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 11:47pm

"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 11:56pm

#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 | 01/13/17 02:11am

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 11:59pm

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

01/13/17 01:55am

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

Milestone Alleges [Now Removed], Qognify Denies VMS "Running Out Of Support" on May 01, 2019
Milestone is running a marketing campaign where they allege that OnSSI and Seetec VMSes are 'running out of support'. However, Qognify's CEO flatly...
Axis Will Not Block Resellers on Jun 10, 2019
While Axis generally has strong favorability amongst integrators, the biggest complaint is their channel model, which results in smaller integrator...
Bluecherry Open Sources Entire VMS on May 13, 2019
Bluecherry announced they have "released the entire Bluecherry software application open source with a GPL license". We spoke to Bluecherry's...
Closed Cloud Cameras Trashed on May 13, 2019
When you buy a camera, do you own it? Not anymore. In the world of closed cloud cameras, you may think you are buying a camera but all you are...
Milestone Has Problems on Oct 01, 2019
Milestone has problems. While the company previously excelled in the shift to IP cameras, as IP has matured and competitive differentiation has...
Giant Tyco Campaigns Against Startup Qumulex on Jul 25, 2019
One is a giant conglomerate that owns the world's largest security integrator. The other has no shipping products. But Tyco is campaigning...
The Battle For the VSaaS Market 2020 - Avigilon, Arcules, Eagle Eye, OpenEye, Qumulex, Tyco, Verkada on Jan 13, 2020
While VSaaS suffered from inflated expectations in the 2010s, 2020 marks a new decade and a much stronger competitive position for VSaaS vs...
Milestone Launches Multiple Cloud Solutions on Feb 18, 2020
Milestone is going to the cloud, becoming one of the last prominent VMSes to do so. Milestone is clearly late but how competitive do these new...
Every VMS Will Become a VSaaS on Feb 21, 2020
VMS is ending. Soon every VMS will be a VSaaS. Competitive dynamics will be redrawn. What does this mean? VMS Historically...
Avigilon Shifts Cloud Strategy - Merges Blue and ACC on Jan 23, 2020
Avigilon is shifting its cloud strategy, phasing out its Blue web-managed surveillance platform as a stand-alone brand and merging it with its ACC...

Most Recent Industry Reports

Pivot3 Mass Layoffs on Mar 27, 2020
Pivot3 has conducted mass layoffs, the culmination of grand hopes, a quarter of a billion dollars in VC funding, and multiple failures to gain...
Athena CEO Criticizes 'Deplorable' 'Nitpicking', IPVM Refutes on Mar 27, 2020
Athena Security's CEO Lisa Falzone has strongly objected to IPVM's reporting on Athena, calling it 'deplorable' and repeatedly criticizing IPVM's...
Hikvision Admits Sanctions Harming Its Financial Performance on Mar 27, 2020
While Hikvision initially downplayed being sanctioned for human rights abuses, the company is now admitting a significant impact in a new PRC...
New Axis M30 Cameras Tested on Mar 26, 2020
Axis has released a new generation of, for them, relatively low cost M30 series cameras, claiming to deliver "sharp video quality even in poor...
Coronavirus Shuts Down ADT Door Knockers on Mar 26, 2020
Coronavirus has another victim - this time, alarm giant ADT has stopped all door to door sales. Door knockers are a critical but controversial...
Access Control Course Spring 2020 - Save $50 Last Day on Mar 26, 2020
Register Now - Spring 2020 Access Control Course. Today, March 26th is the last day to save $50. IPVM offers the most comprehensive access...
Convergint Coronavirus Cuts on Mar 25, 2020
One of the world's largest security integrators, Convergint, has made a major move to handle the impact of coronavirus, with cuts across the...
VSaaS 101 on Mar 25, 2020
Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) is the common industry term for cloud video. But what does it mean? How does it all work? Inside this...
TVT / InVid Facial Recognition Tested on Mar 25, 2020
Facial recognition is frequently sold for thousands of dollars per channel but some China manufacturers are offering full facial recognition...
IPVM Launches On-Demand Courses on Mar 24, 2020
For nearly a decade, IPVM has been a leader in online live courses. Now, we have added on-demand versions for all courses. The same course...

What IPVM Is

The world's leading authority on video surveillance, with 200,000+ visits monthly.

  • Articles on cameras, video analytics, VMS, and trends
  • Tests showing actual performance and problems
  • Courses in surveillance, access control, etc
  • Camera Calculator for designing systems

Dedicated To Independence

We're dedicated to staying independent and objective. We're the only industry source to refuse any and all advertisements, sponsorship, and consulting from manufacturers. Why?