The main goal of this new standard is to facilitate the integration of various brands of network video equipment and to help manufacturers, software developers and independent software vendors ensure product interoperability. A unified open standard will also offer end-users greater flexibility of choice, enabling them to select products from different vendors in order to develop systems that fully meet their needs. This standardization initiative demonstrates the strong commitment of Axis, Bosch and Sony to supporting the ongoing shift from analog to digital surveillance in the security market.

A forum set up by the said three companies will be open for all companies and interest groups who would like to participate in the standardization work. The forum will be established in the fourth quarter of 2008, and will work on further development of the standard and on reaching agreement on how the new technology should be implemented.

"We are very pleased to announce this cooperation between our companies," says Ray Mauritsson, president of Axis Communications. "An open standard will make it even easier for integrators and end-users to benefit from the many possibilities offered by IP-based video surveillance technology."

"This cooperation represents a great leap forward in establishing an international open forum focusing on network video surveillance," says Gert van Iperen, executive vice president at Bosch. "For manufacturers of network video hardware and software, the forum and its standard will be an efficient way to ensure product interoperability."

"We entered this discussion based on our common belief that an open standard will provide great benefits for users and everyone involved in the security industry," says Yoshinori Onoue, SVP, corporate executive, Sony Corporation. "Representatives from Axis, Bosch and Sony are now working intensively to develop a framework for the standard and to establish the guidelines for the standardization forum."