Milestone Systems, the open platform company in IP video management software (VMS), held its 10th annual MIPS partner conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week. It was their largest-ever gathering with close to 500 attendees and 50 exhibiting companies in the Technology Showcase that demonstrated integrated solutions for enhancing safety and optimizing business.

CEO Lars Thinggaard and CSMO Kenneth Petersen welcomed the distributors, system integrators, end users, software solution partners, camera manufacturers and storage providers to the event that took place at the Cosmopolitan Hotel?s new concert venue called The Chelsea. ?Winning Together – The Power of Partnership? was the theme as the topic addressed by speakers, industry panelists and interactive breakout sessions highlighted how the Milestone VMS open platform enables ongoing innovation and efficiency.

The Utah Transit Authority, hhgregg retail chain, Iberdrola power utilities management, a major metropolitan police force, and Hyatt Hotels presented the solutions that meet their security and business challenges.

Each illustrated how the IP networked video systems built with the Milestone open platform are reliable, flexible, and scalable as their needs change and grow.

A lively industry panel discussion involved five leading camera manufacturers: Axis Communications, Arecont Vision, Bosch, Samsung Techwin and Sony. Top managers from these companies shared their opinions on the future of the industry and ideas on 4K expectations, recording at the edge, cloud technology progress and its potential impact.

The Technology Showcase included Milestone Partners exhibiting every kind of integration with the open platform VMS:

• Network camera manufacturers Arecont Vision, Axis Communications, Bosch, Canon, Lilin, MicroPower Technologies, Panasonic, Pelco, Samsung Techwin, Sentry360, Sony, Vicon, Videotek and Vivotek;
• Server and storage providers App-Techs, DDN, EMC, HP, IBM, Iomnis, Oracle Storagetek, Pivot3, Quantum, Razberi, Seneca, Spectra Logic, Veracity;
• Access control vendors Axis Communications, ISONAS, Keyscan and Open Options;
• Analytics and biometric solutions from Agent Vi, Ganetek, Ipsotek, Mango & Mate, NEC Corporation and VCA Technology;
• Perimeter scanners and GPS locators from SICK Sensor Intelligence, Optex and Savvux Technology/The Hawkeye Effect;
• Display, infrastructure, device and software applications from BriefCam, Moxa, RGB Spectrum and Snap;
• Wireless technology from Digital Barriers and Fluidmesh;
• Distribution and security service partners ADI, NMS, ScanSource and SYNNEX.

?The constantly growing number of Milestone Solution Partners illustrates that winning through partnerships is the key to solid growth through the freedom of choice provided when doing business with our open platform,? said Lars Thinggaard, President & CEO, Milestone Systems. ?The multi-faceted expertise throughout our global ecosystem is enabling the industry to continually improve safety and security as well as efficiency in business operations.?

Milestone Partner Awards were announced on the final night to celebrate stellar performance in sales, marketing and innovation for the year 2014:

• National Partner of the Year: Johnson Controls, Inc.
• Distributor of the Year: Anixter Inc.
• Technology Partner of the Year: EMC
• Integration of the Year: ISONAS
• Solution Partner of the Year: SICK, Inc.
• Camera Manufacturer of the Year: Arecont Vision
• Regional Partner of the Year: Continental Computers/WLANmall
• Installation of the Year: Mainline Information Systems, WinStar Casino

The Chickasaw Nation WinStar World Casino and Resort installation is a 4,000 channel system at the customer?s flagship location with more than 7,400 electronic games, 100 gaming tables and 50 poker tables – the largest casino in North America. The Milestone XProtect® video management system is fully virtualized, utilizing two petabytes of storage with system fail over to ensure gaming regulations are met and zero downtime is achieved.