Milestone Partner Program Expands
The shift to IP video surveillance from analog technology is in full gear, creating innovation and new opportunities in the market. A 2008 report from ABI Research predicts digital technologies in video surveillance will be a rising tide that will lift all boats. IMS Research forecasts a compound annual growth rate for IP video surveillance products of more than 36 percent from 2007 to 2012, compared to just 3.4 percent for analog.
Taking center stage is open platform IP video management software -- and IMS Research has found Milestone to be the leader in this category for several years. Milestone introduced to the industry the XProtect video management software based on open platform architecture, with defined Application Program Interfaces (API) in a Software Development Kit.
This allows customers to integrate applications that move beyond standard video surveillance to video-enabled solutions. For example, not only can a customer have video monitoring of their business, they can also integrate with building management, video analytics and access control systems-- all with a common interface for connecting, sharing and managing these. As customers stop thinking solely in terms of cameras, and begin planning security systems as total solutions that integrate applications, unlimited IP video-based innovations abound.
Milestone is leveraging its leadership to build partner collaborations that drive even greater success for everyone involved. The growing fleet of partners includes a distribution and integrator network of more than 1,000 companies in more than 90 countries. This ensures a broad range of products and applications being built for customers.
Milestone Partner Programs are focused on cultivating the IP video surveillance ecosystem that develops and delivers video-enabled solutions:
- The Manufacturer Alliance Partner (MAP) program supports more than 500 models of network hardware from more than 50 vendors.
- The Milestone Solutions Partner (MSP) program promotes integrated video-enabled solutions for different vertical market segments.
- The Milestone Channel Partner (MCP) program is focused on developing trained and certified resellers and integrators who install these innovative solutions.
The emphasis is on strong relationships designed to empower and differentiate Milestone partners for delivering the best IP video solutions in the industry.
“We have a very exciting ecosystem of partners worldwide and together we are generating new waves of IP video-enabled solutions, both integrations with other software and hardware,” said Lars Thinggaard, President and CEO of Milestone Systems. “The swell of IP technology is growing and Milestone is forging ahead with our open platform acting as the foundation for present and future expansions. Our partners enjoy working with the building blocks for tomorrow that bring success today - and Milestone strives to support this in every way.
The Milestone Channel Partner Program for resellers began in 2004 with training to distinguish authorized from certified status, also determining which partners could sell the products. As the product offerings have expanded in sophistication with new innovations over the years, so have the training and technical support. Customer projects have also become more comprehensive and demanding with interesting integrations proliferating.
As of 2009, Milestone is extending the Channel Partner Program to four levels of expertise, performance and support: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
These achievements are reached and rewarded through the certification training, lead management, earning incentives, implementation successes, and participation at the bi-annual Milestone Integration Platform Symposium events.
In addition to the extended Partner Programs, Milestone is also instating procedures in the indirect sales model that will provide greater transparency between the company and end users. Customer information will be required for every software license and the license agreements will contain new clauses about proper ethical and legal use of the software, to help ensure better management and corporate governance of the Milestone technology.