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Axis, a video surveillance company, was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Lund, Sweden. It has around 4,000 employees in over 50 countries.
 
{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Axis Communications
| Type = Subsidiary
| Founded = 1984
| Industry = Security
| Official Website = https://axis.com/
| Logo = Axis.png
}}
 
Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Lund, Sweden, [[wikipedia:Axis_Communications|'''Axis''']] is a video surveillance company with approximately 4,000 employees across more than 50 countries.<ref>Axis website, https://www.axis.com/en-us/about-axis
 
Archived link to Axis website, https://archive.ph/8oCS2</ref>
 
== Consumer impact summary ==
 
* User Freedom:
* User Privacy:
* Business Model:
* Market Control:
 
== Incidents ==
 
=== Closure of Axis Companion Classic ===
Released in 2016,<ref name=":0">Companion software release notes, https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/latest/relnote.txt
 
Archived, https://archive.ph/RNJ8J</ref> Axis Companion Classic (formerly just Axis Companion) was a freely provided software for Axis account owners to be able to setup, configure, & manage cameras on the network. It also allowed a remote viewing feature for an iOS or Android Companion app to be able to view camera feeds remotely.
 
===Removal of remote access support===
Axis signaled that they would be removing remote access for any new sites created after March 31, 2023.<ref name=":0" /> Their software was updated in version 3.74.000 (released on March 15, 2023) to notify customers.<ref name=":1">Axis Companion FTP download site, [https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/]
 
Archived, [https://archive.ph/ebg4g]</ref>
 
When version 3.75.000 was released on March 24, 2023,<ref name=":1" /> '''the only change was to prevent users from being able to enable remote access to camera feeds for new sites.'''
 
<blockquote>Release Notes:
 
''Changes since 3.75.000''
 
''========================''
 
''No Secure Remote Access on new sites created after 2023-03-31.''</blockquote>
 
If a consumer never updated to this or later versions, all remote access would continue to work and consumers could continue to create new sites without restriction.<ref name=":0" />
 
'''This restriction removes functionality without providing any benefit to the customer.'''
 
=== Axis Companion ===
As part of their efforts to upgrade software while retaining legacy setups, Axis created Axis Companion after renaming the previous Companion to Companion Classic.
 
===Removal of third-party SD card support===
Starting June 27, 2024, Axis removed support for any new device configurations in Companion with third-party SD cards.<ref name=":2">Policy update regarding 3rd Party SD Cards, https://www.axis.com/dam/public/11/2e/29/axis-surveillance-cards-now-required-en-US-443994.pdf
 
Archived, https://archive.ph/uHiaB</ref> This policy change effectively forces customers to purchase Axis-branded storage solutions for any new installations, while existing installations using third-party SD cards would continue to function.<ref name=":2" />
 
The company justifies this change by claiming their SD cards are optimized for surveillance applications and offer greater functionality and endurance.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref> This change also coincides with Axis' expansion of proprietary storage requirements across their product lines, including their Camera Station Edge platform which similarly mandates the use of Axis-branded SD cards.<ref>FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution</ref>
 
=== Axis SD cards ===
Axis sells proprietary SD cards manufactured by SanDisk,<ref>Technical Datasheet of Axis 256GB SD Card https://www.axis.com/dam/public/55/dd/19/datasheet-axis-surveillance-card-256-gb-en-US-417022.pdf</ref> marketed under their own brand with claims of specialized optimization for surveillance applications. These cards come with a five-year warranty and are claimed to have up to six times more endurance than standard SD cards.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref>
 
==== Pricing and market position ====
As of 2025, Axis' SD cards are sold at approximately five times the price of comparable third-party SD cards<ref>Pricing 256GB Axis SD Card, https://archive.ph/nS3l4
 
Pricing 256GB Samsung SD Card, https://archive.ph/CM2z8</ref> despite being based on standard SanDisk hardware. The company's transition to requiring these proprietary cards across their product lines creates a closed ecosystem where consumers must purchase storage solutions exclusively from Axis at premium prices.
 
==== Platform lock-in ====
The requirement for Axis-branded SD cards is now being implemented across multiple Axis platforms:
 
*Axis Companion (new installations after June 27, 2024)<ref name=":2" />
*Camera Station Edge platform<ref>FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution</ref>
 
This represents a shift from open hardware compatibility to a closed ecosystem where customers have to buy Axis-branded storage at sky-high prices to maintain full functionality of their security system.
 
==References==
<references />
[[Category:Axis]]

Latest revision as of 10:06, 15 March 2025

Axis
Basic information
Founded 1984
Type Subsidiary
Industry Security
Official website https://axis.com/


Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Lund, Sweden, Axis is a video surveillance company with approximately 4,000 employees across more than 50 countries.[1]

Consumer impact summary[edit | edit source]

  • User Freedom:
  • User Privacy:
  • Business Model:
  • Market Control:

Incidents[edit | edit source]

Closure of Axis Companion Classic[edit | edit source]

Released in 2016,[2] Axis Companion Classic (formerly just Axis Companion) was a freely provided software for Axis account owners to be able to setup, configure, & manage cameras on the network. It also allowed a remote viewing feature for an iOS or Android Companion app to be able to view camera feeds remotely.

Removal of remote access support[edit | edit source]

Axis signaled that they would be removing remote access for any new sites created after March 31, 2023.[2] Their software was updated in version 3.74.000 (released on March 15, 2023) to notify customers.[3]

When version 3.75.000 was released on March 24, 2023,[3] the only change was to prevent users from being able to enable remote access to camera feeds for new sites.

Release Notes:

Changes since 3.75.000

========================

No Secure Remote Access on new sites created after 2023-03-31.

If a consumer never updated to this or later versions, all remote access would continue to work and consumers could continue to create new sites without restriction.[2]

This restriction removes functionality without providing any benefit to the customer.

Axis Companion[edit | edit source]

As part of their efforts to upgrade software while retaining legacy setups, Axis created Axis Companion after renaming the previous Companion to Companion Classic.

Removal of third-party SD card support[edit | edit source]

Starting June 27, 2024, Axis removed support for any new device configurations in Companion with third-party SD cards.[4] This policy change effectively forces customers to purchase Axis-branded storage solutions for any new installations, while existing installations using third-party SD cards would continue to function.[4]

The company justifies this change by claiming their SD cards are optimized for surveillance applications and offer greater functionality and endurance.[5] This change also coincides with Axis' expansion of proprietary storage requirements across their product lines, including their Camera Station Edge platform which similarly mandates the use of Axis-branded SD cards.[6]

Axis SD cards[edit | edit source]

Axis sells proprietary SD cards manufactured by SanDisk,[7] marketed under their own brand with claims of specialized optimization for surveillance applications. These cards come with a five-year warranty and are claimed to have up to six times more endurance than standard SD cards.[8]

Pricing and market position[edit | edit source]

As of 2025, Axis' SD cards are sold at approximately five times the price of comparable third-party SD cards[9] despite being based on standard SanDisk hardware. The company's transition to requiring these proprietary cards across their product lines creates a closed ecosystem where consumers must purchase storage solutions exclusively from Axis at premium prices.

Platform lock-in[edit | edit source]

The requirement for Axis-branded SD cards is now being implemented across multiple Axis platforms:

  • Axis Companion (new installations after June 27, 2024)[4]
  • Camera Station Edge platform[10]

This represents a shift from open hardware compatibility to a closed ecosystem where customers have to buy Axis-branded storage at sky-high prices to maintain full functionality of their security system.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Axis website, https://www.axis.com/en-us/about-axis Archived link to Axis website, https://archive.ph/8oCS2
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Companion software release notes, https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/latest/relnote.txt Archived, https://archive.ph/RNJ8J
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Axis Companion FTP download site, [1] Archived, [2]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Policy update regarding 3rd Party SD Cards, https://www.axis.com/dam/public/11/2e/29/axis-surveillance-cards-now-required-en-US-443994.pdf Archived, https://archive.ph/uHiaB
  5. ↑ NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/
  6. ↑ FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution
  7. ↑ Technical Datasheet of Axis 256GB SD Card https://www.axis.com/dam/public/55/dd/19/datasheet-axis-surveillance-card-256-gb-en-US-417022.pdf
  8. ↑ NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/
  9. ↑ Pricing 256GB Axis SD Card, https://archive.ph/nS3l4 Pricing 256GB Samsung SD Card, https://archive.ph/CM2z8
  10. ↑ FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution
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