Will Milestone Systems Go Public?

I had the opportunity to expand my reporting wings as well as use those wings to migrate out of the frigid winter in Ohio to Orlando for a few days to attend the Milestone Integration Platform Symposium 2014 conference last week. Milestone Systems was founded in 1998 and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark with over 115,000 certified partners in over 115 countries. That would certainly explain the media coverage that was an international blend of editors and provided me with new insights and perspectives.

The MIPS show was attended by almost 400 integrators and Milestone partners that comprise their ecosystem. Milestone CEO Lars Thinggaard started the show by addressing the elephant in the room…the rumors of a possible Milestone IPO in the offing. Being a good statesman, he neither confirmed nor denied the rumors. With 16 years of history pioneering the open platform video mantra, an infusion of growth capital at this juncture could fuel Milestone’s growth plan, and make no mistake they plan to grow.

The conference included a variety of topics that involved the vendor partners on a panel format to discuss the future of IP video technology, IP access control and storage solutions, which had the most fireworks between suppliers. The big news came from the keynote speaker Mr. Cheolkyo Kim of Samsung Techwin Co. LTD. His message was significant.

Samsung Techwin has been a slumbering analog giant in the video industry with rather disjointed divisional alignment of their business in North America. Tighten your seat belts because they plan to “change everything” as they light the fires to go supersonic. That was the message and a private briefing afterward with the media convinced me they are very serious and focused. Samsung Techwin, with such vast resources and a clear goal, could really shake up our security market. Stay tuned.

What struck me the most about this event was the Milestone company culture. It permeated the events, presentations and interviews with the Milestone management team. The Scandinavian business methodology that Mr. Thinggaard is a strong proponent of, involves core value leadership and a rather Viking warrior mindset. The Marine in me immediately liked these two elements. They were gracious guests as well. They also controlled some of the future roadmap and breakout session participants, which as a columnist I found a little disappointing as I constantly need new information to inspire my writing and imagination. Business strategies do however need to be protected when planning the domination of a market!

The new Husky product line was introduced by the Incubator group based in Silicon Valley. The Husky product line of 4 versions of embedded purpose built NVR recording appliances which may appear at first to be a major departure for the company that has preached the gospel of a software only company. But is it really?

Configuring networks and COTS computer equipment to enable video solutions with remote storage, viewing and management isn’t easy for every security integrator. So how do you deliver the VMS message and convert smaller or less inexperienced dealers? Make their life easy with an appliance that is preconfigured for the video application you need. Voila…the Husky NVR line. But wait, there’s more.

They also introduced their ARCUS Linux based edge device application that manufacturing partners incorporate into their edge products, extending the reach of Milestone influence. The Interconnect product feature was introduced in 2013 but allows different Milestone product categories to smoothly “talk” with each other adding scalability and adaptability of their VMS product lines.

The future of Milestone looks promising. Stay tuned for more from the open platform company.

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Paul C. Boucherle, Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Certified Sherpa Coach (CSC), is Security Sales & Integration’s “Business Fitness” columnist. A principal of Matterhorn Consulting, he has more than 30 years of diverse security and safety industry experience including UL central station operations, risk-vulnerability assessments, strategic security program design and management of industry convergence challenges. Boucherle has successfully guided top-tier companies in achieving enhanced ROI resulting from improved sales and operational management techniques. He is a charismatic speaker and educator on a wide range of critical topics relating to the security industry of today and an accomplished corporate strategist and marketer whose vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable enterprise growth in the security industry sector.

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