James Smith

James Smith
Marketing Director, Wavestore Global LtdCurrently working as the Marketing Director for Wavestore, James Smith has worked within the electronic security industry for over 20 years. In his tenure, he has held senior marketing, sales and general management roles at various market leading industry companies, including Norbain, Samsung Techwin and Axis Communications.
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Wavestore, developer of highly secure and open platform Video Management Software (VMS) solutions, will be hosted by three of its technology partners at ISC West, which is taking place at the Sands Expo, Las Vegas on 10th -12th April 2019. Visitors to the Feenics, Mobotix and Raytec booths will have the opportunity to see how easy it is to benefit from a fully integrated security system with Wavestore at its heart. Wavestore VMS Solution As a truly independent company, Wavestore focuses solely on the development of its highly secure VMS platform to deliver an ever-evolving feature set and ensures compatibility with associated devices and sub-systems from its technology partners. If the requirement is just for video, or there is a need for a fully integrated solution from one to tens of thousands of cameras and devices, Wavestore is able to demonstrate how its VMS can help deliver a scalable and completely future-proof solution for your next project. Wavestore has a well-established Technology Partner program that allows users to benefit from seamless integrations across a host of best-in-breed brands" “Wavestore has a well-established Technology Partner program that allows users to benefit from seamless integrations across a host of best-in-breed brands encompassing cameras, access control, video analytics and much more”, says James Smith, Managing Director of Wavestore. “In addition, Wavestore’s open platform is fully compliant with ONVIF profile-S, bringing enhanced flexibility to camera choice, enabling users to achieve maximum return on investment from their security solutions.” VMS Upgrade Bundles As well as demonstrating the latest features of Wavestore’s VMS, the team will also be highlighting how choosing Wavestore can help reduce the total cost of ownership through provision of free technical support and flexible VMS Upgrade Bundles, which enable partners to stay up-to-date with the very latest features over time, without signing up to expensive recurring support contracts. The Wavestore team will be demonstrating the latest features of its award-winning VMS on the Feenics booth (22130), Mobotix booth (16089) and Raytec booth (22075).
Wavestore, the British developer of open platform Video Management Software (VMS), has announced the opening of a Middle East office and the appointment of Mustapha Kabbara as its Business Development Director for the region. Reporting to Wavestore’s Managing Director, James Smith, and based at the company’s new offices in Dubai Silicon Oasis, UAE, Mustapha Kabbara will be engaging with regulatory authorities, consultants and system integrators throughout the Middle East in order to develop new business opportunities for the company’s highly acclaimed video management platform which has been developed to unlock the potential of an integrated security solution. Expanding Pre And Post-Sales Support We now feel the time is right to demonstrate our support for the region by investing in our new office and expanding our team"“The Middle East has always been a key target market for Wavestore. Following on from successfully winning a number of prestigious projects, we now feel the time is right to demonstrate our support for the region by investing in our new office and expanding our team,” said James Smith. “Our decision to do so reflects our determination to continue to globally expand our pre and post-sales support in line with the very welcome increase in demand for our best-in-breed VMS solutions.” Prior to joining Wavestore, Mustapha was the Business Development and Sales Leader for Honeywell, a role he had performed since 2012 and this followed on from a two-year spell during which he held a technical and training management position. Cyber Secure VMS Solution Wavestore delivers compelling total cost of ownership benefits, such as the provision of free technical support"“I am delighted to be joining Wavestore at this exciting time,” said Mustapha. “There are many reasons why Wavestore is ideally positioned to achieve great success in the Middle East, not the least of which is that our VMS offers virtually unlimited scalability, is inherently cyber secure, and it delivers a platform for integrations which add real value to end-users and their projects. “All of these attributes are key factors which are needed to be taken into consideration for high security and mission critical applications. “Equally important, with customers in the Middle East looking to achieve greater value from their investment in an electronic security solution, Wavestore delivers compelling total cost of ownership benefits, such as the provision of free technical support and a commercial proposition that does not involve tying customers into expensive recurring upgrade contracts.”
Wavestore, the British developer of innovative open-platform and highly secure Linux-based Video Management Software (VMS), has appointed Simon Shawley as its new Sales Director to oversee the company’s sales strategy and drive growth across EMEA. Simon, who joined on 1st February 2018, has over 25 years’ experience in the electronic security market having previously held senior sales and business development positions for companies including Hanwha Techwin and DVTel. Wavestore, the British developer of innovative open-platform and highly secure Linux-based Video Management Software (VMS), has appointed Simon Shawley Electronic Security “It’s great to join the Wavestore team at such an exciting juncture,” said Simon. “Organizations are increasingly utilising VMS to maximize their investment in electronic security and Wavestore’s ability to bring together third-party devices and sub-systems such as cameras, intruder detection, access control and video analytics from the world’s leading brands onto a common, future-proof and easy to operate platform, delivers clear benefits from both a technology and total cost of ownership standpoint.” Wavestore has recently launched v6.10 of it’s award winning VMS, delivering a highly secure, robust and reliable video management platform underpinned by free technical support for its partners and provision of flexible Upgrade Bundles, which eliminate reoccurring annual upgrade charges that are commonplace in the VMS market. Organizations are increasingly utilising VMS to maximize their investment in electronic security High Standards Of Customer Care James Smith, Managing Director of Wavestore Global Ltd said: “We are delighted to have Simon on board to drive our planned growth and to continue to deliver the high standards of customer care our partners have come to expect as the company expands its operations.”
Wavestore, the British developer of innovative open platform Video Management Software (VMS), has launched an Upgrade Bundles initiative. Designed to eliminate reoccurring annual upgrade charges that are common place in the VMS market, the Upgrade Bundles initiative provides Wavestore’s Partners and end-users with the flexibility to upgrade Wavestore’s VMS at any time to take advantage of the latest features, integrations and functionality; all without being tied into often expensive reoccurring annual contacts or catch-up penalty charges. Reshaping industry approach Already offering free of charge technical support to its Partners, Wavestore is now is leading the way to change the industry’s approach for ongoing VMS software upgrades. Upgrade Bundles can be purchased in blocks of six successive in-version upgrades without any time limit imposed. This gives Wavestore Partners the opportunity to keep their systems up to date with the latest features, integrations and performance enhancements as they are introduced, without breaking the bank. Changing the market norm of a catch-up charge should there be a break in service, Upgrade Bundles can be purchased at any time without the need to back-fill any previously missed version upgrades. “We are extremely proud of our VMS and there are many things that Wavestore offers that make us stand out from the crowd”, says James Smith, Managing Director of Wavestore Global, “We know that budgets are having to work harder than ever in today’s market, so we’re determined to continue to find ways of maximizing our Partner’s investment into security solutions without compromising quality. We have one of the most active development programs of any VMS and are regularly introducing new and enhanced features to our platform to deliver real-world benefits and ensure that our Partners remain free to choose whichever devices they wish to use to create their total solution”
Wavestore, the innovative open platform Video Management Software (VMS) developer, announces that it has opened a new office, Wavestore Americas Inc., in Montreal, Canada, to service Wavestore’s expanding customer base across the USA and Canada. Expanding Global Footprint In addition to the headquarters in Uxbridge, United Kingdom, the new office space will significantly expand Wavestore’s footprint and support the company’s growth strategy. With a dedicated team of sales and support professionals already in place to promote and drive Wavestore’s highly successful Channel Partner Program, the local office will provide Wavestore’s portfolio of innovative VMS products to customers across the whole of North America. James Smith, Managing Director of Wavestore Global commented; “Wavestore is currently enjoying record sales into its key focus markets but we know that simply having great products isn’t enough. Our customers tell us that they really appreciate the fact that we’re there for them when they need help with things like specification and technical support, so by opening an office in North America with a dedicated team to meet local demands, we can ensure we live up to the high expectations that our customers place on our brand” Open-platform VMS Mark Cup, Director of Wavestore Americas, adds “Wavestore’s truly independent and open-platform VMS has to be seen to be believed. We are very proud of the success Wavestore has seen after the release of Version 6, and with that success comes a need to scale our efforts larger, especially in a growing security market like North America. We’re looking forward to signing customers up to our Channel Partner Program and will be shortly running our first day-long Systems Integrator training sessions where delegates can get hands-on with the system.”
Wavestore’s Better Together program is designed to offer benefits to security installers and integrators An independent video management system (VMS) offers an open platform that can support the “best-in-breed” components of security systems, according to James Smith, director of marketing at Wavestore. “We offer a truly open platform and are truly independent – what we do really well is bring disparate technologies together,” says Smith. Integration for Wavestore means it can “translate” other manufacturers’ systems and then put it all together to run seamlessly. An example of all that technology working seamlessly is the ability of a system to go back to a specific date and time, and then instantaneously present footage from all security cameras at that time. Better Together Partner Program The company, which in April won two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, has just launched its Better Together partner program to help its system integrators and other manufacturers. The program is designed to offer benefits to installers and integrators including project registration, system design and tender submission support, as well as access to training, free demonstration licences, and PR services. “That way, we get closer to our markets and their customers,” says Smith. Access Control And CCTV Integration “Access control and CCTV are becoming increasingly combined, and everyone is trying to cut costs and automate things,” says Smith. Security is becoming proactive rather than reactive. IP is undoubtedly having an effect on the market. “IP is getting cheaper, with more commoditised items from the IT market and a better understanding of IP in the market. The main driver is technology – people are expecting to [bring together] their access control with CCTV.” Smith is concerned, however, about people who get “trapped” into an end-to-end system that is not right for them. “How can we get people to make the right choices? With Wavestore we want to work with our client and technology partners to ensure that organizations get the solution they need.”
The latest update to Wavestore’s open platform Video Management Software (VMS) incorporates a long list of new and improved features designed to extend the lifespan of video surveillance systems and unlock the full potential of integrated security solutions. As well as offering improved management of network interfaces and camera display layouts, version 5.50 delivers Wavestore’s unique client-side de-warping and interrogation functionality of 360° cameras across all software levels, as standard. Version 5.50 Features Powerful Review Suite Version 5.50 also features Wavestore’s powerful review suite which allows users to easily search and instantaneously retrieve recorded images of incidents, even over very large amounts of footage and display them alongside live images. Plus, for evidence purposes, a fully stitched-together sequence of events from any number of cameras can easily be exported in a wide range of video formats with just three simple clicks of a mouse. “We fully understand that in such a competitive marketplace we need to constantly innovate and make our VMS even easier to use in order to stand out from the crowd,” said James Smith, Marketing Director for Wavestore. “In this respect, version 5.50 underscores our determination to offer so much more than just industry leading video and recording management. Many of the new and differentiating features have in fact been introduced as a direct result of listening and responding to customer requirements. They deliver against our ‘one screen, total control’ and ‘any video, any format’ ethos, allowing what can be very complex operations to be undertaken with ease in the most user-friendly way, even when, for example, integrating best-in-breed video analytics or access control.” A full list of the features and capabilities of version 5.50 Base, Premium and Enterprise levels can be downloaded at: www.wavestore.com/v550 Support Network Of Installers And Systems Integrators The introduction of version 5.50 of Wavestore’s VMS coincides with the launch of the company’s ‘Better Together’ Partner Program which offers support for the fast growing worldwide network of installers and systems integrators who are choosing to recommend Wavestore to end-user clients. The Wavestore Partner Program is designed to offer real-world advantages to companies involved in the design, installation and commissioning of video surveillance solutions. Among the benefits on offer are project registration, system design and tender submission support, as well as access to training, demonstration licences and PR services.
When asking exhibitors at IFSEC International 2015 about what drives their markets, many cite system integration as a key factor. And they want more of it. Integration As Business “Driving Force” For example, John Davies of TDSI says customers are now seeking out system integration. “They want a solution rather than components, such as linking access control with building management systems or with an organization’s IT network to control access to its computers,” he says. Every year I come to IFSEC I see the trend towards more integration. This is a big trend and won’t change,” says Baudouin Genouville, global alliances and integration manager of Suprema Suprema – a specialist in fingerprint biometrics based in South Korea – is also reaping the benefits of a drive towards greater integration. Baudouin Genouville, global alliances and integration manager, says the main driver for their business is the integration of the company’s fingerprint readers with third-party access control software. “This is possible because we provide an SDK (Software Development Kit), and the industry understands it well. The more people who know your SDK, the more integration there is. Another example of integration is that we can embed our BioStar2 software in a NVR to run access control – that is what I mean by integration. Every year I come to IFSEC I see the trend towards more integration. This is a big trend and won’t change,” says Baudouin Genouville. Video And Access Control Integration TDSI’s John Davies says Europe was in the doldrums until three or four months ago, but is starting to show promise. The UK market is buoyant with sales up 10% while the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China are very buoyant According to video solutions company Avigilon, we are also seeing more integration of access control with video surveillance. An example is video verification, according to Willem Ryan, director of product marketing. “To have video verification of alarms, for example, to have those integrated tightly is a good thing. Another example is managing doors and identities over IP. Our products have to work together with IT security. You need to have the technology to play well within that IT ecosystem.” At video specialists Wavestore, integration is their raison d’etre. “With a truly open platform, what we do well is to bring disparate technologies together. We can put it all together and run it seamlessly," says James Smith, director of marketing. Market Trends A few years ago, video analytics was over-hyped and under-delivered. Now it is quickly becoming part of a system, and is being used beyond security as a business tool At IFSEC International, exhibitors also share their views on the wider security market and technological trends. TDSI’s John Davies says Europe was in the doldrums until three or four months ago, but is starting to show promise. The UK market is buoyant with sales up 10% while the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China are very buoyant. “There are a lot of infrastructure projects going on in China. All in all, we are experiencing double-digit sales growth since 2012.” Avigilon’s Willem Ryan says it’s an interesting time in the security market, and it is being driven by the increased need for and development of high-definition surveillance, with 4K (8 megapixels) being “part of the conversation”. We are also seeing a resurgence in video analytics, says Ryan. A few years ago, video analytics was over-hyped and under-delivered. Now it is quickly becoming part of a system, and is being used beyond security as a business tool, with the security department being transformed from a cost center to a value center. He goes on to say that the consumer market now expects high-definition video, so that creates a demand for better and better resolution in the surveillance market. IFSEC exhibitors mostly agreed: Integration is critical in the development of new security solutions, while the growing presence of IP contributes to their ease of implementation.
The program is in support of growing network of installers and systems integrators who choose to recommend Wavestore VMS Wavestore has introduced its ‘Better Together’ Partner Programme in support of the fast growing worldwide network of installers and systems integrators who are choosing to recommend its Video Management Software (VMS) solutions to end-user clients. The Wavestore Partner Programme is designed to offer real-world advantages to companies involved in the design, installation and commissioning of video surveillance solutions. Among the benefits on offer are project registration, system design and tender submission support, as well as access to training, free demonstration licenses and PR services. ‘Better Together’ Theme “Wavestore’s business philosophy is based on partnerships and that is why we have adopted the ‘Better Together’ theme for our Partner Programme,” said James Smith, Marketing Director for Wavestore. “We believe we’re much stronger together with close partnerships leading to better solutions, happier end-user clients and more winning situations. Being open platform and truly independent means that through the Partnership Programme we will be able to develop ever closer business relationships with installers and systems integrators and by doing so, deliver innovative and best-in-breed total security solutions across a wide variety of end-user markets.” The ‘Better Together’ Partner Programme is likely to be of particular interest to those installers and systems integrators who are involved in enterprise level projects, as a key feature of the program is the provision of dedicated pre-sales project support for large or complex applications. However, the comprehensive support offered by the Partner Programme reflects the flexibility and scalability of Wavestore’s VMS and its ability to meet end-user clients’ expectations, regardless of the size of a project - from small standalone systems, up to large distributed server networks with thousands of cameras which may be integrated with a wide range of third party technologies and systems.
Visitors to the Wavestore stand will also be able to experience powerful review suite – WaveView At IFSEC International 2015, Wavestore will be demonstrating how the latest version of its open platform Video Management Software (VMS) unlocks the full potential of new and existing security systems. “IFSEC will provide an ideal opportunity to showcase V6, the latest version of our VMS, which offers so much more than just industry leading video and recording management,” said James Smith, Marketing Director for Wavestore, which has recently won two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for Innovation and International Trade. “Throughout the three days of the show, we will be offering live demonstrations of how our VMS is able to facilitate the delivery of business intelligence and improve operational efficiency, as well as provide a very powerful tool to combat criminal activity.” Complex Integrations Made Simple Whilst bringing together audio, data and video, including images from the very latest ultra-high definition and 360° fish eye cameras, Wavestore also provides a platform that makes integration between disparate third-party technologies, simple. In addition to enabling the deployment of technology such as intelligent video analytics, it can also augment ‘dumb’ systems with video and ease of control to create a much more powerful and effective total security solution. “We have already achieved deep integration between our VMS and a long list of best-in-breed technology and systems providers,” said James. “However, visitors to stand D1350 will also be able to see how unique to Wavestore, bespoke project-specific and specialist integrations can be easily, quickly and cost-effectively implemented thanks to WaveStar, our protocol translation script that enables our developers to provide bespoke integration with almost any device, with the functionality you need.” Rapid Retrieval, Effective Decisions "Feedback from the marketplace has confirmed that our WaveView Review Suite is already a worldwide favorite among control room operators" Visitors to the Wavestore stand will also be able to experience WaveView, Wavestore’s powerful review suite, which allows users to easily search and instantaneously retrieve recorded images of incidents, even over very large amounts of footage, and display them alongside live images. Plus, for evidence purposes, a fully stitched-together sequence of events from any number of cameras can easily be exported in a wide range of video formats with just three simple clicks of a mouse. “Feedback from the marketplace has confirmed that our WaveView Review Suite is already a worldwide favorite among control room operators who need to rapidly retrieve recorded video in order to respond effectively to any incident,” said James. “We are nevertheless constantly looking at ways we can further improve how easy our VMS is to use and that operators who often have to multi-task, will be impressed with our updated Graphical User Interface (GUI) in V6, which offers an enhanced customizable ‘one screen, total control’ display solution.” Wavestore will be on stand D1350 at IFSEC International, which takes place at ExCeL London on 16-18 June, 2015.
James has worked within the electronic security industry for over 20 years James Smith has joined Wavestore as Marketing Director. James has worked within the electronic security industry for over 20 years, during which time he has held senior marketing, sales and general management roles within leading security distribution, manufacturing and system integration businesses. “I am very excited about having the opportunity to work with my Wavestore colleagues and our global technology and business partners to ensure that the advantages and benefits of what Wavestore has to offer are brought to the attention of a wide audience,” said James. “Known for being truly independent and open platform, Wavestore has unique integration capabilities and the impressive, innovative features built into the latest version of its video recording and management platform, enables it to satisfy virtually any video management application up to Enterprise level through its software and NVR hardware solutions. Combine these with our excellent reputation for ease of use and support, and we truly have an opportunity to stand out from the crowd in what is a fragmented VMS marketplace, while delivering real benefits to our users around the world.”
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