New VMS 'Orchid' Released

New VMSes are fairly rare. However, one VMS provider, IP Configure, is releasing a brand new VMS, called "Orchid [link no longer available]".

The company is touting it as 'built to run anywhere'.

In this note, we contrast it to Milestone's Arcus and IP Configure's existing ESM VMS.

Like most VMSes, IP Configure has traditionally been Windows only. In particular their ESM Enterprise VMS was a Microsoft centric IIS / SQL Server system.

By contrast, Orchid is designed to run on embedded devices / Linux to take advantage of newer platforms, whether it is running as an application on a camera (like Axis), or a NAS, or a Raspberry Pi or a broadband card. IP Configure specifically cited 2 HD cameras running on a Raspberry Pi as well portable law enforcement applications [link no longer available].

Here is IP Configure's demonstration of installing / using Orchid:

Orchid capabilities are fairly basic / fundamental, including ONVIF Profile S support only.

Availability / Pricing

Orchid is targeted for a June 2014 release with an MSRP of $60.

Future Expansion

IP Configure says they plan to release a mid tier Orchid version later in 2014 and an enterprise one in 2015.

At some point in the future, the plan will be to allow existing ESM users to migrate to enterprise Orchid.

A New VMS?

Existing VMS companies releasing entirely new VMSes is not without precedent. For instance, Milestone has 3 fundamental VMSes - the original Enterprise series, then Corporate and now Arcus. Similarly, Genetec had Omnicast first and now Security Center.

Though developing a new VMS certainly takes a significant investment, many of the original VMSes were developed with now aging or uncompetitive technology, so there are benefits in doing so.

At the same time, as Milestone and Genetec can well attest, it takes a lot of time and effort to build in all those features that large scale customers have come to expect. As such, how well and how quickly IP Configure can execute on scaling up Orchid is a major issue to track.

Competitive Positioning

This helps IP Configure as their classic ESM is too tightly coupled to Windows for the needs / demands of contemporary users. If they can make Orchid a true enterprise VMS, they will be in a stronger position.

It also gives them one of the few VMSes in the market that can run on embedded systems (Exacq as well as Milestone Arcus are other notable ones). This is important as it makes them an option as increasingly VMS functionality moves out of the 'sever' and into cameras and network cameras.

The big limitation of IP Configure is that a few larger rivals already offer this fundamental approach so they will need to compete against that.