We’re avid readers of the IPVideoMarket.Info blog.  John Honovich brings a keen insight into the companies, technologies and trends in the physical security and convergence markets.

In a post yesterday, John asks the question, Are US IP Video Companies Inferior?  Citing other studies, John points out that while the US has a disproportionate amount of IP video companies – many who have received a large amount of VC funding – the largest IP video companies are all based outside the US.  He lists the largest companies, based on revenue, as Axis, Milestone, Genetec and Mobotix.  Then he adds:

In the next tier, there are 4 US IP video companies that I hear frequently praised – Arecont Vision, Exacq, IQinVision and OnSSI. Interestingly, all of these are fairly low-key companies with no to minimal VC backing.

His observation is that US technology companies have historically excelled at highly disruptive technologies (e.g. Google, eBay) that require large amounts of funding to get off the ground. By contrast, he suggests that IP video is a far more evolutionary technology that needs to be approached accordingly.

Contrasting some US IP video companies that received large funding and failed in short order (Covi, Steelbox, Vistascape), John points out that the success of the major IP video players has been gradual: Axis, Milestone and Genetec all grew slowly over a period of many years to get where they are today. And, he says:

Even some of the most respected US companies like Exacq and IQinVision took many years of steady development run by traditional security executives. All of these companies took long periods of time for development, took minimal investment and focused on mainstream, achievable products.

The complete article is available here, and makes for good reading.  Our thanks to John for his observations and comments about Exacq.