Shaping the Future of the Security Industry with Milestone MEA
Milestone Systems, the open platform company in IP video management software (VMS) Middle East, hosted the eighth and largest ever regional community event on April 12-14th at Sofitel, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.
The Milestone Partner Open Platform (MPOP) Middle East event brought together the wider Milestone ecosystem from the GCC countries, Africa, USA and Europe on the spectacular, man-made Palm Jumeirah. Often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, it seemed quite fitting that close to 300 delegates met with the goal of fostering a collaborative environment for shaping the future of the industry.
From Company to Community
Key focus at this year’s MPOP was the shift from an open platform company to community. Welcoming Milestone distributors, end users, software solution partners, camera manufacturers and storage providers, Peter Bilsted, Director Milestone MEA, highlighted the value of meeting to share knowledge and best practises in a personal and relaxed atmosphere.
Throughout two vibrant days technology trends, business plans and new initiatives were presented and eagerly discussed. 23 partners showcased their latest technologies and experienced how the Milestone Open Platform Community can boost the power of partnership for faster innovation and true customer focus.
Dave Taylor, Executive Architect, SDSS, IBM Systems creatively chose to illustrate the benefits of the community in his session. He said:
“You do not need to make paint to make a masterpiece. The value is knowing what colors to choose and how to apply them in a creative way. The Milestone Open Platform Community allows us to have a good palate of colors to work with, understand that there are often new colors to work with, and to mix the colors to make magic.”
Enabling Collective Success
Milestone’s Kenneth Hune Petersen, CSMO, and Thomas Lausten, VP EMEA Sales, further emphasized how the community focus benefits partners and customers. “By facilitating knowledge sharing, we create a platform for developments based on collective insights. We accelerate collective innovation which helps maximize the business value of video management systems for partners and customers,” Thomas Lausten stated. He went on to announce new initiatives to further strengthen community collaboration including:
• The creation of an Advisory Board with partners and customers
• Establishment of a developer forum
• Enhancement of SDK design and better documentation of the API
• Implementation of the SDK e-learning
• Expansion of solution certification
• Introduction of co-marketing programs
• Creation of a marketplace on our web site
Customers to Benefit
Claus Rønning, Director, Professional Services, presented the new Learning & Performance Program designed to build greater expertise in designing, installing, and configuring solutions that meet customer needs. In addition, Milestone has launched a redesigned Training and Certification Program as an integral part of the 2016 Channel Partner Program (CPP).
Partner Feedback
Partners attending MPOP days expressed great satisfaction with the outcome of the event. Winner of the Milestone Solution Partner Award of the year, Stephen Bose, ICetana says:
“As a Milestone Solution Partner, the recent MPOP event in Dubai provided iCetana with a valuable opportunity to engage with Milestone Channel Partners in the region, potential clients, and key Milestone corporate team members. The consolidated event format was impactful and very worthwhile. We look forward to participating in further Milestone events globally.”
For some the event even created an opportunity for international expansion.
Bill de Fries, Chief Executive, at Footprints elaborates:
“Milestones invitation to debut Footprint Situational Awareness Software in the UAE at MPOP Dubai 2016 gave Footprint international exposure. Footprint, developed by The University of Dayton Research Institute in the United States, helps visualize Milestone VMS on detailed maps to deliver safe, secure and smarter Cities and buildings. The event was a great success meeting with other Milestone distributors and system integrators. We were also introduced to the top enterprise Milestone customers. Footprint already has several requests for POC’s and RFQ’s from existing Milestone super-users.”
Milestone Partner Awards
On the final night of the conference Milestone Partner Awards were announced to celebrate top performances in sales for the year 2015:
• Best MSP Partner of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Icetana
• Best MTP Partner of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Fujitsu
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Middle East: MAB International Services
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – UAE: Tablix technology LLC
• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 – UAE: Secure Tech
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Abu Dhabi: Atlas Telecom
• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 – Abu Dhabi: Al Fahad Smart Systems
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Dubai: MVP Tech General Trading LLC
• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 – Dubai: G4S UAE
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Oman: Majees Technical Services
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Africa: Cairo Communication Systems
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Egypt: EFADA Technology
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Bahrain: LSS Technology W.L.L.
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Qatar: Euro Technologies co.
• Excellence Award – Mecca Project: Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Best Performing Partner 2015 – Saudi: Etqaan & Metallic Equipment Company
• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 – Saudi: Hardware Solution Builders
• Best Partner of the Year 2015 – Levant: Libatel S.a.r.l
• Best Distributor of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Network Information Technology
• Fastest Growing Distributor of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Anixter Middle East
Best New Distributor of the Year 2015 – MEA: ZMR Technology Distribution
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