Case Study: Massachusetts General Hospital achieves streamlined, cost-effective IP surveillance and expanded coverage with Axis Communications

IP cures aging surveillance system with Axis video encoders

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston faced an aging DVR-based surveillance system that relied on more than 600 analog cameras to protect 40,000–50,000 people onsite daily. Replacing every camera at once was cost-prohibitive, so MGH worked with Axis Communications to migrate to IP using Axis video encoders (AXIS P7210) and later deploy Axis network cameras (AXIS P3354, AXIS P5534‑E) to preserve legacy investments while preparing for future expansion.

Axis Communications replaced DVRs with Axis video encoders to network-enable existing analog cameras, integrated the feeds into a Milestone XProtect VMS with Briefcam analytics, and added Axis network cameras where needed. The upgrade simplified the backbone (rack space reduced to one-third), shrank devices and power supplies by about 75%, enabled instant, customizable camera views and fast archive searches, delivered higher-resolution coverage, and let MGH add cameras one at a time without a costly system overhaul.

Massachusetts General Hospital

Robert Leahy

Senior Manager, Systems and Technology