XProtect Express - Fastest way to video enable business
XProtect Express is a new addition to the Milestone product line. Supporting up to 48 cameras on a single server, it offers speedy VMS integration for small businesses like retail. Due to the open platform environment, businesses can seamlessly integrate solutions such as point-of-sale and video analytics directly into the XProtect Smart Client, for a common interface and unified operating system.

XProtect Essential offers brilliant simplicity
In addition to these releases, Milestone is also now offering XProtect Essential 2 designed for small, single-server businesses that want to manage up to 26 surveillance cameras. With a wide set of features to view and export video evidence, XProtect Essential is cost effective with a flexible licensing model that makes it easy to expand the system.

Integration and Partners
Milestone Systems software provides an open platform with a well-documented Milestone Integration Platform Software Development Kit. This continues to attract new Milestone Solution Partners from all over the world: about 300 companies have integrated the Milestone XProtect IP video platform with such systems as access control, Point-of-Sales, analytics, biometrics, HVAC, building automation, ERP, RFID, production, logistics, and more. 24 partners showed their solutions at the exhibition during MIPS in Copenhagen.

It was impressive to see "live" that Milestones follows a clear strategy not to implement additional functionalities that go beyond video management into their VMS on their own, but stay with their open platform concept, where partners offer best of breed technology that can be easily linked to the Milestone products. For Lars Gudbrandsson "open platform" is not only a concept, but "it is in our DNA", as he explains. Product Management at Milestone and the people who organize the partner program at Milestone work very close together not only to integrate new products into the Milestone VMS but also to ensure that Milestone's partner can easily adopt their products to the fast product development of Milestone.
Martin Friis-Mikkelse, Head of Strategic Alliances, explained in Copenhagen that Milestone wants to bring their already very intense partner program to the next level.

In addition to the programs for camera manufacturers and technology partners for hardware, Milestone will have an additional focus on solution partners, who develop software on-top of the Milestone VMS. Milestone plans to offer certifications for this solutions, tested and certified by an external agency, to ensure that the customer gets a completely compliant and certificated software.

On the final day of the event, Eric Fullerton, Milestone Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, started the agenda with his presentation on ‘The Shape of IP Today and Tomorrow', expounding on concepts described in his newest white paper: ‘Megatrends in Video Surveillance'. He stated: "The value of the partner channel is the dark horse in the race for IP to win over analog in market share: the tipping point is when IP's influence turns the current of the tide to inevitability - when the floodgates break down and traditional security partners can no longer make their living with analog and they can see its end-of-life. Increased processing power will combine with new expectations of usability from the next generation of operators: the multi-tasking youth of today will demand it."