Milestone Getting Into Hardware

The NVR, part of the company’s XProtect-branded products, is aimed at easing the transition from analogue to IP, according to Milestone CEO Lars Thinggaard. He explained how the hardware appliance comes preloaded with everything a systems integrator needs to get up and running fast and easily. “This introduction does not change Milestone’s open platform philosophy but instead eases the transition for many from analogue to IP,” said Thinggaard. The device — manufactured by IT powerhouse HP, a Milestone technology partner — is designed for either 8 or 16-input video surveillance systems and offers 1-2TB storage.At Milestone’s recent MIPS conference, Thinggaard talked up VSaaS and it’s possible the new XProtect DVR may be Milestone’s move to get a hold of the potential recurring revenue such a service would generate. “Video software as a service [VSaaS] will be huge,” he said at MIPS.In addition to the Essential NVR, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Christian Bohn revealed some other new products during the MIPS. They included: XProtect Go, free software able to handle up to eight cameras; XProtect Mobile, due by the end of 2011; XProtect Corporate 4.0; Milestone integration platform software development kit version 1.0 (MIP SDK 1.0); and a video capture software application that will record all activities on a given PC as if it were seen by a camera.Thinggaard’s update on the progress and health of Milestone, which has realized 41-percent compounded annual growth (CAGR) since 1998, was telling. He said the firm had a bullish 2010, with 56-pecent growth compared to 2009. He said 4,300 integrators worldwide are working with Milestone solutions, which are deployed in more than 100,000 installations in 115 countries. The company has struck interoperability agreements with 85 manufacturers, many of which — such as Axis Communications, FLIR, Honeywell, Panasonic, Arecont Vision, IBM and Sony — exhibited during the company’s recent MIPs conference.