AxxonSoft and Axis Communications Technology Partnership

Axis offers intelligent security solutions that enable a smarter, safer world. As a market leader in network video, Axis is driving the industry by continually launching innovative network products based on an open platform — delivering high value to customers through a global partner network and empowering them with future-proof technologies and a rich ecosystem of Axis camera application integrations.

AxxonSoft and Axis Communications deliver an integrated edge-analytics solution using Axis ACAP and AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker. Metadata is generated directly on Axis cameras, reducing server workload when using real-time detection and high-speed forensic search in Axxon One VMS. Additionally, the support for the Axis Zipstream technology helps cut storage and bandwidth by an average of 50%.

Axxon One VMS is engineered for deep interoperability with Axis Communications IP cameras. The result is an analytics ecosystem where video intelligence runs directly on the camera via Axis Camera Application Platform (ACAP), improving efficiency and enabling more advanced metadata-driven analysis.

The benefits? Lower server CPU usage, metadata-rich video, and dramatically reduced storage and bandwidth demands — all without compromising on detection quality.

Quick Overview and Key Benefits of Axis Camera Applications + AxxonSoft Integration

Joint video surveillance solution based on Axis network cameras and the Axxon One VMS can cut server expenses for video analytics, while significantly reducing the volume of stored video data and network bandwidth requirements. The solution uses the Axis Camera Application Platform (ACAP) and Zipstream technology.

50% less storage & bandwidth with Zipstream
Reduced server CPU load through on-camera analytics
Rich metadata for rapid forensic search
Wide Axis camera compatibility

Study the documentation

How It Works — Edge Analytics with Axis ACAP

Deploy the AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker ACAP application on your Axis camera.
The tracker runs inside the camera, generating metadata (object position, motion trajectory, size, color, type, etc.).
That metadata is fed to the Axxon One VMS server for further video analytics (detection, tracking, forensic search).
Because analysis is partially offloaded to the camera, the VMS server requires less CPU power, and the system becomes more scalable.

Reduce the server CPU footprint with Axis ACAP and AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker

The Axxon One VMS includes a variety of video analytics tools:

All these tools use metadata, which is a formalized description of the scene (the position of objects in the frame, the trajectory of movement, size, color and type of objects, and so on). In order to extract the metadata, the server must decode the video from the IP camera and then analyze it, which requires significant computing resources. This is why using video analytics increases the hardware requirements for servers and the overall cost of the video surveillance system.

ACAP lets AxxonSoft run analytics on-camera instead of on servers.

ACAP is an open platform that allows third-party developers to create embedded applications for Axis network cameras. AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker is an application that generates metadata on Axis cameras and feeds it to the Axxon One server for video analytics. Moving the computing resources to the camera lowers the requirements for the server and the cost of the video surveillance system. In addition, AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker works with the raw uncompressed video stream, which can improve detection quality.

ACAP is supported by a wide range of Axis cameras:

Affordable entry-level cameras
Professional CCTV cameras, including outdoor cameras
PTZ cameras
Thermal cameras

Cut storage and bandwidth consumption with Zipstream

Axxon One supports the Zipstream technology developed by Axis and optimized for video security. Zipstream is a highly efficient implementation of the H.264 and H.265 video compression standards. For most typical 24-hour surveillance scenarios, this technology reduces requirements for bandwidth and data storage by 50% or more on average.

The Axis Zipstream technology uses a full set of dynamic functions that analyze and optimize the video stream from a network camera in real time. The areas of the image that contain important details (faces, tattoos, license plates, and so on) are stored in full quality with high resolution. Insignificant areas, like white walls, lawns, and vegetation, are filtered out to optimize usage of bandwidth and data storage resources.

Users of video monitoring systems based on the Axxon One VMS and Axis network cameras can take advantage of all the benefits of this technology at no extra cost.

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Use Cases

Transportation

Reduce investigation time and detect traffic anomalies faster with edge metadata.

Retail

Lower shrinkage through quicker suspect search and forensic investigations.

Safe City

Improve situational awareness across large camera networks with minimal server infrastructure.

How-to Installation Guide for Axis Camera Application (ACAP)

Go to the device’s web interface.
Select the Setup menu → Applications.
Select the ACAP application and click Upload Package.
For application, contact AxxonSoft help desk. You will be given a license code that is to be registered along with camera’s MAC address on Axis website in order to get the license file.
Go to AxxonSoft Tracker menu → License.
Select the license file.
Click Install.
Go to Applications, select the installed application.
Click Start.
In Axxon One VMS, create the AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker object for the corresponding camera.
Configure the tracker and create the required detection tools.
You can configure the AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker object similar to the Scene Analytics detection tools.
You cannot configure perspective for solutions based on Axis ACAP.

Installation Guide & Documentation

Full technical documentation, compatibility tables and detailed installation steps are available in the AxxonSoft Confluence docs. If you are an integrator or systems engineer, please request access through our tech support.

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FAQ

How does Axis ACAP improve performance in video analytics?

Axis ACAP provides an open platform that lets applications like AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker run inside Axis cameras. By processing raw video at the edge, ACAP enables richer metadata generation, faster event detection, and reduced server CPU load.

Can Axxon One VMS work with any Axis Communications IP camera?

Yes, with virtually any camera. Axxon One VMS is compatible with a wide range of Axis Communications IP camera models, including entry-level, professional CCTV, PTZ, and thermal devices, ensuring flexibility for various AI analytics and smart surveillance needs.

How does Axis Zipstream reduce data consumption in an Axis video surveillance system?

Zipstream optimizes compression based on scene content, preserving important details while reducing overall video stream size. When combined with Axxon One VMS, users typically achieve up to 50% savings in storage and bandwidth.

What type of metadata is generated by Axis camera applications with AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker?

Axis camera applications generate metadata such as object position, movement trajectory, type, size, and color. This metadata powers video analytics functions like detection, auto-tracking, and rapid forensic search in Axxon One VMS.

Do Axis cameras support AI analytics without additional hardware?

Yes. Many Axis cameras include an onboard Deep Learning Processing Unit (DLPU) or Machine Learning Processing Unit (MLPU), allowing AI analytics to run directly on the device without the need for external compute hardware.

How does this integration support video analytics use cases in transportation, retail, and smart cities?

By using Axis camera applications, AxxonSoft enables real-time object analytics, behavior detection, and metadata-driven search. This improves incident response in transportation, helps reduce shrinkage in retail, and strengthens situational awareness for smart city environments.

Do I need special licensing to install Axis camera application packages for ACAP?

Yes. ACAP applications require a license tied to the camera’s MAC address. The license file is uploaded through the camera interface when installing Axis camera application packages such as AxxonSoft Onboard Tracker.

Why is edge AI recommended for large-scale Axis video surveillance system deployments?

Distributing analytics across Axis cameras reduces central server loads, minimizes latency, and lowers bandwidth demands. This makes Axis camera applications ideal for enterprise-scale and city-wide AI surveillance architectures.

How do Axis Communications camera software updates impact ACAP applications?

Axis Communications camera software updates generally maintain compatibility with ACAP applications, but integrators should verify compatibility using the Axis and AxxonSoft documentation before performing firmware upgrades.