Milestone Essential Subscription Removed

By: Brian Karas, Published on Jan 12, 2017

Subscriptions may be the future for Milestone and VMSes but not right now.

Responding to negative feedback, Milestone has removed subscriptions for their Essential version, something they just started a few months ago when they killed Go and made Essential the free VMS.

Inside, we examine what went wrong and why this is the right move to do.

 

************* *** ** *** future *** ********* *** VMSes *** *** ***** now.

********** ** ******** ********, ********* has ******* ************* *** their ********* *******, ********* they **** ******* * few ****** *** **** they ****** ** *** **** Essential *** **** ***.

******, ** ******* **** went ***** *** *** this ** *** ***** move ** **.

 

[***************]

Essential ******

**** ********* ******** ***** VMS ****** ** ********* 2016 **** **** ********* a **** ******** *** 8 ********, **** ** options *** ****** ********* customer *******. ***** ***** *** additional ********, ** * ******* blocks, *** *** ********* Care *** $***/**** (*** 8 ******* ***-**). 

*** ******* *** **** at $** *** ****** per ****, ********* '************ packs' **** **** **** ********* than *** **** ***** up, ******* ** $** *** time (**** **** ** optional **** ** ~$** per ******). * ****** of ********************* ***** *** ********* of ****, ********* ****.

Removing ******

***,********* ********* **** **** discontinued *** ************ ******* for *********, *** ********* *** want **** **** * channels, ** *** ******* of ********* ****, *** recommended ** ** **** *******, stating:

** **** ******** ** your ******** *** ********* quickly **removing *** ************ ***** on XProtect Essential. Starting February 15, XProtect Essential will be free for 8 cameras and customers who want more cameras or Care Plus should go with XProtect Express. We will work with you to inform customers who have purchased subscription packs and help them define the next steps for their installation. [Emphasis theirs]

Subscription ****** *** *******

********* ***** *** ***** specifics ** *** ****** of ********* ************* **** had ****, *** *** confirm ** *** *** a ******* ******, ********* the ********* *********:

***** *** *** **** traction ** *** ************ packs

******** *** ****** **** zero, ** *** ******* would **** ****** ********* ** kill *** * ******* offering **** * ****** after ****** ** ** showed ***** ** ******** a ****** ********.

Subscription *****

************ ***** ****** ********. The **** ******* ************ *** offer ********* ** **** *******, *** ******** ************* in ****, ****** *** *****. However, ******* ********** ************ pricing ** ***** * year *********** ******* **** SMA, * **** ******** tactic. 

Positive ****

***** *** ************ ***** were ***** * **** idea, *** **** **** Milestone *** ****** ** its '*********' *** ******* *** mistake ** * **** sign.

** ***** ****** **** subscription ******* ** *******, as ************ ********* *** popular ** **, *** Milestone **** ****** *** again, ********* **** **** attractive *********.

 

Comments (9)

Undisclosed Integrator #1

01/12/17 06:09pm

As one of the persons who strongly voiced my disapproval of the Essential move. This is as you have stated a positive move. It proves the importance of listening to partners and its a hard decision to do a public U turn and for that I have respect for Milestone.

Undisclosed #2

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1 | 01/12/17 06:47pm

"It proves the importance of listening to partners and its a hard decision to do a public U turn and for that I have respect for Milestone."

It does? And you do? Why?

Question: What partners were telling Milestone that subscriptions were something they wanted? Apparently none of them were, as evidenced by the lack of 'traction' for this differently-structured pricing platform.

As BRK points out, if they had sold any amount of subscriptions, they certainly wouldn't have killed off the program as abruptly as they did - so soon after it's initial launch.

Milestone was wrong. And the only 'listening' they did was to the silence of their own cash registers not ringing.

you rolls the dice and you takes your chances.... Milestone came up snake eyes when the number was 7.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 01/12/17 06:56pm

#2, you are assuming that all manufacturers are willing to accept mistakes and my behind the scenes interaction with many is that this is often not the case. The same thing that makes people ambitious enough to run companies often makes them resistant to publicly acknowledge errors.

I think Milestone deserves some credit here.

Undisclosed #2

In reply to John Honovich | 01/13/17 12:51am

Hey, I love those that have the capacity to learn early-on when they have made a mistake and then move decisively to rectify that mistake.

I tip my hat to them - and I don't fault them for being wrong - everybody is wrong sometimes..

But what other option did they have? What else could they have done? Continue to waste money on an offering that they couldn't convince their VARs had any value to them?

imo, they chose their only option.

Avatar

Brian Karas

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 01/12/17 09:11pm

imo, they chose their only option.

It was not their only option, they could have kept the subscription option in the price book, even if it was not selling. They could have tried several methods of promoting it (though they likely would not have yielded much). They could have claimed it was "exceeding expectations" (while settings expectations to zero, therefore technically being true).

Many companies might hesitate to cancel something so quickly after introduction, even if the evidence shows that cancelling it is the practical choice.

So, this was not their 'only' choice, but it was a logical choice.

Undisclosed #2

In reply to Brian Karas | 01/13/17 03:15am

fair enough ;)

Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 01/12/17 06:59pm

I take your point. They are a sales driven organisation. That is their focus.

I got the feeling not only on here was this unpopular but it was also unpopular internally with some of their staff. Rightly or wrongly I got the impression (I have no hard facts) some staff had it forced on them from above.. As such they weren't happy on the account of the upset partners hassling them! So I do believe it's a combination of as you say a sales flop but also bad press and annoyed partners and distribution. The distributors are not happy at all with them.

Do I forgive or trust them now? No now..

At least they overturned this stupid idea.

Michael Fusco

01/12/17 08:55pm

Looks like they tested the waters with their entry level product and saw that that model was completely rejected and withdrew. But it indicates where they would like to go.

For the VMS industry to get away with a "subscription" model, the license price per camera would need to be drastically reduced, at least by two thirds. Selling a customer with a 50 camera system a $5,000 to $10,000 per year software licensing subscription that they have to pay in perpetuity? good luck with that!

Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Michael Fusco | 01/13/17 06:15pm

Totally agree, its a backwards move.

Login to read this IPVM report.
Why do I need to log in?
IPVM conducts unique testing and research funded by member's payments enabling us to offer the most independent, accurate and in-depth information.

Related Reports on VMS

Anyvision Facial Recognition Tested on Aug 21, 2019
Anyvision is aiming for $1 billion in revenue by 2022, backed by $74 million in funding. But does their performance live up to the hype they have...
Dahua 4K Camera Shootout on Aug 20, 2019
Dahua's new Pro Series 4K N85CL5Z claims to "deliver superior images in all lighting and environmental conditions", but how does this compare to...
Proactive CCTV "Only Affordable Video Archiving Solution" Profile on Aug 12, 2019
Proactive CCTV is claiming to offer "the only affordable video archiving solution on the market", reducing the storage typically required for H.265...
Milestone "GDPR-ready" Certification Claim Critiqued on Aug 12, 2019
Milestone is touting that its latest XProtect VMS is "GDPR-ready" with a 'European Privacy Seal'. However, our investigation raises significant...
Axis Door Station A8207-VE Tested on Aug 07, 2019
Axis newest door station, the A8207-VE, claims to deliver "video surveillance, two-way communication, and access control" in a single device. But...
Avigilon Blue VSaaS Tested on Aug 05, 2019
Avigilon says Blue is a "powerful integrator cloud service platform", easy to set up and configure, quickly scale business, by leveraging cloud...
Cisco Settles False Claims Act Suit For Video Surveillance Vulnerabilities on Aug 01, 2019
Cisco entered the video surveillance market in 2007 and suffered for many years through a variety of its own errors and arrogance. The conclusion...
Ionodes Company Profile on Jul 31, 2019
What happened to Ionodes? With seasoned leadership from Jean-Paul Saindon founder of SmartSight and Dr. Michael Gilge, founder of VCS, back in...
Vivotek Trend Micro Cyber Security Camera App Tested on Jul 22, 2019
Vivotek and Trend Micro are claiming five million blocked attacks on IP cameras, with their jointly developed app for Vivotek cameras. This new...
Avigilon ACC7 VMS Tested on Jul 22, 2019
Avigilon's Control Center 7 boldly claims it will "transform live video monitoring" with the new Focus of Attention "AI-enabled" interface. We...

Most Recent Industry Reports

China Dahua Replaces Their Software With US Pepper on Aug 22, 2019
What does a US government banned company do to improve its security positioning in the US? Well, Dahua is unveiling a novel solution, partnering...
Security Integrators Outlook On Remaining Integrators In 2025 on Aug 22, 2019
The industry has changed substantially in the last decade, with the rise of IP cameras and the race to the bottom. Indeed, more changes may be...
First GDPR Facial Recognition Fine For Sweden School on Aug 22, 2019
A school in Sweden has been fined $20,000 for using facial recognition to keep attendance in what is Sweden's first GDPR fine. Notably, the fine is...
Anyvision Facial Recognition Tested on Aug 21, 2019
Anyvision is aiming for $1 billion in revenue by 2022, backed by $74 million in funding. But does their performance live up to the hype they have...
Dahua 4K Camera Shootout on Aug 20, 2019
Dahua's new Pro Series 4K N85CL5Z claims to "deliver superior images in all lighting and environmental conditions", but how does this compare to...
ZK Teco Atlas Access Control Tested on Aug 20, 2019
Who needs access specialists? China-based ZKTeco claims its newest access panel 'makes it very easy for anyone to learn and install access control...
Uniview Beats Intel In Trademark Lawsuit on Aug 19, 2019
Uniview has won a long-running trademark lawsuit brought by Intel, with Beijing's highest court reversing an earlier Intel win, centered on...
Suprema Biometric Mass Leak Examined on Aug 19, 2019
While Suprema is rarely discussed even within the physical security market, the South Korean biometrics manufacturer made global news this past...
Verkada People And Face Analytics Tested on Aug 16, 2019
This week, Verkada released "People Analytics", including face analytics that they describe is a "game-changing feature" that "pushes the...

The world's leading video surveillance information source, IPVM provides the best reporting, testing and training for 10,000+ members globally. Dedicated to independent and objective information, we uniquely refuse any and all advertisements, sponsorship and consulting from manufacturers.

About | FAQ | Contact