OnSSI Acquires VMS Company Seetec

What did OnSSI use for currency in this acquisition? They have not impressed me as a cash-flush company.

Any ideas what Seetec's revenue is/was?

I wonder if this was more of a merger of battered equals like the IQI and Vicon thing.

We've sold OnSSI for many years and most of my biggest complaints come from the things that are "stuck" with the Milestone engine & OnSSI can't rectify. I hope this merger is a general positive...

So did Canon not want to OEM Milestone?

OnSSI has slipped from being one of the top VMS lines years ago, to almost "honorable mention" status. They have had a confused marketing process, and most dealers don't understand their licensing programs, which have changed repeatedly. That, coupled with the issue of "are you Milestone or not" was never succesfully addressed by their marketing efforts. Many end users did not view their client software favorably. This merger makes perfect sense and appears to be a good move to resolve these nagging issues, if they can pull it off.

I agree, John, that the lack of a full software/hardware solution has challenges...time will tell if the marketplace is wary of these other new "merged" offerings, and consider the independance of OnSSI/SeeTec a good idea.

I was just talking yesterday with a Milestone affiliate about the same subject - what was OnSSI going to do? Guess we know now.

Would it be wrong for me to gloat? ;)

..,OnSSI should buy one of the other smaller, non-US VMSes and integrate their recorder into whatever higher end functionality exists in Occularis that they actually own...

Leverage their U.S. customer base to roll out a Milestone-free product... In any event, they need to have their own recorder, either by writing their own or buying someone else's. They need to have their own product ready soon so they can parlay all the momentum and credibility they have gotten from embedding Milestone over the years...

When neither company can buy each other they just merge with an appropriately weighted stock swap... 2-12-2015

I always wondered why Milestone didn't just cut OnSSI off. I heard that Denmark didn't want to since it was good revenue, but look at how well it worked out for Genetec when they entered the market and essentially cut off Verint & DVtel. The nature of their software would have made it easy to simply "assume" the OnSSI customer base by simply installing their own client software and upgrading the SUP once it expired -- I've seen this work.

Now, it seems they've lost their chance. I would assume that some might still decide to jump ship because of this, but for the most part, it's a victory for OnSSI to finally eliminate their dependence on Milestone. Kudos to Mulli and Gadi for actually getting this far...I thought they'd be done long ago.

Most likely a reasonable good opportunity for both, that is when both can aline strengths and features across the ocean. Having said that there is quite a difference in markets so it will be interesting to see how it all works out.

One (almost) vms vendor in one market with one (sounds like more real) vms vendor in another market. Sounds fine to me. Owners are in NYC? Who knows what kinds of financial voodoo they can summon so I'm not wondering where the money/credit/stock came from.

As long as they don't announce a 9000 pixel proprietary camera at ISC West...

Being a seller of OnSSi. I do like the move and the soon to end reliance on Milestone recorders.

I believe OnSSi was moving in the right direction these past few releases, this is real good news.

Smoothness of Conversion to the new recorder "engine" and integration of the two (likely very different) software will be key to the success of this merger.

The interesting question is what does this do to Milestone? Owned by Cannon we know so dollars are not a major issue but remember OnSSI was a major part of the reported Milestone revenue each year. When OnSSI moves to the new recorder things will get very intresting very fast. One would expect they will attempt to move existing customers to the new recorder quickly to save on any money they must pay Milestone for annual software support. This will again create a loss for Milestone.

This is the move OnSSI needed to get back on top, let's see if they can capitalize on it.

Update from OnSSI on their plans:

"OnSSI plans to continue fully supporting Ocularis and the current recorder, with v4.2 being released at the ISC West and additional releases being planned. Plans for the new recorder will become more clear next week at ISC West."

Here is a statement from Seetec:

"Through the acquisition SeeTec will get access to the American markets in two ways: The server component of SeeTec Cayuga will be the basis of new OnSSI products and replace their current supplier [Milestone] over time. Furthermore, we will be able to offer our BVI solution in the Americas together with our new colleagues and global partners. Both steps provide a long-term perspective for SeeTec as well as for Cayuga. OnSSI gains access to our technology. Together we form one global company. The acquisition will not result in changes regarding contact persons or responsibilities. With OnSSI we’ve found a partner, who is a good match and is similar to SeeTec in many aspects. OnSSI is sized and structured similarly, both companies are software companies dedicated to VMS. SeeTec benefits substantially from this transaction – both from a commercial and from a technological point of view. With the new setup we are prepared for convergence and globalization in the VMS industry and become the no. 2 player in this market worldwide."