What Onvif does

ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) is a nonprofit membership organization established in 2008 by Axis Communications, Bosch, and Sony, and now operating as ONVIF, Inc., a Delaware nonprofit corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California. The organization develops and maintains open interface specifications that enable interoperability between IP-based physical security products, including IP cameras, video encoders, video management systems (VMS), network video recorders, and access control systems from different manufacturers. Its members span manufacturers, software developers, system integrators, consultants, and end users, and it measures ecosystem health by the count of conformant products — which reached nearly 34,000 by June 2025, up from 20,000 in April 2021 and 25,000 in March 2023. The organization is the de facto standard for IP-based physical security interoperability, with its Export File Format adopted by the FBI (via NISTIR 8161) for forensic video investigations.

ONVIF's core technology is a suite of standardized "profiles" defining communication protocols, data formats, and event semantics for physical security products. Active and legacy profiles include Profile S (basic video streaming, being deprecated March 2027), Profile T (advanced video streaming with H.264/H.265), Profile G (edge storage and retrieval), Profile C and Profile A (access control), Profile D (access control peripherals), and Profile M (metadata and events for analytics applications, supporting MQTT for IoT integration). Complementary specifications include the TLS Configuration Add-on for secure communications, the Media Signing/Video Authentication specification (cryptographically signing footage at the point of capture), and the ONVIF Export File Format (NIST/FBI-adopted MP4-based forensic export format with H.264 codec and UTC timestamps). A Profile V Release Candidate (July 2026) extends the standard to cloud-based video surveillance using WebRTC and OAuth 2.0, targeting vendor-neutral interoperability between cameras and cloud VMS platforms.

ONVIF generates revenue through annual membership fees paid by corporate members, with governance distributed across a Steering Committee and Technical Committee structure supported by a Secretariat. The organization drives adoption and conformance validation through semi-annual Developers' Plugfests held in cities including Tokyo, Rome, and Stockholm; booth presence at major industry trade shows (ISC West, IFSEC International, Intersec, GSX); quarterly newsletters; an online learning initiative launched in November 2024; and an open-source GitHub repository of reference implementations. Growth is operationalized through new profile releases, working groups for cloud (Profile V), analytics (Profile M), and access control (Profile D), and strategic collaborations including the June 2025 liaison with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) on video authenticity standards.

Name

Onvif

Legal name

ONVIF, Inc.

Website

https://onvif.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

ONVIF is a nonprofit membership organization that develops open interface specifications enabling interoperability between IP-based physical security products from different manufacturers, serving camera makers, VMS providers, access control companies, and system integrators globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Ramon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ONVIF is a membership-based organization. Membership is open to manufacturers, software developers, consultants, system integrators, end-users and other interest groups. The organization generates revenue through annual membership fees paid by member companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ONVIF is a nonprofit industry forum that develops and promotes open interface specifications (Profiles and Add-ons) for IP-based physical security products. Its specifications enable vendor-neutral interoperability among IP cameras, video management systems, network video recorders, access control peripherals, and analytics/cloud platforms. Revenue comes from annual membership dues, and conformance is verified through standardized test tools and a public conformant products database.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ONVIF Profile S Profile S defines the interface for streaming basic video and audio over IP between conformant IP cameras and video management clients. It is the foundational streaming profile originally developed by ONVIF.
• ONVIF Profile T Profile T specifies advanced video streaming using H.264/H.265, imaging settings, motion alarm and tampering events, metadata streaming, bidirectional audio, PTZ control, and HTTPS streaming. It is the recommended successor to Profile S.
• ONVIF Profile G Profile G enables configuration, request, and control of recording on IP networks, including retrieval of audio and metadata streams, for video storage on conformant edge devices and recorders.
• ONVIF Profile M Profile M standardizes metadata and events for analytics applications, including object classification, geolocation, vehicle, license plate, and face/body metadata. It enables JSON-formatted events over MQTT for IoT integrations and supports combining edge analytics with cloud or VMS platforms.
• ONVIF Profile D Profile D provides an interface specification for access control peripherals, enabling interoperability among locks, credential and biometric readers, keypads, license plate recognition cameras, and intercoms from different manufacturers.
• ONVIF Profile A Profile A delivers standardized access control configuration, enabling unified management of credential holders, schedules, and access points across multiple access control suppliers.
• ONVIF Profile C Profile C specifies interfaces for IP-based access control systems, enabling basic door and access point management and event handling across conformant clients and devices.
• TLS Configuration Add-on The TLS Configuration Add-on supports configuration of Transport Layer Security encryption between conformant video management systems and devices, enabling secure encrypted communications across IP-based physical security systems.
• ONVIF Export File Format The ONVIF Export File Format defines a standardized export specification using MP4 with H.264 and UTC timestamps, recommended by NIST (NISTIR 8161) as the FBI forensic investigation standard for exchanging video across vendor recording platforms.
• ONVIF Media Signing / Video Authentication Specification The ONVIF Media Signing / Video Authentication specification cryptographically signs video footage at the point of capture using a per-camera digital key, enabling verification of whether video frames have been modified or manipulated after leaving the camera.
• ONVIF Profile V (Release Candidate) Profile V is a draft ONVIF specification targeting cloud-based video surveillance systems, using WebRTC technology for secure video streaming and OAuth 2.0 for authentication, enabling vendor-neutral interoperability between cameras and cloud video management systems.
• ONVIF Conformance Test Tools and Conformant Products Database ONVIF provides conformance test tools and a public conformant products database, enabling manufacturers to verify product conformance against ONVIF profiles and allowing end users and integrators to search for conformant products.
• ONVIF Membership ONVIF membership is open to manufacturers, software developers, consultants, system integrators, and end users, providing access to specifications, conformance tools, working groups, plugfests, and the conformant products database through the members.onvif.org portal with annual membership dues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 34,000 ONVIF profile conformant products available from member manufacturers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2025ONVIF announced a strategic collaboration with C2PA to preserve the integrity and authenticity of digital video in the fight against content manipulation. The two groups are working together to raise awareness and promote adoption of open standards that help verify the authenticity of video content across digital video platforms. ONVIF's video authentication specification aligns with Content Credentials, the open standard published by C2PA which includes Microsoft, Adobe, Google, Meta, BBC, and Truepic as members. ONVIF joined as a liaison member to C2PA.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA): The most directly comparable organization to ONVIF. PSIA was founded to promote interoperability of IP-enabled physical security products but has lost meaningful industry traction, making it a useful reference for what an alternative physical-security standards body looks like.
• Video Services Forum (VSF): Industry standards body developing technical recommendations for video transport over IP networks. Comparable as a video-focused open standards body with similar member-driven governance and a focus on IP-based video interoperability.
• GenICam (European Machine Vision Association): Maintains the GenICam standard that provides a unified programming interface for machine vision cameras. Comparable as an open, member-driven specification for camera interoperability, though aimed at industrial machine vision rather than surveillance.

Broad incumbents

• Connectivity Standards Alliance (Matter / Zigbee): A large, well-funded industry alliance that develops open IoT interoperability standards (Matter, Zigbee). Comparable to ONVIF as an industry-funded standards body, but operating in the consumer/smart-home IoT domain rather than physical security.
• Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF): An industry standards body focused on IoT device interoperability, with specifications for seamless device-to-device communication. Analogous membership-funded governance model and IP-based interoperability mission, though focused on consumer/industrial IoT rather than security.
• BACnet (ASHRAE): ASHRAE's BACnet is the dominant open protocol for building automation and interoperability across HVAC, lighting, and access systems. Comparable as a long-standing, member-driven open standard for building systems, with adjacent relevance to ONVIF's access control profiles.
• Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA): Industry coalition that defined interoperability standards for networked consumer media devices. Comparable as an open industry forum creating technical specifications to enable cross-vendor product interoperability, though now largely inactive in the consumer streaming space.
• UPnP Forum: Forum that maintained open standards for device discovery and networking interoperability. Shares the open-IP-protocol interoperability mission and membership-governance model with ONVIF, though focused on general networking rather than physical security.

Regional players

• KNX Association: Global standards organization for home and building control, originally European. Comparable as a nonprofit membership organization that maintains open specifications and certification programs for interoperable building systems, with some overlap in access control scope.

Others

• PSA Security Network: Leading consortium of security system integrators and dealers in North America. Related to ONVIF's physical security ecosystem, serving the integrator community that deploys ONVIF-conformant products but operating as a buying group rather than a standards body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/onvif
• GitHubgithub.com/onvif
• Facebookfacebook.com/onv1f
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/onvif

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Onvif