Hello. As the Stratocast Product Line Manager at Genetec, I would like to provide some clarifications about the functionality and device support of the product. Stratocast is the Genetec VSaaS offering and it does not require an on-premises bridge to store or buffer video to the cloud. By using Stratocast, you can connect supported cameras which record directly and securely to the cloud without the need for complex network configurations (i.e. opening inbound ports). The channel between the camera and the cloud has an end-to-end encryption and then the video is also encrypted at rest. As opposed to other products, we have decided to offer greater flexibility in hardware choice through an open architecture that allows our customers to connect 3rd-party cameras to Stratocast. We currently support models from Axis, Bosch, Vivotek, Mobotix, and Euklis. The complete list of supported devices can be found here: Supported devices | Genetec .
Finally, Stratocast can be seamlessly connect to Security Center, our unified platform. This affords our customers the possibility of a hybrid solution whereby they can interconnect and centrally monitor sites with traditional, on-premises systems and sites that are cloud-only.
If anyone has any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
I am not saying CamCloud is a bad product as we have not tested it.
I am just saying, purely from a business positioning, they have not been able to execute to get to the size and resources they need to compete in this type of marketplace.
I am hoping 5G bites the heads off most of these dinosaurs. So you will walk into your local Amazon(whole foods) or Walmart(Grocery Store) and buy cloud cameras just about anywhere in all sorts of form factors and applications imaginable.
Additionally in public parking lots you can temporarily lease video of your parking lot stall for security or even peace of mind.
Let's say you park in stall #50 and on your phone app you just add the $1 per hour security video which you can access online for up to 6 months.
If this was possible now, I know you would lease video. Since the US cannot produce the cameras we need to meet such a demand, guess who will.
I am hoping 5G bites the heads off most of these dinosaurs.
I keep hearing statements like this, and am highly skeptical of that happening. I recall similar promises and projections being made when 4G was rolling out that never came to be.
I would be happy to be wrong on this, but I am not betting on 5G being significantly disruptive to video surveillance in the next several years.
To the extent that 5G has an impact, it would be for outdoor cameras as it is hard to see the economics, even in an optimistic scenario, for using 5G cameras inside the typical office.
I would never use a 5G camera in my office, or my cell phone for that matter. Unless however 5G gives me the connectivity to expand my personal surveillance everywhere, my connectivity to all things yet to be released gidget/gadgets.
I have two locations that have craft beer selections that rotate very fast, beer posted is gone within a few days. I would like access to see what is in the coolers without having to make a stop, even have the ability to reserve/hold the beer for a future pick up, time limited of course in case I do not make it. They try to post on facebook and instagram but doing that is OBSOLETE as now I have to be active and compete just to get a beer. (No I don't have a groovy beard).
5G for my dog, 5G for coupons.
If not 5G then what? I see Brian's skepticism, however it could be 6G or 20G. Technology itself is designed replace itself, humans wanted evolution so they created it. Remember when you had the latest iPhone 4? It was awesome, now what version of phone do you have and why?
I have two locations that have craft beer selections that rotate very fast, beer posted is gone within a few days. I would like access to see what is in the coolers without having to make a stop, even have the ability to reserve/hold the beer for a future pick up, time limited of course in case I do not make it. They try to post on facebook and instagram but doing that is OBSOLETE as now I have to be active and compete just to get a beer. (No I don't have a groovy beard).
I'm confused. You seem to be advocating for a network technology as a solution to unrelated practicality challenges.
How would 5G let you watch a parking space or a beer cooler any better than you could with current technology (i.e. LTE+, 1Gbps Ethernet, and 802.11ac)? Internet live streaming is already well supported and understood. Doing so is far more dependent on someone actually spending the time and money to put up a camera and investing in the back-end infrastructure to support it.
That brings up a great point. Timing is critical. When you are way too early, you can blame customers or the market or try to justify that "you got there first" but the reality is being way too leading edge can cause companies to fail.
We see Meraki video surveillance as primarily an extension of Meraki networking / IT, i.e., one typically buys Meraki video surveillance if one already uses Meraki. For example, we rarely, if ever, hear about Meraki video surveillance being pitched to non-Meraki customers. I am sure it happens but it seems the minority case.
By contrast, Verkada is (for better or worse) literally calling every sizeable security end-user across the US (often repeatedly).
Our view is that Meraki video surveillance might be a good business for Meraki and useful for Meraki customers but it's unlikely to have a major impact on the broader market with its current approach.
Understandably we expect existing Meraki networking customers to be enthusiastic in taking up the MV cameras due to it being as such a straightforward addition to their existing deployments. But this doesn't mean we have developed the product solely for them, nor does it mean we see success only with that customer base.
What this highlights for me is that we have done a poor job at highlighting case studies and customer success stories beyond our existing customers. I am still surprised by the customer I spoke to who told me that they liked how simple the cameras were, and now that they knew Meraki did wireless, they would look at that as well.
As Meraki was built on wireless and has more than a decade of products in the wireless space, I have to say I was surprised by this comment!
As Meraki was built on wireless and has more than a decade of products in the wireless space, I have to say I was surprised by this comment!
"[Meraki] is more of an IT-focused niche player."
why surprised? it's because Meraki was "built on wireless and has more than a decade of products in the wireless space" that you might be called niche in the surveillanceindustry.
I am still surprised by the customer I spoke to who told me that they liked how simple the cameras were, and now that they knew Meraki did wireless, they would look at that as well.
why surprised? if you were doing substantial non-network-related business wouldn't that be a regular occurrence?
What this highlights for me is that we have done a poor job at highlighting case studies and customer success stories beyond our existing customers.
To me, what this highlights is that you have not hired dozens of inside salespeople to give away tens of thousands of tumblers. They may sound flip or facetious but I mean this seriously.
Ethics aside, to 'win' a market depends heavily on go-to-market and Verkada has built a sales machine that is making a big difference. Maybe that sales machine blows up, in the future, that's certainly debatable. But as it stands right now going into 2020, that's the difference between Verkada and Meraki, whose products / offerings are otherwise quite close functionally.
Sorry I'd been logged in for a while and hadn't refreshed so didn't see Mr George Bentinck's response.
I think you've given a fair assessment, however, the reason Verkada do what they do is because they don't have an enormously successful Wi-Fi/networking arm of their business. It's true that Meraki's biz dev strategy is to target the existing customer base but if they continue to do this successfully this will surely start to make them a significant surveillance player simply due to the size of that existing customer base.
It's hard to criticise this strategy and Meraki can achieve (albeit with some security trade-offs) what was promised in terms of surveillance on existing networks without needing to do major network upgrades. They are simply going under the radar of the "usual suspects" because as you say they're selling via ICT, heads of cyber/risk, etc. and they'll likely take market share before some of the traditional players have even noticed what's happening, especially if end users don't need to go out to tender.
And it's cyber that seems to be ramping up convergence in a way the prevalence of IP never really did or at least not as fast as predicted. Those slide decks that all physical security decisions would become solely the remit of the IT team or certainly in collaboration with physical security. I saw every major security manufacturer present their own slide deck on this about 10-15 years ago for it not to truly become a reality at least not at the pace predicted. I bet we all have some of those PPTs we could dust off. Yet now it is something I'm witnessing more regularly within the enterprise and CNI sectors - I've seen physical security purchasing decisions taken away almost completely from security and FM departments and being given to ICT/cyber folks. And those networking/ICT infrastructure teams will likely reach out to their ICT vendors and integrators and they will inevitably start to recommend Cisco Meraki.
And my other thought is that I see an opportunity for the big ICT SIs to offer an Op Ex model for the whole shebang - installation, maintenance services, SMAs, the over-priced cameras - that's an attractive model for many end-users and especially their finance departments. And for the SI he's got that customer locked in on the network already and now the surveillance and then after that, he can up- and cross-sell all day long.
However, I do wonder how committed Cisco is this time around to the surveillance market. I think I've seen them come and go maybe twice already. So I'm still "watching this space" but we could be in for a disruptive year ahead...
offer an Op Ex model for the whole shebang - installation, maintenance services, SMAs, the over-priced cameras - that's an attractive model for many end-users and especially their finance departments. And for the SI he's got that customer locked in on the network already and now the surveillance and then after that, he can up- and cross-sell all day long.
It sounds like a dystopia to me. I don't know. Maybe the future is end-users happily locking themselves in at premium prices. But I think the providers (like Meraki and Verkada) will either need to open up or it will create a huge opportunity for new entrants to undercut them as end-users realize how much it is costing them in terms of money and constraints.
Yes, that was not an accident. IPVM focuses on the Americas and the EU, where Ivideon is not a significant player. We did an Ivideon profile post in 2019 so we are tracking the company, just did not see it rising to the same level as others today.
kindly advice the criterias to be included in such report: number of users, volumes, salesforce in EU and US?
We don't have a simple or strict metric we go by as we are looking for overall impact - are many dealers picking up a product? is the company getting a lot of attention online or at shows? do we see significant number of end users choosing it, etc.?
To get there, companies almost always need dozens of sales and marketing people or some sort of breakthrough technology in a niche area (which is hard in VSaaS since this segment is more about packaging and execution than R&D inventions).
For example, I just checked LinkedIn for Ivideon US and UK employees, they only have 1 in each country. So if somehow Ivideon was getting a ton of dealer and end user interest, we would still include them here but it's virtually impossible to get that attention without a significantly greater sales and marketing presence.
The other great thing is how marketing completely changed the meaning of cloud surveillance. Eagle Eye single handedly moved the focus from cloud meaning 'no dvr onsite' to meaning simply cloud storage and access. Originally with Axis and others it was no device onsite.
The fact that you could steal the device, or camera, and video may be lost is no longer a concern....and likely it shouldn't be provided the devices are uploading within a reasonable time. If I'm correct Nest and most of the other 'residential' type cameras are straight cloud...no buffering which is critical in those positions since often the camera gets torn off the wall or home porch.
Money can change the perception of the market. Not many people will tell you Eagle Eye has a good interface or fantastic product, but they can sell to some people still and make some RMR. Just have to get it spread wide enough. Same with Verkada IMO. Who in their right mind would be a completely closed system with closed cameras? Nobody without a ton of money, sales and marketing being thrown at them to usually not-as-technical buyers.
Money can change the perception of the market. Not many people will tell you Eagle Eye has a good interface or fantastic product.....
Nobody without a ton of money, sales and marketing being thrown at them to usually not-as-technical buyers.
Good point. Could we not say the same about Milestone a decade ago? For example, when we did our first Milestone XProtect test (on 6.5), we and many readers were stunned about how many obvious problems it had. But Milestone was a strong sales and marketing organization with a good enough product to compete.
Upleveling, my point is that sales and marketing are critical in winning a market.
And what exactly is your point? They are huge players in the Video Surveillance market and don't have a VSaaS option. Is that not worth mentioning? You'll note Axis was also mentioned.
So is Bosch, so is ________. We have a thread talking about their human rights violations, cyber malfeasance, high proportion of inclusion in product testing here. Can we have a test of a product line they don't have any presence in without naming them?
I work for one of the companies in the survey, and I'm curious for those of you that voted 'other' . Are you thinking there's another company that is not mentioned in the survey or are you thinking that there are companies that are not created yet, or something else.
As I write this it has been out for 4 days and has 159 votes. (see below) 'Other' is tied for the lead with Alarm.com/OpenEye, and has been pretty close to that since the poll opened.
I guess my bottom line questions is what is it that you're looking for that the mentioned companies don't have?
I wonder what is the "industry" in this context(how to define it). For example, I think that some very big companies form "other"(amazon, google, etc) will dominate on home users and maybe even small businesses with time.
Eagle Eye has been offering it longer than Tyco and Avigilon, to name 2 incumbents. But incumbents have specific advantages and disadvantages relative to new entrants.
Maybe Tyco ultimately beats Eagle Eye and that's a worthwhile question to discuss as well. For a poll, I am trying to keep things somewhat organized.
Added to the report, details regarding Qumulex expected 1.0 General Availability release:
Qumulex told IPVM they are initial beta testing and are delaying 1.0 General Availability from Q2 2020 until Q3 2020:
We’re in limited beta testing now. By ISC West timeframe, we’ll be expanding our beta testing to a larger number of interested resellers. We expect Version 1.0 General Availability to be in Q3 2020.
They emphasized that they hope to release sooner, but they also will be releasing an online software demo and the reseller portal in Q1 2020:
In the coming weeks we’ll launch “Try QxControl Now”, where you can connect to our HQ systems and experience the actual QxControl software. Our Qx Reseller Portal, where our Resellers can access Project Registration, Configuration Calculators, Price Lists, and Support Ticketing will also launch in the coming weeks.
Agree
Disagree
Informative
Unhelpful
Funny
Create New Topic
Subscribe to IPVM Research to read the full report.
Why do I need to subscribe?
The IPVM Research Service includes products tests and shootouts plus competitive and financial analysis, helping decision-makers better evaluate purchasing, partnering, developing, and/or competing against companies in physical security.
Comments (46)
Oktay Yildiz
Hello. As the Stratocast Product Line Manager at Genetec, I would like to provide some clarifications about the functionality and device support of the product. Stratocast is the Genetec VSaaS offering and it does not require an on-premises bridge to store or buffer video to the cloud. By using Stratocast, you can connect supported cameras which record directly and securely to the cloud without the need for complex network configurations (i.e. opening inbound ports). The channel between the camera and the cloud has an end-to-end encryption and then the video is also encrypted at rest. As opposed to other products, we have decided to offer greater flexibility in hardware choice through an open architecture that allows our customers to connect 3rd-party cameras to Stratocast. We currently support models from Axis, Bosch, Vivotek, Mobotix, and Euklis. The complete list of supported devices can be found here: Supported devices | Genetec .
Finally, Stratocast can be seamlessly connect to Security Center, our unified platform. This affords our customers the possibility of a hybrid solution whereby they can interconnect and centrally monitor sites with traditional, on-premises systems and sites that are cloud-only.
If anyone has any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Create New Topic
Anthony Jones
What about companies like Camcloud? I always thought they or a more generic company like them would be the big hitter.
Create New Topic
John Honovich
The Eagle Eye section was omitted from the report when released but has now been added.
Create New Topic
Undisclosed #1
I am hoping 5G bites the heads off most of these dinosaurs. So you will walk into your local Amazon(whole foods) or Walmart(Grocery Store) and buy cloud cameras just about anywhere in all sorts of form factors and applications imaginable.
Additionally in public parking lots you can temporarily lease video of your parking lot stall for security or even peace of mind.
Let's say you park in stall #50 and on your phone app you just add the $1 per hour security video which you can access online for up to 6 months.
If this was possible now, I know you would lease video. Since the US cannot produce the cameras we need to meet such a demand, guess who will.
Create New Topic
Undisclosed #1
We can continue imagining and creating, hopefully it is not Verkada v2.0.
Create New Topic
Undisclosed #3
so much for being on the leading edge ;)
Create New Topic
George Bentinck
As someone at Meraki, I am interested to know the reasoning behind the following analysis: "The former is more of an IT-focused niche player".
Is niche defined as not appealing to the PhySec reseller community, or is it some other metric?
Create New Topic
Undisclosed #4
Was there a reason Cisco Meraki was not included here?
Create New Topic
Undisclosed #4
Sorry I'd been logged in for a while and hadn't refreshed so didn't see Mr George Bentinck's response.
I think you've given a fair assessment, however, the reason Verkada do what they do is because they don't have an enormously successful Wi-Fi/networking arm of their business. It's true that Meraki's biz dev strategy is to target the existing customer base but if they continue to do this successfully this will surely start to make them a significant surveillance player simply due to the size of that existing customer base.
It's hard to criticise this strategy and Meraki can achieve (albeit with some security trade-offs) what was promised in terms of surveillance on existing networks without needing to do major network upgrades. They are simply going under the radar of the "usual suspects" because as you say they're selling via ICT, heads of cyber/risk, etc. and they'll likely take market share before some of the traditional players have even noticed what's happening, especially if end users don't need to go out to tender.
And it's cyber that seems to be ramping up convergence in a way the prevalence of IP never really did or at least not as fast as predicted. Those slide decks that all physical security decisions would become solely the remit of the IT team or certainly in collaboration with physical security. I saw every major security manufacturer present their own slide deck on this about 10-15 years ago for it not to truly become a reality at least not at the pace predicted. I bet we all have some of those PPTs we could dust off. Yet now it is something I'm witnessing more regularly within the enterprise and CNI sectors - I've seen physical security purchasing decisions taken away almost completely from security and FM departments and being given to ICT/cyber folks. And those networking/ICT infrastructure teams will likely reach out to their ICT vendors and integrators and they will inevitably start to recommend Cisco Meraki.
And my other thought is that I see an opportunity for the big ICT SIs to offer an Op Ex model for the whole shebang - installation, maintenance services, SMAs, the over-priced cameras - that's an attractive model for many end-users and especially their finance departments. And for the SI he's got that customer locked in on the network already and now the surveillance and then after that, he can up- and cross-sell all day long.
However, I do wonder how committed Cisco is this time around to the surveillance market. I think I've seen them come and go maybe twice already. So I'm still "watching this space" but we could be in for a disruptive year ahead...
Create New Topic
Mikhail Sushkov
Interesting post, John. I think, Ivideon is missing in this report as well.
Create New Topic
Undisclosed Integrator #5
The other great thing is how marketing completely changed the meaning of cloud surveillance. Eagle Eye single handedly moved the focus from cloud meaning 'no dvr onsite' to meaning simply cloud storage and access. Originally with Axis and others it was no device onsite.
The fact that you could steal the device, or camera, and video may be lost is no longer a concern....and likely it shouldn't be provided the devices are uploading within a reasonable time. If I'm correct Nest and most of the other 'residential' type cameras are straight cloud...no buffering which is critical in those positions since often the camera gets torn off the wall or home porch.
Money can change the perception of the market. Not many people will tell you Eagle Eye has a good interface or fantastic product, but they can sell to some people still and make some RMR. Just have to get it spread wide enough. Same with Verkada IMO. Who in their right mind would be a completely closed system with closed cameras? Nobody without a ton of money, sales and marketing being thrown at them to usually not-as-technical buyers.
Create New Topic
Jason Crist
VSAAS article, still mention Dahua and Hik 🤦🏼♂️
Create New Topic
Undisclosed Manufacturer #6
I work for one of the companies in the survey, and I'm curious for those of you that voted 'other' . Are you thinking there's another company that is not mentioned in the survey or are you thinking that there are companies that are not created yet, or something else.
As I write this it has been out for 4 days and has 159 votes. (see below) 'Other' is tied for the lead with Alarm.com/OpenEye, and has been pretty close to that since the poll opened.
I guess my bottom line questions is what is it that you're looking for that the mentioned companies don't have?
Create New Topic
Sean Patton
Added to the report, details regarding Qumulex expected 1.0 General Availability release:
Qumulex told IPVM they are initial beta testing and are delaying 1.0 General Availability from Q2 2020 until Q3 2020:
They emphasized that they hope to release sooner, but they also will be releasing an online software demo and the reseller portal in Q1 2020:
Create New Topic