A panel discussion of cameras was one of the highlights of Milestone’s recent MIPS partner conference, which happened to coincide with the company’s 16th birthday.

On its 16th birthday, Copenhagen-based Milestone Systems wrapped up its ninth annual MIPS partner conference in the Americas, marking the occasion with 350 video surveillance professionals.

Milestone Systems CEO Lars Thinggaard kicked off the meeting with a keynote address delivered to security equipment manufacturers, distributors, channel partners and integrated solution partners who gathered in Orlando, Fla., to learn and share about the latest in video technology.

“Video enabling is happening now and being used for more than just security as integrations with analytics, biometrics, RFID and all kinds of business metadata are being incorporated into operations to realize innovative new efficiencies and more strategic approaches,” Thinggaard said in his address. “This is something Milestone defined years ago in our mission and vision. With our international ecosystem of partners, we are well positioned to take advantage of this major business opportunity.”

Eric Fullerton, Milestone’s chief sales and marketing officer, discussed the added value that open systems bring versus closed systems in his presentation, “Why Compromise?”

“Video is becoming mission-critical for value-added purposes in all vertical sectors, as a tool for daily business. Open-platform IP video fosters deeper integrations that bring more value than any one company could do alone, and our ecosystem proves this concept,” he said. “The scalability and flexibility appreciate over time — compared to proprietary systems that depreciate and require ‘forklift’ upgrades to replace them entirely, rather than building on a future-proof foundation.”

At the summit, top camera manufacturers revealed their perspectives. Samsung Techwin CEO Cheol Kyo Kim related a vision for “CHANGE.” His name, which means “golden bridge,” describes the positive spirit of his leadership to help drive change in his organization, including a realignment and new connection with partners such as Milestone Systems. He also talked about bridging the market needs of those moving from analog to IP video technology, highlighting the increasing importance of video analytics, HD efficiencies, mobile access and encryption. He said open-platform architecture enables integrations that create new markets.

Also presenting were Bernhard Schuster, Bosch Security Systems’ executive vice president, and Johan Lembre, director of corporate sales projects for Axis Communications, who, along with executives from Arecont Vision and Sony, participated in a panel discussion that explored future trends like the cloud and edge recording.

Video enabling access control was the theme of another panel discussion with participants from Axis, Isonas, Keyscan and Open Options, who talked about IP-based access control integrations with VMS and optimal functions from operative and technical perspectives, defining many benefits for both customers and installing channel partners.

A lively storage debate weighed options for handling the growing needs of video and big data – and it was clear that these can have very different requirements when it comes to the hardware for storing the evidence, sometimes needed long after an occurrence. RAID and direct-attached setups did not seem to win the battle for video data, but big or small installations have different needs. Companies waging the alternatives were EMC Isilon, HP Autonomy, IBM, Seneca Data and Veracity. 

The MIPS Technology Showcase illustrated 48 examples of interoperability with the Milestone open platform from Manufacturer Alliance Partners and Solution Partners in every facet of security implementations available today: video analytics and synopsis, access control, storage, laser scanners, geospatial positioning, network management, command center display walls and more.

The second day of the event ended with a gala dinner, announcing these awards:

• Solution Partner of the Year 2013: Prism Skylabs (retail analytics)
• Technology Partner of the Year 2013: Razberi Technologies (XProtect and Arcus NVRs with embedded switches)
• Camera Partner of the Year 2013: Axis Communications (cameras, encoders and access control)  
• Distributor of the Year 2013: Wesco-CSC (channel partner sales performance)
• National Partner of the Year 2013: Convergint Technologies (systems integrations; 32 percent growth)
• Regional Partner of the Year 2013: Stone Security (systems integrations; first-ever Diamond Partner)
• Vertical Specialist Partners – City Surveillance Installations:
  • Total Recall Corp. for Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
  • EIA Inc. for New York City Marathon  
• MIP SDK Integration of the Year 2013: Optex and The Hawkeye Effect (laser/infrared/fiber sensors and GIS location)
• Installation of the Year 2013: Jefferson County Waterwaysby Knight Security (link goes to the case study that appeared in the 1/21 TSI e-news)