP-based surveillance systems are lower in cost to deploy than similarly sized traditional analog CCTV systems.

The international study demonstrates that an IP-based system represents, on average, 13% lower cost than a corresponding analog system.

The study is based on a survey of US integrators actively selling and installing both analog and IP-based professional surveillance systems. They were asked to provide bids for both types of systems for a retail store with 14, 25 and 40 cameras. For all three scenarios, the IP-based system turned out to come in at a lower total cost than the analog.

“The benefits of modern IP technology become evident when looking at the full system solution, including cameras, recording, storage and installation,” says Bodil Sonesson Gallon, Vice President, Global Sales at Axis Communications, a supplier of IP surveillance equipment. “A similar study from 2007 showed that an IP-based surveillance system was more cost-efficient in installations where the number of cameras exceeded 32. We now see that the IP cost advantage is valid also for systems with lower number of cameras.”

Professor Thomas Kalling, Head of Lusax, is not surprised by the results of the survey. He stated: “The market for IP security products has developed rapidly and is much more mature than only a few years ago. The cost differences are becoming insignificant and focus can shift to the real advantages that come with the superior functionality of IP solutions, such as image quality and flexibility, the factors that really drive return on investment.”