Subscriber Discussion

Genetec Security Center Vs. Milestone Xprotect

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Nov 04, 2016

We are a newer integrator and looking for some insight on Genetec Security Center vs. Milestone XProtect. Both appears to be solid products, but from your end, what do you see as advantages or disadvantages of both?

JH
John Honovich
Nov 04, 2016
IPVM

#1, good question. Can you share a little about what is important to you? Do you specialize in mostly small jobs (under 20 cameras), medium (20-100), large (100 - 1000), mega (1000+), etc.? Do you have your own lead access control line already?

Really roughly speaking, Milestone offers more options and lower prices for small to mid size projects; Genetec offers more features for really large scale projects, and especially if you care for cloud and using Genetec's own access control. But both have very extensive product lineups / features so it is hard to make many general comparisons.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Nov 04, 2016

We are getting a wide mix of new clients. Most clients fit in that 20-100 range, but we are also seeing some in the under 20. We are currently partnered with PDK for access control, but are interested in the advanced features available with Genetec's products.

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Nov 04, 2016
IPVMU Certified

We are currently partnered with PDK for access control, but are interested in the advanced features available with Genetec's products.

Is 'PDK' ProDataKey? I'll hold off commenting on that until you can confirm.

In terms of access control support, Genetec is a native access platform while Milestone is a 'wrapper' that incorporates someone else's access platform into the Milestone VMS-style interface. Both platforms are tightly integrated with their video management elements, but for most access control management functions (eg: scheduling, advanced reporting, door hardware configuration), Milestone will require you to perform them in the parent platform while Genetec supports those features themselves.

For background, Genetec Synergis Profile and Genetec and Milestone Access Tested might help orient you better.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Nov 04, 2016

Yes, PDK is ProDataKey.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Nov 04, 2016

I cannot comment on Genetec VMS software itself as I have never touched it. The one item I can comment on regarding Genetec is that they appear to have a fairly tight control on dealers and do not go through distribution. I view this as a bonus as once you go through the effort of selling a client on Genetec the pool of competitors is limited and it is likely you already have project pricing in place. A con is some of the big dogs sell far more Genetec than a new dealer would at start and likely have a substantial blanket discount.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you a feature for feature comparison between the two products. However, here are my standard pros/cons of Milestone:

PRO:

  • Support for almost any camera I have run across. I have only once found a single oddball camera I could not have recording under some method (RTSP, universal driver, ONVIF driver, etc).
  • On the Essential, Express, and Pro products the setup is fairly easy.
  • Their server side motion detection works excellently.
  • On the Expert and Corporate products, while the setup is harder, it is definitely an enterprise grade product. The most feature rich product I have access to.
  • New device packs supporting more cameras are released constantly.
  • Documentation is, by far, the best in the industry that I have seen.
  • Milestone dashboard is growing to be more useful for web based analytics on system performance for the Essential, Express, and Pro products.
  • Their forums are excellent and is usually the quickest method to receive accurate responses.
  • The knowledge base is excellent.
  • The support for IT heavy sites is great - virtualization, domains, etc.
  • Some of the new features hold promise (ONVIF-Bridge,
  • Any of the Husky units, besides the M10, are interesting though I prefer to furnish my own servers.
  • Broad product line supports a wide range of product needs.
  • Essential being free with the discontinuation of GO is a significant step-up for those very small / residential sites.
  • The training classes are great. However, this is under cons as well.

CON:

  • Distribution model -- Almost anyone can purchase Milestone at nearly the same price you are. Project pricing is some protection, but not significant. Distribution model also results in delays and miscommunication.
  • Pricing the product up can be difficult without significant experience, particularly on the low end products or renewing CARE packs mid-term. It is best to bypass the distributor, contact Milestone sales support direct and have them send the quote back through distribution.
  • CARE packs in general are a pain point for some customers due to the recurring support cost. This is applicable to Genetec as well, I believe.
  • Phone support support queues are getting lengthier.
  • The Access Control Module is essentially just middleware to forward data between systems. I have not installed it since initial release so it may do more now.
  • The M10 is a compromised product in my opinion due to Arcus' lack of support for Smart Client, just Web Client. I find it is better to just get a SFF Windows PC or a Razberi and put Essentials on it for small sites.
  • Training is expensive and comes with free licenses that are unlikely to sell except to the largest of sites / enterprise sites.
  • Certifications expire in 2 years. Makes sense if there were rapid, game-changing features released in that time span that fundamentally altered the system.
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Avatar
Jared Tarter
Nov 08, 2016
Milestone Systems

I work for Milestone.

I wanted to provide clarification on two of the Cons.

  1. The M10 originally did not support the Smart Client but it was added about 1.5 years ago or so.
  2. At the beginning of this year, the training program was redone. Some of the biggest changes is that the cost was roughly cut in half (licenses are no longer included), the curriculum was completely redone, and the certification test has been decoupled from the training.

What the decoupling means is that someone can choose to just take the certification test (which is done online) and, if they pass, then they are certified or re-certified. So, someone who is familiar with Milestone can become certified or re-certified without attending a class which saves them money not only in paying to go to the class but also travel, hotel, food, time, etc.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Nov 04, 2016

Great feedback! Thanks for sharing!

U
Undisclosed #3
Nov 07, 2016

For Advanced features and Enterprise deployments I believe Genetic has the edge, i.e.:

- Native failover option for the Application/Directory Server (need to use a 3rd party option with Milestone).

- Support for ESRI mapping and use of external GIS servers

- AES 256 Encryption on Recorded Video (vs DES 56 for Milestone)

- Sophisticated Operator Workflows through Mission Control

- When sharing video tiles with other local or remote users and video walls, permissions are maintained (i.e. if the other user does not have permission to see a stream it will not be displayed) - not the case with Milestone.

- Forensic motion search. With Milestone I believe VMD has to be enabled on the camera to later search by motion (could be wrong on this).

- Native SIP Manager - can initiate and manage audio sessions with any compliant SIP devices.

- More extensive reporting

The above comments regarding the depth of features in a native Access module also applies to ANPR.

However, for single site 20-100 camera deployments Milestone is very strong and may have the edge on simplicity and pricing?

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #6
Nov 07, 2016

My comments mostly involve the performance and hardware you need to make either one work better.

From a 10 mile view. Milestone will demand fewer hardware resources for a given bit rate on the recording server. This includes both server and client systems.

Looking closer, when a system is struggling to record the data, both of them have good log files that indicate problems are happening.

Genetec will say if it see the problem on the Network or Storage side of things.

Milestone 'Corporate' will report more details in its 'overflow' messages than the 'Professional' will. The 'Corporate' code has an XML file that allows you to tune the recorder for higher throughput. These are documented in their Knowledge-base articles.

I have not discovered any application controls for Genetec that would allow me to tune it. There is talk of using multiple Archiver Roles on a single server, but that process is not documented last I looked.

Both Client applications demand CPU power for H264 and Smart-CODEC decoding.

The client for MS will demand a CPU with Intel QuickSync for the best performance.

The GT client will demand a Nvidia video card with may CUDA cores.

From a user perspective, it is much easier for me to train our techs on MS than it is for GT.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #4
Nov 07, 2016

The most important fact from my point of view as integrator:

Genetec is a manifacturer independent company,

Milestone is owned by Canon which is owner of Axis, thus NOT a manifacturer independent company.

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #5
Nov 08, 2016

As a vendor of partner software that integrates with both these VMS, the "manufacturer independence" is not always a blessing. It drives behaviors where Genetec supports partners superficially but are really only playing their own game, whereas when we work with Milestone they really do actively support independent partners and make life easier for us. That was the case before Canon acquisition and hasn't changed in the two years since, if anything they are probably placing more emphasis on the "partner community" as a point of difference.

A simple but tangible example - Genetec charges licence fees for adding third party products onto their solution - and makes this licensing process unnecessarily difficult for integrators, especially for trialling products - whereas Milestone doesn't charge for (or complicate the process) to adding in third partner software.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Nov 09, 2016

"Milestone is owned by Canon which is owner of Axis, thus not manufacturer independent."

I feel this is not an entirely correct statement. While it is true that Axis and Milestone are under the Canon umbrella, there have not been any outwardly visible signs of Milestone becoming any more tightly tied to Axis. In fact, as was pointed out by IPVM, Axis seems to be actively pursuing some of the Milestone VMS market. I am not certain I understand the strategy, but it does increasingly point to Milestone remaining independent.

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