Since our founding in 2008, the mission statement of ONVIF has remained largely unchanged: “To provide and promote standardized interfaces for effective interoperability of IP-based physical security products.” This mission is just as relevant today as it was more than 15 years ago when we set out to guide the industry through the shift to IP video technology.

At that time, it was evident that industry standards were essential to provide industry cohesiveness and a unified path forward for a rapidly growing security technology sector. That need persists, which is why ONVIF has made two key updates to our mission statement and cornerstones to ensure that we’re serving the needs of our evolving industry.

The first is to expand our mission statement to include IP-based physical security services. This represents a recognition of the growing influence of the cloud and the transition to service-based offerings in our market. It also acknowledges that interoperability (and ONVIF conformance) should also be supported between a camera and a software service, in addition to the traditional device / client relationship.

The second change is to update one of our ONVIF cornerstones to address new deployment models, specifically cloud and hybrid deployments. These scenarios are becoming more common as the transition to cloud technologies continues to accelerate.

Our new mission and cornerstones are as follows:

Mission:
To provide and promote standardized interfaces for effective interoperability of IP-based physical security products and services.

ONVIF cornerstones:
Standardization of communication between IP-based physical security products and services
Interoperability regardless of brand and deployment (on-premise, cloud, hybrid solutions)
Openness to all companies and organizations

As the industry evolves, ONVIF will continue to develop as a technology alliance dedicated to providing these pathways to interoperability. We think these changes to our official mission and cornerstones exemplify the future of our industry and further strengthens the foundation of standardization that ONVIF provides.