In airports, school systems, retail stores, and other spaces throughout the world, video surveillance has become essential to securing the safety of property and lives. BCDVideo, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., is a privately held global manufacturer of purpose-built IP Recording Servers. Regardless of the scope of the project, four cameras or up to 40,000, BCDVideo provides its integrator customers with project-ready video servers, preconfigured with their choice of Video Management Software (VMS), and guaranteed to manage the particular project. Underlying this flexibility is BCDVideo’s relationship with HP.
As part of the HP OEM programme, BCDVideo builds its products on HP platforms, ranging from HP Z230 Workstations for smaller deployments, to HP ProLiant SL4540 Gen8 Servers for massive enterprise systems. The HP OEM programme provides BCDVideo with leading technology, platform stability, dedicated resources, and flexible services to reduce costs, mitigate risk, and support growth.
Participation in the HP OEM programme gives BCDVideo powerful business advantages. BCDVideo works together with HP OEM to build compelling products on a world class technology platform. The broad HP portfolio brings breadth and flexibility to BCDVideo products. The HP OEM relationship enables BCDVideo to mitigate product lifecycle risks with stable configurations, longer product lifecycles, leading-edge technology previously unavailable within the security marketplace, and HP global service support. With a presence in more than 170 countries, HP enables BCDVideo’s global expansion with end-to-end product fulfilment; a 24x7 support network; and cross-border purchase and delivery. The HP OEM relationship lets BCDVideo target its focus less on operations and more on product innovation.
Bringing proven, reliable solutions to market
The world of video surveillance has changed dramatically in recent years. High-resolution cameras capture massive amounts of data, which must be stored and processed. VMS software — with features such as facial recognition, license-plate recognition and video analytics built in — demands substantial processing power. With security at stake, system reliability is essential. BCDVideo addresses these market needs with optimally sized, purpose-built server solutions for video surveillance, monitoring, access control, and networking. As an HP Authorised Global OEM IP Video Partner, BCDVideo delivers proven, reliable solutions, and backs them with worldwide five-year HP onsite warranty.
“BCDVideo is unique because we look at your project and design it for your needs and success. We evaluate thirteen areas of camera and software criteria to properly calculate the necessary storage and bandwidth for that project,” says Jeff Burgess, president of BCDVideo. “That gives our customer — the integrator — a comfort zone. They don’t have to figure out themselves how much storage they need; we do all that heavy lifting for them, and we guarantee the calculation’s accuracy.”
The OEM relationship with HP enables BCDVideo to design and build market-leading solutions; drive cost and complexity out of its operations; and increase profitability. “Having HP as our OEM supplier gives us outstanding technology, as well as access to HP engineers, advance notice on lifecycle events — a wide range of competitive advantages,” Burgess says. “With HP as our OEM partner, we receive global support from a market leader that understands and goes the extra mile to meet our unique needs and goals.”
Burgess had been in the IT business for decades when he founded BCDVideo in 1999, serving at first as an HP reseller. Five years ago, he refocused the company on IP Video, and today provides BCDVideo-branded solutions built from an HP platform. Its customers are global, national, and local security integrators that sell to security-system users such as finance, retail, healthcare, education, airports, casinos, and others. BCDVideo has established strong partnerships with the top camera and software manufacturers in the security marketplace. They optimise their servers to work seamlessly with these vendors. Milestone Software awarded BCDVideo its 2012 Technology Partner of the Year, despite the fact that BCDVideo sells no video software. “A server built specifically for Genetec is different than a server built for Milestone as each software writes to the archiver differently,” Burgess explains. “Every software has its nuances. Our customers know that in addition to building a solution to any project spec, we create them with the greatest name in the server industry: HP.”
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| The HP OEM programme enables BCDVideo to mitigate product lifecycle risks with stable configurations |
HP portfolio breadth delivers right-size options
BCDVideo’s most popular product is its NovaSeries BCD380V8 Rack-mount Server, based on the HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8 Server. “It really is a dream-box, technology-wise. It is scalable up to 48TB which makes it a cost-effective solution against other external storage,” Burgess says. “The versatility within that build unit allows us 240 different configurations, depending on the software and camera requirements.” Another “competition killer” is BCDVideo’s build based on the 1U HP ProLiant DL320e Gen8 v2 Server, whose short-depth form factor can be mounted on command-centre desks, such as 911 call centres or for usage in ATM machines. BCDVideo’s mightiest server of all, nicknamed “Big Bertha,” is built on the HP ProLiant SL4540 Gen8 Server, and provides up to 240TB in a 5U chassis. The first installation was at a large U.S. airport with thousands of cameras and long retention times. BCDVideo also uses other server platforms from the HP ProLiant line depending on project specifications.
What all these HP ProLiant Gen8 servers have in common — in addition to the latest Intel processors — is the HP Active Health System providing continuous, proactive monitoring of more than 1,600 system parameters. “The system takes care of itself, sending alerts to trigger onsite service calls long before any failure actually occurs,” Burgess says. “That allows BCDVideo to sell a unit to an integrator and position it as a one-time cost for five years — that will likely keep them fully up and running, never needing a follow-up visit after an onsite service call. Our customers appreciate the value in that as projects should equate to recurring revenue rather than recurring costs. Our products provide a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than traditional off-the-shelf non-video-optimised servers.”
HP Z Workstations are also integral to BCDVideo solutions, as client viewing stations with up to 12TB storage servers to support installations of up to 60 cameras. “No one reads video from a server; they need client stations,” Burgess explains. “So with every server, we provide one to five BCDVideo workstations with HP monitors, because the end customer might need to run the video at various stations throughout a building.” BCDVideo most frequently uses the HP Z230 Workstation or the HP Z420 Workstation if an additional drive bay is needed. HP Z Workstations deliver extreme high performance, with advanced graphic and video capabilities. For some smaller camera projects, the company incorporates the HP EliteDesk 800 G1, a desktop PC capable of driving up to 16 digital video cameras. Used as both a recorder and viewer, customers can choose from HP’s family of LED monitors to finalize the solution.
In every project, BCDVideo provides networking design as a value add, identifying the appropriate HP solutions — typically HP OfficeConnect or HP FlexCampus switches. If external storage is needed, BCDVideo provides that too, such as HP D2000 or D6000 Disk Enclosures. BCDVideo recently announced their 22U external array built on a ProLiant DL380e Gen8 platform driving four D6000 arrays. Should the solution require centralized storage, BCDVideo also has video-optimised solutions built from both the HP P2000 G3 MSA Array System as well as the HP StoreEasy 1630 Storage.
“This is the benefit of building from the HP portfolio,” Burgess says. “HP’s depth of product line has enabled us to be ‘vertical agnostic’, there is not an environment or budget that we cannot accommodate and innovate.”
HP OEM relationship drives competitive advantage
“So with every server, we provide one to five BCDVideo workstations with HP monitors, because the end customer might need to run the video at various stations throughout a building” |
With HP OEM as the critical part of its supply chain, Burgess knows BCDVideo is assured component stability and reliable supply throughout the solution lifecycle. To speed BCDVideo’s time to market, the HP OEM team combined four factory SKUs into one CTO build, which simplifies ordering. HP tests and delivers firmware updates, ensuring patches don’t inadvertently affect other parts of the system. In addition, HP provides advance models of next-generation technology, even collaborating with BCDVideo when developing future features. HP resources support product development and drive down R&D costs.
Most of all, the two companies share a customer-oriented entrepreneurial spirit, continuously advancing technologies to enhance capabilities and cost-effectiveness. For example, BCDVideo recently added a new feature to its NovaSeries servers, an embedded, password-protected flash memory module that can be accessed remotely for system restore or modifications—saving the integrator time and money. “Every day, BCDVideo and HP work together developing new ideas to improve business value,” states Burgess. “If we continuously make it cost-effective for the integrator, he’s standardising on our brand. That only serves to drive large-scale projects creating substantial revenue growth.”
A company to watch
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Burgess noted that BCDVideo’s success is drawing attention around the world. In 2013, BCDVideo ranked among Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States. The company expects to double and perhaps triple its revenue over the next few years. As BCDVideo expands worldwide, it leverages the HP global presence. “Partnering with HP made it possible for us to become a Tier 1 brand name in the video storage industry,” Burgess says. “The partnership, the desire to provide unparalleled service and support; it’s being part of the HP family.” In summary, the top advantages BCDVideo gains from the HP OEM relationship are the ability to reduce costs, mitigate risk and support growth. The means by which the HP OEM programme does this include outstanding technology, close collaboration, and global services that drive cost and complexity out of BCDVideo operations. “All those things allow us to deliver a solution that has customers, camera manufacturers, and software companies beating our door down to provide and build solutions for them,” Burgess says.
