Max Burgess

Video Storage Solutions (VSS), a division of BCD International, has revamped its product portfolio to offer a wider range of solutions, along with simplifying its offerings for all VSS channel partners. Networking switches, harsh environment servers, and video analytics solutions are among the new solutions that have been added to the VSS product line. “VSS strives to be the ‘easy button’ for our partners,” said Max Burgess, General Manager of Video Storage Solutions, adding “By providing more flexibility to our solutions, we are now able to enhance our customers’ experience, as well as broaden the portfolio that they can deliver to their customers.” Global partnerships VSS has partnered with more than a dozen distributors across the globe over the past year. In this short period of time, VSS has deployed hundreds of solutions that are pre-engineered and validated to withstand the taxing video data write load while handling the throughput demands of video storage. The VSS product engineering team has certified the bandwidth capabilities on each system. And while these solutions are still relatively new to the market, they are the result of over a decade of creating state-of-the-art video appliances for the security industry.

A new company, Video Storage Solutions (VSS) has been launched to provide Milestone’s systems integration community with pre-engineered video recording and storage appliances, via authorized EMEA based distributors. The wide range of solutions within the VSS catalog include IP video recording servers, storage and network architecture. “There are large numbers of system integrators across EMEA who are Milestone’s partners and who regularly need to design or install video surveillance systems which require robust, fit for purpose recording and storage solutions,” said Max Burgess, General Manager of VSS. Scalability, performance, reliability “Our objective is to provide a one-stop-shop for purpose-built, performance driven and feature rich appliances which are integrated with Milestone Systems XProtect and which are able to withstand the taxing video data write load of systems that have high number camera counts." “Most important, when system integrators source pre-engineered and validated VSS appliances from one of our authorized distributors, they can have peace of mind in knowing that our product engineering team has certified the bandwidth capabilities of each appliance and that where applicable, they feature Storage Accelerator, a state-of-the-art storage accelerator for Milestone Appliances, which significantly increases storage scalability, performance and reliability.”

BCDVideo is proud to announce the addition of Rohit Khubchandani as its Regional Sales Director focusing on the Middle East, Africa & India where he will oversee BCDVideo’s sales and business development efforts. BCDVideo has a full line of superior products including video surveillance servers and storage, access control servers, environmentally hardened servers and switches, client viewing workstations, networking, along with on-site services which are accessible to a variety of Middle Eastern, African, and Indian security integrators. Incredible Reputation With over twenty years of experience driving opportunities and sales, Rohit brings his technical and territorial expertise in IP Video Management & Surveillance Systems to BCDVideo. His extremely rich video surveillance career includes both sales and technical roles at Milestone Systems, Avigilon, Pivot3, and, most recently, DataDirect Networks (DDN). Rohit’s impressive educational background includes attending Bangalore University where he received his Bachelors of Commerce. “BCDVideo is in a prime position to grow within the MEAI market”, said Max Burgess, Manager, International Markets. “We have forged deep regional relationships with key software, camera, and hardware partners. Rohit is the perfect leader as we aggressively scale our presence throughout this territory. His incredible knowledge base is only superseded by his even more incredible reputation.”

BCDVideo announced its further expansion into the European surveillance market by naming Vienna-based Ryan Solutions e.U. to represent the BCDVideo product line. Through this arrangement, Ryan Solutions e.U. will have access to BCDVideo’s award-winning product portfolio including access control and video recording servers, SAN storage, networking, and client-viewing workstation solutions. Ryan Solutions’ e.U. coverage will extend throughout Europe apart from the UK and Ireland. Business Development Expertise Katerina Ryan, Ryan Solution’s Managing Director, is a business development expert in the video surveillance industry with more than 10 years of experience driving sales and key partnerships throughout Europe – including seven years of experience representing Pivot3 storage. Additionally, Katerina holds an MSc degree with a major in International Business from Tilburg University. Max Burgess, BCDVideo Manager of International Markets said, “Katerina’s reputation speaks for itself. Her proven track record of success, ability to communicate across five different languages and unique understanding of the European market made her the perfect choice to deliver both the technology and value to our customers across Europe.” In addition to Austria-based Ryan Solutions e.U., BCDVideo representatives serve London, Toronto, Dubai, and Latin America.

BCDVideo is finding success at the intersection of IT and security, focusing on the video surveillance market. The Hewlett-Packard OEM partner has seen yearly revenue increases of 25 percent for the past three years. Rapid growth resulted in a desperate need for more space to expand. Global HQ Grand Opening Now a new 51,000-square-foot global headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a northwest Chicago suburb, will provide an abundance of room for the company to “stretch our legs,” says Jeff Burgess, CEO/President of BCDVideo. He cut the ribbon at a grand opening event for the corporate headquarters. “Our organic growth has been good, and this is another evolution for the company,” says Burgess. “It’s incredible what we did in such a tight space.” The new facility includes the BCDVideo Innovation Center, where each system is configured and customized to order. The center has 90 stations with simultaneous imaging capability for up to 332 video servers. Hardware and software components are combined uniquely to each customer order number, and systems are private-labelled for a variety of manufacturers and integrators, with branding affixed by BCDVideo. BCDVideo History BCDVideo has evolved from its roots in the IT market, where expectations of service are high. Ten years ago, when security industry veteran Tom Larson came on board as Director of Sales and Engineering, the company pivoted to focus on the video surveillance market, bringing that higher level of service to security integrators making the transition to IP systems. “You have to build a better mousetrap, and ours is on the service side, because that’s what gets you repeat business,” says Burgess. “When we brought this to the video market in 2008, they weren’t used to that kind of service. It has always been our edge.” BCDVideo now has 50,000 systems running worldwide, he says. Risk Insurance For Integrators Among its innovative approaches, BCDVideo offered integrators “risk insurance” and took the guesswork out of configuring computer systems to accommodate a specified camera count. Instead of an integrator calculating (or “guesstimating”) the types of IT systems he would need for a certain camera count, BCDVideo does the calculations, configures the system and then guarantees that it will accommodate the system requirements. BCDVideo has maintained a close working relationship with Genetec over the last three years “That was the decisive point for us with integrators,” says Burgess. BCDVideo does business with all the national integrators, and Burgess expects growth to continue, expanding business with each integrator, driven by Perry Levine, Director of Strategic Alliances. New sales will also result from stretching into other product areas. In addition to servers and storage, BCDVideo now provides networking and professional services, led by Darren Giacmini, Director of Networking. Expanded Genetec Relationship BCDVideo has maintained a close working relationship with Genetec over the last three years, in effect providing hardware components that work in lockstep with Genetec’s software systems. Previously, larger solutions sold to Genetec customers were branded BCDVideo. Moving forward, branding everything Genetec will overcome any unintentional channel conflict, says Burgess.  That Genetec relationship has expanded and BCDVideo produces all of Genetec’s branded hardware products, including the SV-16 and SV-32 as well as the larger solutions. Now Genetec can provide a “unified” hardware/software solution that is “bundled” with software licences and cybersecurity technology unique to Genetec-branded products. If the Genetec relationship continues to evolve, there is 9,000 square feet of empty space in the new facility that can accommodate any growth. Burgess especially sees growth in the market for systems with under 40 cameras, which will build on BCDVideo’s success in the larger enterprise market. What comes next? Burgess is careful to warn against complacency and emphasises the need for the company to “bring it every day.” He’s clearly looking to the future: His sons have joined the business – Alex Burgess is Manager of Supply Chain Operations and Max Burgess is Global Accounts Manager. “There’s nothing like coming to work and having two of your sons working with you,” he says. “It means a lot to me.”

Proceeds from the April 16th event will support children in the U.S. through the Rebuilding Hope at Home program Mission 500, a non-profit initiative focusing on the security industry and dedicated to serving the needs of children and communities in crisis, raised more than $120,000 at ISC West this year through their sixth annual Security 5K/2K Run/Walk and other events.  “The volunteer participation and fund raising efforts for Mission 500 at ISC West 2015 were stronger than ever. The Security 5K/2K run/walk and other M500 events raised more than $120,000 which will help improve the lives of children in need,” said George Fletcher, Advisory Council Member/Volunteer, Mission 500. “We are truly grateful to each and every corporate and individual sponsor that continues to help Mission 500 provide food, supplies, clothing, medical attention and education to children here in the US and around the globe.”  Proceeds from the April 16th event will support children in the U.S. through the Rebuilding Hope at Home program, which helps provide academic scholarships, school supplies, and essential items like clothing, personal hygiene supplies, and building materials, as well as disaster response and training for community organizations to empower young people. A portion of the proceeds will also support children in Tanzania and India by providing access to clean water, food, education, and healthcare.  Mission 500 5K/2K Run The annual Mission 500 5K/2K received overwhelming support from across all areas of the security industry. The first place overall female runner was Breezy Wingfield (20:26) of Little Rock, Arkansas, and first place overall male runner was Fernando Perez (18:44) of Santiago, Chile. The Security 5K/2K event also featured its fourth 2K walk, with more than 185 registered to participate. More than thirty 5K/2K participants became members of the 500 Club, which recognises volunteers who raise $500 or more for Mission 500. This fundraising added more than $25,000 to the final fundraising total of $40,000. 500 Club members received a custom Mission 500 track jacket and were also invited to take part in an essay-writing sweepstakes for a chance to win a pair of NASCAR tickets and tour of the garage and pit. The winning essay was written by Kent Pawlak.  Fund Raising Champions "We are truly grateful to each and every corporate and individual sponsor that continues to help Mission 500 provide food, supplies", says Geroge Fletcher, Advisory Council Member/Volunteer of Mission 500 Pelco was the lead team in fundraising, donating a total of $10,420 in individual and company-matched donations. Max Burgess of BCD Video was the top individual fundraiser with $1,780, followed by Heather Miller with $1,725 to be matched by her employer, Anixter. Jesse Foglio, Mary Jensby, Stephanie Mayes and Ronnie Pennington each donated over $1,000. Mary Jensby, who traveled to Mexico on a volunteer trip sponsored by World Vision in October, also spoke about her experiences at the 5K/2K and post-event awards ceremony to help reinforce the importance of the industry’s collective efforts.   In addition, HID Global sponsored their second school kit build at ISC West and put together $10,000 worth of school supplies for children in a Title One School in the Las Vegas Area, Rex Bell Elementary School. Meanwhile, Altronix and ISC West Organisers Reed Exhibitions made a joint $10,000 contribution to Mission 500’s #ShowOrange campaign, which benefits children in poverty in the US.  Honouring Winners Pelco (by Schneider Electric) hosted a customer appreciation party at the Drai's nightclub attended by 1,300 attendees. Mission 500’s Executive Director, George Fletcher, gave a speech on child poverty in the US with World Vision’s Vice President, Romanita Hariston.  Medal winners and sponsors were acknowledged at the Security 5K/2K awards ceremony. Mission 500 awarded its sixth “Mission 500 Humanitarian Award,” honouring individuals in the security industry who make important contributions to those in need, to Anne Glickstein of Protection One. Fluent Home was the fifth recipient of Mission 500’s Corporate Social Responsibility Award.  More than thirty 5K/2K participants became members of the 500 Club, which recognises volunteers who raise $500 or more for Mission 500 The Security 5/2K Mission 500 Race at the 2015 ISC West Expo in Las Vegas was a collaboration between United Publications, publishers of Security Systems News and Security Director News; Reed Exhibitions, producers of ISC Expos; World Vision and Mission 500. Event Sponsors Event sponsors were Alarm.com, Altronix Corporation, AXIS Communications, Galaxy Control Systems, HID Global, Honeywell, LRG Marketing Communications, Pelco (by Schneider Electric), Safety Technology International, Inc, and Scan Source. The T-shirt sponsor was DMP, COPS Monitoring was the timing sponsor, Qolsys was the in-kind sponsor, PSA Security sponsored the race kilometer markers, Monitronics sponsored the race bags, Brivo sponsored the half way mark water table, Samsung sponsored the race bibs, and  DVTEL and RBH Access were the sponsors for the bag inserts.   Freeman, contractor of services to ISC West and its exhibitors, waived staff costs and fees for using audio-visual equipment during the 5K race and the awards ceremony, and Starbucks generously donated coffee to complement the post-race refreshments and food. This year, both Qolsys and Alarm.com took home the trophy for the fastest team.  Runners and walkers came together in their orange race shirts, in support of #ShowOrange.