Milestone Systems and Nedap Security Management announced a strategic partnership recently. The main driver for this close cooperation was the increasing demand for smart buildings and integrated IT and security systems for monitoring and managing people and buildings. As part of their partnership, both companies committed to a deep integration of the Milestone XProtect VMS and Nedap’s AEOS Access Control. In May, Nedap Security Management received Milestone’s New Solution Partner of the Year Award, which was presented at the Milestone Community Days in Dubai.
The award is a recognition of the strategic cooperation between the two companies, in both the commercial and technological area. Jeroen Harmsen, Director of Product Management at Nedap Security Management, explains the rationale and benefits of the partnership.
Open platform technology
“Globally, there is a growing demand for smarter buildings”, says Jeroen. “As a result, the need for integration of security systems has increased significantly. More and more facilities and cities discover the great benefits of integrated IT-systems for monitoring and control. The use of open platform technology has been instrumental in integrating Nedap access control with the Milestone XProtect VMS.” In November 2016, a large publisher in the Netherlands was the first to combine the two systems, only weeks after the integration of AEOS and XProtect was officially launched.
As their access control was integrated with their HR database, Nedap’s AEOS significantly reduced the chance of manual errors and resulted in a time saving of almost 30%. In addition, they got access to a wide range of video management functionalities with Milestone’s XProtect. Jeroen and his team are very proud of the recently received Milestone Award. “It really underlines the intensity and strength of our cooperation. We are both really committed to providing our clients with integrated security solutions that allow them to quickly respond and adapt to suspicious or dangerous situations.”
Jurate Beniulyte, Head of Strategic Alliances, Milestone Systems, adds: “We are delighted about the tight partnership with Nedap, as it leverages the business value that first class integrations and partners can provide to our mutual clients. Milestone strongly believes in the solution power coming from our community. Nedap is truly a proof point of this power.”
Smooth communication
Jeroen: “One of the main objectives of working closely with the Milestone professionals, is the complete unburdening of our - mutual - clients when it comes to security. We are both very innovation-driven and share the ambition to always look for ways to improve our products and services and to exceed expectations.” Another important success factor in Jeroen’s view is the very smooth communication between the two companies. The lines are very short, resulting in quick decision making and an ongoing sharing of ideas, he explains. “It’s wonderful to see how people from different organisations - and often with different, specific skill sets - work together as one team, almost as if they’re from the same company. I’d say it is the perfect partnership.”
