Milestone Systems

Milestone Systems, the open platform company in networked video management software (VMS), has released XProtect 2018 R2. With the second VMS update this year, Milestone is continuing to pursue ever higher performing software to fulfil the market’s rising demands for cost-effective video business solutions. XProtect 2018 R2 showcases hardware acceleration of the system recording and mobile server. Hardware acceleration means system performance can be boosted just by adding a supported graphics card to take over the heavy lifting in decoding video, leaving room for the system to manage other demanding tasks like video analytics. The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) on a graphics card is much better suited to handling large data sets like video, than the CPU in a computer. High performance in VMS translates to numerous benefits from the customer’s perspective, such as: Larger installations will be able to manage with a smaller number of recording servers, saving not only on server hardware but also on the operational costs Cost-efficient video solution High-performing software reduces the need for large servers, which leads to lower hardware costs. In smaller integrated installations this means that the video solution can run on a smaller, more cost-effective server. Larger installations will also be able to manage with a smaller number of recording servers, saving not only on server hardware but also on the operational costs as the needed IT infrastructure gets simplified. Reduction in upgrade expenses A recording server can be upgraded to handle more cameras just by adding a compatible NVIDIA card to the server. This takes minimal downtime, does not require changes in the infrastructure and improves performance. It is a much simpler way to upgrade the capacity of a system, than either upgrading to a larger server or adding more servers. Paving the way for video analytics, IoT and AI Tomorrow’s intelligent video business systems will have to handle massive amounts of data not only from cameras, but also from all kind of sensors in an Internet of Things context. The only way to handle all that data is to use the enormous processing power in the GPU. This means that investing in a system with the ability to add hardware acceleration today can be the way to be prepared for the intelligent future. Milestone pioneered the use of multiple NVIDIA graphics cards on top of Intel GPU acceleration to achieve ultra-high performance in the XProtect Smart Client 2018 and XProtect Smart Wall   Powerful hardware for UHD video streaming The performance boost is not limited to servers. In the previous XProtect 2018 release, Milestone pioneered the use of multiple NVIDIA graphics cards on top of Intel GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) acceleration to achieve ultra-high performance in the XProtect Smart Client 2018 and XProtect Smart Wall. The user can thereby view more High Definition or Ultra HD video streams and use newer high-resolution monitors just by adding one or more supported graphic cards to the computer that is running the XProtect Smart Client or XProtect Smart Wall. Protection against cybersecurity threats Among the many operational enhancements in this new release is building support in the Smart Map feature allowing operators to gain better operational awareness. Furthermore, the Milestone Software Development Kit (SDK) has been enhanced, and the software has been updated in an ongoing process of hardening XProtect to guard against ever-present cybersecurity threats.

For the 10th year in a row, Milestone Systems continues to be the No. 1 global VMS vendor by company revenue in market research from business intelligence provider IHS Markit. In 2017 Milestone Systems had a global VMS market share of 10.2%, an increase from 9.1% in 2016. “The world market for VMS is estimated to have grown by 8% in 2017,” said Jon Cropley, senior principal analyst for video surveillance at IHS Markit. “Supply to this market is gradually becoming more concentrated. The top largest vendors are estimated to have accounted for 48% of global revenues in 2015. In comparison, this figure was 57% in 2017.” We will keep investing in our partner community with a focus on new technologies within cameras, access control and video analytics" Triple revenue growth “Milestone Systems had a solid VMS revenue growth of 21% over 2016, which was almost triple that of the market. Our open platform community and partnership business model is no doubt the reason for the positive development, and we are proud to be a trusted and reliable partner in the community,” says Lars Thinggaard, President and CEO, Milestone Systems, and continues: “We will keep investing in our partner community with a focus on new technologies within cameras, access control and video analytics. We believe in a future, where video will play an even more significant role to understand the data sources from the increasing numbers of devices that connect people and assets.” Number one in EMEA as well as APAC Milestone Systems not only retained the number one position globally but also holds the number one spot in Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) with an increase in market share to 17.1% from 14.8% in 2016. Milestone Systems also maintains its number one position in APAC with a market share of 12.4%, compared to 11.7% the year before. Finally, Milestone Systems jumped one spot in Americas and is now ranked as number two in the region with a 11.3% market share compared to 9.6% in 2016.

Finding the exact right technology to solve an end user’s problem is challenging, but the rewards are great when an integrator gets it right. A wide range of available product types, price levels and added features increases the likelihood of identifying a technology to solve any problem. But with so many technology and product choices in the marketplace, identifying that one solution can be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. We wondered whether a vast range of product choices is always a good thing. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Are security integrators and end users overwhelmed by “too many choices” related to security equipment and systems? How can they make sense of it all?