Subscriber Discussion

Milestone Names Hikvision 'Elite Partner'

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Ari Erenthal
Jan 07, 2016
Chesapeake & Midlantic

Press release here. I'll save you the trouble of clicking: it says literally nothing. However, if you check Milestone's Camera Partner page, you'll notice that only seven other manufacturers are listed as 'Elite Partners': Axis, Samsung Techwin, Bosch, Sony, Arecont, Panasonic, and ACTi.

Looks like Milestone thinks that a lot of integrators are going to use cheap cameras and a relatively pricey VMS or NVR.

(4)
U
Undisclosed #1
Jan 07, 2016

only seven other manufacturers are listed

OK, but who have they left out?

Avigilon, of course, but Avigilon is competitive with AxOnStone.

FLIR - thermal cameras aren't high volume, and FLIR too is directly competitive

Canon - who buys Canon IP cameras anyway

Dahua - Maybe once Dahua has a clear strategy they'll make the list

IDIS - The "biggest" camera company nobody has heard of

Etc. Milestone's "Elite" partners are, effectively, all the camera companies that anyone uses anyway. Seems logical that they'd drop Hikvision on the list, they want to try and ride along with them as well.

U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 07, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Canon - who buys Canon...

Canon - who buys Milestone...

IDIS - The "biggest" camera company nobody has heard of

I dis, you dis, we all dis IDIS.

U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 07, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Looks like Milestone thinks that a lot of integrators are going to use cheap cameras and a relatively pricey VMS or NVR.

I guess they can de-elite Acti now.

HL
Horace Lasell
Jan 08, 2016

"Work is already underway to increase the number of supported Hikvision devices by more than 100 for the next release of the device pack."

Might one reasonably conclude that Axis is a highly motivated partner? Keep watching this space to see what other happy chances might befall Elite Partners with dedicated $1.5B warchests!

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Jan 08, 2016

Not much for Hik in some replies it seems... The darn thing is that in that stage of the game ,Hik is inescapable. They are inexpensive, the PQ is superb , they are now reliable andthey are inexpensive (og I said that)... ANy VMS who doesn't consider them will fall by the wayside... Something Milestone doesn't absolutely want.

There remain however the thorny issue of sub $100 IP cameras with thrice or more, expensive VMS licenses... We will see a VMS License price decrease for sure..

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(1)
JH
John Honovich
Jan 08, 2016
IPVM

This move shows Milestone is seriously independent of Axis. Also, it continues to raise the question of what in the world does Canon hope to accomplish of buying these two companies and continuing to run them as competitors.

Btw, as for the low cost camera / high cost VMS concern, I still believe there is a substantial part of the market that actually cares about premium VMS features and will pay extra for the Milestones and Genetecs of the world. And in that high end, Hikvision definitely wants to expand their presence. Of course, if Hikvision succeeds, the number 1 Milestone partner that stands to lose is Axis...

(2)
Avatar
Ari Erenthal
Jan 08, 2016
Chesapeake & Midlantic

This move shows Milestone is seriously independent of Axis.

Bing! I didn't even consider that aspect.

Also, it continues to raise the question of what in the world does Canon hope to accomplish of buying these two companies and continuing to run them as competitors.

Good question, actually. Depressingly, the most probable answer is "they didn't think that far".

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 08, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Also, it continues to raise the question of what in the world does Canon hope to accomplish of buying these two companies and continuing to run them as competitors.

Milestone is not being run as a 'competitor' to Axis. They're just not being run as if they were the same company.

(2)
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jan 10, 2016

"Looks like Milestone thinks that a lot of integrators are going to use cheap cameras and a relatively pricey VMS or NVR. "

Integrators, maybe, but they run the risk of painting themselves into a corner if more companies start asking about Hikvision's security flaws and real ownership.

For the trunk slammers and DIY customers, they are looking at BlueIris, iSpy, and other no-name or IT brands of NAS appliances, many of whom have not heard of Milestone (the DIY crowd).

HL
Horace Lasell
Jan 10, 2016

Some good points, but does expanding choices to a wider variety of cameras from any particular manufacturer have the effect of painting either Milestone or integrators into a corner?

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jan 11, 2016

"Some good points, but does expanding choices to a wider variety of cameras from any particular manufacturer have the effect of painting either Milestone or integrators into a corner?"

Not normally, but someone installs a bunch of Hikvision cameras, then the customer sees articles about Hikvision security flaws, what is the installer going to say? If they were sold under the benefit of being a Milestone "Elite Partner" to the customer, then the customer reads about Hikvision, what does that say about Milestone, whether fair or not fair?

JH
John Honovich
Jan 11, 2016
IPVM

"If they were sold under the benefit of being a Milestone "Elite Partner" to the customer, then the customer reads about Hikvision, what does that say about Milestone, whether fair or not fair?"

Likewise, this impacts recommendations of IPVM. We cannot now simply say "Hikvision is cheap and good" without making clear the risks involved (cybersecurity, China government ownership, etc.).

For Milestone, being an 'elite partner' is validation for Hikvision but also a responsibility for them.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 10, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Hikvision didn't delay the roll out IVMS 5200 in North America by a year for nothing.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Dahua's strange attempt at spotlight stealing by claiming they are in the even more exclusive 4-member club of Milestone authorized DVR manufacturers.

HANGZHOU, CHINA /January 12, 2014 — Dahua Technology, a world-leading video surveillance solution provider headquartered in Hangzhou, China announced that a wide range of HD network cameras and video recorders are integrated with the Milestone XProtect Enterprise and Corporate IP video management platform.

Dahua Technology caters to distinctive market demands and its network camera lineup offers megapixel cameras in various sizes and shapes, which delivers superb image quality and strong functionality. The network cameras which can integrate with Milstone XProtect Enterprise and Corporate IP video management platform including Ultra-smart series, Eco savvy 2.0 series and Lite series. This platform is compatible with Dahua network PTZ cameras and HDCVI DVR as well.

Notably, there are only 4 DVR manufacturers authorized by Milestone, among which Dahua HDCVI DVRs occupy 22 product models including new 4-channel and 8-channel series. Furthermore, Dahua 16-channel series DVR will be available for the Milestone XProtect Enterprise and Corporate IP video management platform sooner.

<edit> I swore it said 2016

<edit 2> It does say 2016 on the website, I guess it's a timely reminder.

Avatar
Stephen Lem
Mar 04, 2016

Peers I've spoken to are leery about using Hikvision in commercial establishments mainly because of their perceived lack of robustness for longevity (rightly or wrongly so). It would be something to consider as my current setup consists of over 75 Axis cameras with another similar setup coming up soon. I can basically half my camera hardware costs by going Hikvision (at least their website has cameras that are feature rich) but I don't want to exposed to hardware failure. As a famous oil filer commercial says - "pay me now or pay me later"? Maybe I should consider other camera manufacturers and compare apples to apples.

GE
Gary Egan
Mar 04, 2016

Reading the posts relating to HIK the issue around ownership of the company is far more intense in the USA than here with us. For us it is more on the cost, quality and performance of the product which to be fair, HIK seem to have got themselves sorted out.

I was never a big fan of buying Chinese kit as the quality until these last couple of years was an issue. We use the Milestone platform and as John mentions in this discussion, I agree the value is in the VMS. We run a combo of HIK, Axis, Samsung and FLIR cameras, each camera selected for the job it will perform, rather than shoe horning a single brand accross the site. This is one of the attractions of thh Milestone VMS.

We have now purchased a few HIK units and have to date, been impressed with the build quality, cost and overall product performance.

Also we do run a closed network system so they cant use the Chinese back door onto the network as well :-)

Avatar
Stephen Lem
Mar 04, 2016

I too have the same situation with multi-camera vendor installs on site. For the next project we're considering Aviligon's solution as a novel alternative to Milestone - mainly for their crossline analytics. I have 97 acres of land to protect on the perimeter and internal buildings. I was going to stick with Milestone but after the database was corrupted with no easy (and fast) way to pull of archived data other than using the Smartplayer program and drilling down by mac address etc., I've been bitten and now twice shy about using Milestone the second time around.

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