Milestone Systems, Copenhagen, an open platform company for IP video management software (VMS), will heighten its focus on development by starting up a new international business unit, Incubation and Ventures, which will be based in Silicon Valley, Calif., and at the company’s Danish headquarters.

The goal is to develop new products and services with high potential for market superiority and differentiation and to achieve additional growth by cultivating new Milestone ventures. To steer the new initiatives, Milestone hired an experienced strategist, Lars Nordenlund Friis, as vice president for Incubation and Ventures.

“The Incubation and Ventures business unit will work with groundbreaking innovations that can extend Milestone’s leadership in the industry and accelerate our growth. The team will work with a portfolio process that covers new business areas where we see high potential and integrate these into our main business as they mature. This requires taking a broad view across new technologies and business segments that will continue to build the Milestone vision to enable business optimization through open platform IP video surveillance,” said Lars Thinggaard, chief executive officer and president, Milestone Systems.

The term “incubation” relates to organic product innovations that can be developed and taken to commercial success, and “ventures” signals the intention to build a portfolio of stand-alone businesses, joint partnership ventures or potential mergers and acquisitions, with or without external funding.