Avigilon's Core Entry Level VMS Version

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Ethan Ace
•Published Nov 09, 2011 00:00 AM
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Avigilon has announced a new version of their Avigilon Control Center VMS platform, aimed at smaller deployments. With this release, Avigilon has established a three-tier pricing structure common amongst VMS providers. In this note, we examine the featureset of ACC Core, and how Avigilon's overall pricing compares to competitors such as Milestone and Exacq.

Overview of Core

The major differences users will want to be aware of are:

  • Core is limited to 16 camera licenses on a single server. It supports both Avigilon and third-party cameras and encoders, though Avigilon's Pro HD line (16MP, 29MP, etc.) is not supported. Note that Avigilon's four-channel encoders use one license per encoder, not per camera attached to the encoder, so analog cameras may be added on a 4:1 ratio (maximum 64 analog cameras).
  • Camera audio and digital I/O are not supported. ACC Standard is required for this functionality.
  • Mapping functions and third-party integrations are also not supported. Both of these functions are only supported in ACC Enterprise.
  • The MSRP price per channel is ~$80 USD.

For a detailed comparison from the manufacturer itself, see Avigilon's Control Center product overview [link no longer available]. 

Avigilon Competitive Comparison

With the announcement of Core, Avigilon now has three tiers of product to compete with many of the offerings in the industry. With Core (~$80 per camera MSRP) aimed at the lower-cost segment of the market, exacqVision Start and Milestone Essential are the most obvious comparison. At this level, Avigilon is $30 per camera more expensive, about a 60% increase. For the cost-conscious low end of the market, this is notable. For 16 cameras, the maximum Core can handle, this is a difference of nearly $500.

One advantage Avigilon has is the lack of any ongoing software maintenance fees. Both Exacq and Milestone have software upgrade plans, which improves Avigilon's competitive TCO over time.

In the mid and upper ranges, relative to Exacq Standard and Enterprise, and Milestone's Pro through Corporate versions, Avigilon is in the same range as competitors. Slight differences in pricing in either direction may occur. Overall, however, slight variations in license pricing have less impact on larger systems, since there are many other associated costs and specific feature demands are more critical.

Applications

Coupling ACC Core's pricing with Avigilon's H.264 4 channel encoders, which are among the lowest-cost in the industry, a logical fit for Control Center Core is in takeovers of analog systems. Analog cameras may be added to the system at a lower price point than many competitors, and Avigilon's megapixel camera line, also competitively priced, may be added where needed.

For typical IP-only deployments, though, integrators who are resellers of both Avigilon and products such as Exacq and Milestone may choose to continue using these platforms instead, since they're nearly 40% less costly per camera. On a handful of cameras, this is not a large increase. Across a fully-loaded, 16-camera system, however, it's a difference of $480, which can easily pay for an additional camera. With Avigilon having added ONVIF support to their H.264 cameras and encoders, integrators may still use Avigilon's megapixel camera line with these VMS options, if preferred.