by Brianna Crandall — August 31, 2012—Retail facilities and security managers seeking the best physical security for their buildings may benefit from a look at Frost & Sullivan’s independent research,2011 United States Security in Retail, Physical Security Focus, in which Sony Electronics, the largest component of Sony Corporation of America, emerged as a strong leader in the analog camera category for retail facilities. A leading vendor for security cameras in the United States and globally, Sony has effectively adapted its consumer technology to better suit the video surveillance market and distinguished itself through its proactive strategies, concludes the report.
The Frost & Sullivan survey of U.S. retail facilities managers asked which brand of analog cameras the managers considered first-, second-, and third-best. Weighted mean scores (WMS) were computed from their responses, and Sony received the most number-one rankings and the highest WMS, earning it the Frost & Sullivan Retail Facility Managers’ Choice Award as “Best Brand of Analog Cameras.”
While some retail managers anticipated a decrease in the use of analog cameras due to the incursion of Internet Protocol (IP) or digital cameras, many still expected increasing use. “Overall use of analog surveillance cameras likely will not decline,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Anna Kuberacka. “The shares of managers expecting stable use decreases over time, from 50 percent over the next 12 months to 23 percent over the next five years. Over the five-year period, the share of managers foreseeing decreased use rises to 20 percent, while the share foreseeing increased use rises to 58 percent.”
As such, Sony is well placed to capture further market share with its analog cameras for physical security. In 2010, Sony was ranked as the 11th largest video surveillance company globally. In addition to analog cameras, it has a wide range of products, including IP cameras, network encoders, surveillance servers and video management software. In the analog cameras market, Sony is ranked in the Top 10 and the company continues to install its solutions to large government and commercial customers.
In 2011, Sony introduced the industry’s first hybrid camera solutions—network cameras capable of simultaneously transmitting both analog standard and high-definition images over a single coaxial cable, changing the longstanding either/or choice between analog and IP-network cameras.
