Unity in action – Streamlining the integration of Axis devices with a personal touch
Having reached the limits of its existing security solution, PKO embraces Axis camera technology to bring together all of its surveillance operations in the north-east of Finland.
Multi-sector regional management
Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa (PKO), headquartered in Joensuu, Finland, is a cooperative owned by over 100,000 members. It was founded in 1919, and forms part of Finland’s country-wide S Group of cooperatives. While the majority of PKO’s operations are in the grocery sector, it operates a variety of facilities including restaurants, hotels and petrol stations across Finland’s North Karelia region.
Unsatisfied with its previous surveillance system, a mix of cameras from different manufacturers, PKO turned to Axis Gold Partner Hällström Security, also based in Joensuu, for a new solution – one which would unite and streamline the management, administration, and functionality of its cameras and suit the cooperative’s sustainability goals.
Starting again from scratch
“Before our current security solution, maybe seven years ago, we had very bad cameras,” explains Juha Turpeinen, PKO IT Manager. “They were a mix of different brands. I had to manage these, and it was incredibly difficult. Nothing worked together, the quality just wasn’t there – that’s why we reached out to Hällström Security for something better.”
Jyrki Hällström, CEO of Hällström Security, had been through the same. “When we started the company we started with a different camera model, and we had some serious problems with it. We made the move to Axis, and haven’t looked back. The difference is night and day.”
Key, for Turpeinen, was the simplification of PKO’s surveillance operations, and the ability to use its cameras in the way that suited both the North Karelia business and the wider operations of its S Group parent. “Integration was a problem,” he says, “because we basically didn’t have any. At the time we met with Jyrki, we had just changed our DVR system to match S Group’s, but we had no central system, no way of managing everything as a whole. It was time consuming and difficult. It’s taken many years, but all of our locations – supermarkets, hotels, garages, everything – are now united under the same VMS and the same hardware.”
Simple is better. If you have many camera models from many manufacturers, it’s almost impossible to maintain that system. We have five or six different Axis models, we know how they work, and we can configure them to be optimal. That’s what makes PKO’s system so good.
Ease of system integration
PKO employs over 2,000 Axis cameras, covering a number of different models, at its various locations, and frequently adds more. Jyrki Hällström stresses that without the ability to manage cameras using AXIS Device Manager and plan new locations with AXIS Site Designer, his job would be much more difficult.
“These tools are just so valuable when you have so many different locations to administer,” he says. “AXIS Device Manager is an important tool for us at Hällström Security. We can open it up, check the warranties of a camera, log its MAC address, and update its firmware, which means that when we deliver a system we can be sure it’s up to date and configured.
“Site Designer is vital, too. If anything, it’s the most important part of the puzzle. It allows us to make a detailed plan of the location before commissioning, whether it’s a spa, a parking garage, a hypermarket, whatever it may be. We can then give our installers a precise picture of the location, height and angle of every camera. Since we know Axis hardware so well, we know what will work, and AXIS Site Designer means we know that it will be installed correctly.”
Juha Turpeinen notes that when PKO is given new IT requirements from its parent group, its equipment can be easily configured through AXIS Device Manager to match. “When we order from Hällström, the Axis ecosystem means I can be sure I’m going to get what I need, and that it’s going to work. To be honest, there really aren’t many problems. Maintenance is so much easier than before. And if we have a problem, I know we can get help.”
Reliability. That’s a great reason. Great service, strong cybersecurity, fantastic hardware devices. Sustainability, too: we chose Axis devices because we expect them to work for ten or more years, which is important for our sustainability goals.
Building strong relationships with a personal touch
A working relationship with Axis has proven highly important for both Hällström Security and PKO. Jouni Virta is a Key Account Manager at Axis Finland and explains that it is very much a two-way relationship. “They have visited me at Axis HQ, and I’ve visited both at their offices. I find that a face-to-face relationship can be very valuable for Axis customers, and it has proved to be a great benefit to our working practices over the years.”
“Meeting with Axis really helped to start the collaboration,” says Hällström, now 15 years into his company’s partnership with Axis Communications. “I like that it’s personal. We’re able to meet, talk, chase information, and get help where we need it. We really appreciate the assistance and advice from Jouni and the Axis Sweden team.”
“It’s the same story for us,” agrees Turpeinen. “I like Axis because I can go to them for guidance when I need it, and that’s extra important when we’re trying new things. Although 80% of our cameras are used directly for security, we put them to other uses, too.”
Extending surveillance system functionality
PKO’s extra efforts include tourist marketing, empowering the Break Sokos Hotel Koli to train several live public cameras on the snow at its ski resort. In addition, license plate recognition (LPR) technology enables multi-use tickets at unmanned car wash locations. At night in less-staffed 24-hour supermarkets, Axis Object Analytics recognises when customers approach sections with high-value goods, triggering an AXIS C8110 Network Audio Bridge to pass a message to workers to focus their attention in the right direction. The same technology also helps ensure that in-store recycling centres are properly maintained.
“In the future things will be even smarter,” suggests Turpeinen. “We’re working with S Group on a system which will directly timestamp security footage with receipt numbers, for example, meaning we’ll be able to quickly pull up evidence in the case of a checkout dispute. And we’re definitely considering the places where AI could help with insights and automation – but we need to think about it and use it in the right way.”
Technology that fits
At the end of the day, freedom and flexibility is only one of the reasons that PKO prefers Axis cameras over its previous piecemeal system. “I can list any number of reasons,” enthuses Juha Turpeinen. “Reliability. That’s a great reason. Great service, strong cybersecurity, fantastic hardware devices. Sustainability, too: we chose Axis devices because we expect them to work for ten or more years, which is important for our sustainability goals.”
“The most important reason, though, is lower TCO. I am absolutely positive that the lifecycle cost of Axis cameras will end up a lot cheaper than the overall cost of the kinds of brands we were using before. Once you’ve factored in maintenance, energy costs, warranties, and the fact that we don’t have to replace hardware after only a few years, this is a much better and easier system.”
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