Milestone Systems, global thought leader and developer of open platform IP video management software, celebrated its tenth year anniversary on February 1st. Founded in 1998, the company has expanded successfully with high growth rates, as one of the world's innovative drivers of digital video surveillance.
When Milestone Systems started in business, few people in the security industry anticipated their role in the coming revolution to move the analog world to a digital one. Milestone's founders were ahead of the times. At trade shows where they demonstrated the software for managing network video surveillance with standard computer equipment, sceptical responses were the norm.
The security industry was a conservative mastodon with blinders on, self-satisfied with the profits from its proprietary business model built on the analog paradigm. Like old forests, these giants barely swayed in the first breeze of whispers about digital solutions, but the winds continued to gather strength, blowing down ever-greater swaths as savvy professionals saw the light ahead, changing the landscape of security forever. The many advantages of the IT networked approach could not be denied, and Milestone was on the forefront.
Open platform is key to the future
Milestone Systems was unique in offering internationally not only a purely digital video surveillance product that was ready to install, reliable and easy to use, but also an independent one based on open architecture. This open platform supports the customers' freedom to choose from the widest selection of network cameras and other hardware for a best-of-breed system. It also allows integration with other devices and systems like access control, fire alarms, intercoms, point-of-sale and ATMs - for reaping the benefits of greater operational effectiveness and cost efficiency.
Lars Thinggaard, President & CEO at Milestone Systems, says: "We enable our customers to optimize their business processes by delivering an open and independent IP video surveillance software platform. That is our mission and why we are doing so well. Our vision is driving the global convergence of video surveillance and IP-based business systems - and in this we are succeeding."
Continuing expansions
The growth of Milestone Systems attests to this. The company has expanded fast and impressively year on year, from a handful of system engineers programming the software in small offices near Denmark's capital, to subsidiaries in 7 countries and more than 130 employees. The authorized partner channel installing Milestone software has also multiplied to cover more than 60 countries. Customer installations now number over 34,000, with copious testimonies to the powerful and reliable, easy-to-manage Milestone solutions.
Celebrations for the first Milestone decade in business started on February 1st at the headquarters in Denmark then continued at the company's bi-annual channel event: the Milestone Integration Platform Symposium (MIPS) being held in Puerto Rico this week. MIPS will gather important hardware and software partners, distributors, systems integrators, and end users to learn about new and future open platform IP video solutions.
