Implementing Responsible Technology

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Nov 01, 2022

There is a lot to talk about beyond security. Milestone has a way of making it happen, hosting its 24th annual MIPS conference in Minneapolis. The message is for integrators, as well as end users, to look at and review to total infrastructure.

A word of advice to the more than 450 attendees, there will always be new technology, but the right approach from Milestone executives, “… we don’t agree with the approach of monetizing the technology.”

CEO Thomas Jensen (not related, I do not think so) was very clear from the onset of MIPS 2022 about responsible technology. He said Milestone would be closely following, and is committed to the United Nations sustainable development goals.

The short and quick answer is that if a nation cannot be transparent, and respect the right of its citizenry, Milestone will not be doing business in that country where human rights is not observed. An interesting observation and comment to make, and following that up with the pledge to double revenue in the next five years.

How will Milestone keep this promise? Jensen said one means to achieve this goal is when the company says it will launch a product in Q1; it will be available as promised. For instance, Milestone will be introducing Milestone XProtect Hospital Assist early in 2023.Relatively new to the product lineup with Milestone Kite, powered by Arcules. This is a simple, secure, automatically updating, scalable and cost-effective solution. Also used for single or distributed multi-site end users as an easy way to centrally manage all sites in one unified system.

“Milestone understands and recognizes the importance of offering a range of hybrid-cloud solutions to address different segments of the security market. We have been making investments in VSaaS offerings for many years to prepare for the future. As more small- to mid-sized organizations search for a cloud-based VMS that is easy to deploy, simple to use, has low bandwidth requirements, is scalable across locations, and is secure — Milestone Kite becomes the most logical choice. Milestone and Arcules have now joined forces to help serve this segment of the market,” Jensen said.

XProtect Hospital Assist is focused on healthcare and improving the workplace for nurses. The plan is that it will be ready in early 2023 (Q1). Milestone showed the software in action, and it appears impressive.

“We have a track record of not delivering; we’ve not been the best,” Jensen said. “[being on time] … is a prerequisite for future growth. We must be good stewards when deploying technology.”

Jensen brought an urgency as well as the promise that there are exciting times ahead. True business outcomes is responsible for creating a better society.

Among the great quotes during MIPS 2022, came from the company’s chief revenue officer Ilijavan Vavan, who said while it is important to strive for excellence, “excellence does not have a finish line.”

A 34 percent year over year growth is impressive, but not the finish line to meet the previously mentioned doubling revenue in the next five years.

The New Next was this year’s MIPS mantra. It means having a technology direction, providing a cloud journey and roadmap, the wisdom of enabling smart devices, providing cloud choices and accelerating the Milestone roadmap. Milestone introduced XProtect 25 years ago, and that mission is to improve and future proof the software.

Introducing MIPS 2022 to attendees, Tim Palmquist, vice president of the Americas, opened with the struggles we all faced with COVID-19, as well as noting that video provides a ton of data, which must be used responsibly. Palmquist is a legend among security company leaders. He is cool and calm under pressure, and facing the industry media. Palmquist announced Milestone is on the move, doubling the sales force in the United States, as well as increasing the regional marketing team.

Palmquist set the table for media with pillars that will define Milestone’s transparency. The vision is to more than double company revenue in the next five years, as well as focus on customer problems. Partnerships, which is part of the company’s DNA, but improve design of the current offerings.

Marketing. “We can’t sell to the customer we don’t know,” Palmquist said. “We need to improve our digital presence, and give back to our partners. The table is set to grow our business together.”

Milestone also will be opening a customer support center in Arlington, VA, in mid-2023. This will allow the company to leverage the U.S. time zone, offering post-sales support on the East and West coasts.