End Users Want Integrated CCTV Solutions With AI Across Multiple Sites, According To BGW Technologies’ Mark Shannon.
End Users Want Integrated CCTV Solutions – The days of selling a camera system and walking away are over, according to Mark Shannon, national product manager at BGW Technologies.
Shannon says he is seeing the scene shift firsthand – clients want more and they want it all working together.
“Clients have changed – they’re not just asking for cameras anymore,” Shannon explains. “They want one system that handles video, access control, alarms, analytics – the lot. And they want it to work across multiple sites. That’s a big jump from where we were 5 years ago.
“For integrators, that shift cuts both ways. The demand is real, but so is the pressure to deliver. The ones rising to it are pulling ahead fast. Integrators who can walk in and offer a unified platform, not just a camera system with a few add-ons bolted on, are winning the jobs.
“At BGW Technologies, we assess a customer’s needs and take them through the various options they have available to them – Milestone XProtect is one of those options – it saves time, saves money, and keeps clients happy,” Shannon says.
Milestone XProtect is an open-platform video management software platform designed to manage IP cameras, video recording, live monitoring, playback, analytics and security integrations from a single interface. It also supports integrations with access control, intercoms, analytics, alarms and other connected security technologies.
According to Shannon, the latest XProtect 2026 R1 release includes updates focused on browser-based system management, hybrid cloud connectivity, reporting capabilities and support for AI-enabled analytics workflows, making things simpler for integrators and their clients.
“The appeal is straightforward: it connects with almost anything,” Shannon says. “Thousands of cameras, access control systems, intercoms, analytics tools. And when a client comes to us with a mix of existing gear and new requirements, we’re not telling them to rip everything out, ” he says.
“That flexibility matters as much commercially as it does technically. Integrators can bring in third-party gear they know and trust and set the system up so it grows with the client over time. They’re not locked into one manufacturer’s ecosystem. That’s a big selling point when you’re sitting in front of a customer.”
According to Shannon, one of the more common questions the BGW Technologies’ team gets from installers and integrators is whether the platform suits smaller sites, or if it’s built for big enterprise jobs only.
“This is always an easy answer, it’s both,” Shannon explains. “We’ve got integrators using XProtect on a single commercial building and others running it across government facilities, hospitals, universities – big multi-site operations. The platform scales either way, so the integrator doesn’t need a different solution for every type of job.”
What BGW Technologies brings beyond the technology is something Shannon is clearly passionate about.
“Our team has been in this industry a long time, and we work closely with integrators to understand the changing needs of their clients,” he says.
“We’re not just dropping product on a shelf and taking orders – support for our solutions runs from the design stage all the way through to installation. We help integrators work out the right solution, back them up technically, and make sure they feel confident going into a job. If they look good in front of their client, that’s a win for everyone.”
You can learn more about BGW Technologies support services here or read more SEN news here.
“End Users Want Integrated CCTV Solutions With AI Across Multiple Sites, According To BGW Technologies’ Mark Shannon.”
