Hi John, thanks. You are right. The mega pixel camea and simple NVR are professional gear which can be bought by the consumer. Good interface and decent descriptions. I think I was referring to more complex systems like enterprise level ONSSI, or integration of acces and video in a county wide deployment for Genetec or even multi-school planning in a gov't IT managed system.
Fully understanding the differences between the offerings of all the Axis cameras can be daunting for the un-initiated as well. The boot camp for certification can really make a difference.
Many/most purchasers or project managers (if left to their own devices) would make all buildings have (4) PTZ cameras on the corners outside and some complex VMS with no idea of follow-on costs. Then they would become gradually frustrated with poor system performance, poor integration, poor network performance, and less than optimal security coverage; all while totally blowing the budget. They end up learning the hard way- why they are in trouble for buying expensive cameras that don't adequately cover the building property well enough. (I think this is a current IPVM discussion). The integrator knows better how to plan coverage and would probably have chosen multiple stationary cams instead of the PTZ's.
The integrator should know all the potential pitfalls, maintenece cost projections, staged integration reasons, support requirements and during that whole time be building a solid relationship with that customer. We arent about money where I work, but, I'll say that I have made much more money from the repeat customer than I ever made on a single sale. If I sell anything for $30K, that is only the first $30K. We will transact (4) times that amount in the coming years.
I think that the average buyer, project manager, security manager/director beleives that the expertise is what they are paying me for. Nobody wants to be on the hook for bad purchases especially at the $20k + level. If they can get a higher chance of success with me, plus state that they did due diligence by comparing us to our competitors; it seems like an easy descisionto me.
In my opinion, creating a relationship with a caring, conscientious professional saleperson/integrator is a good thing for buyers and end users of mid- to complex systems.
Thanks