Investigations And Compliance Efficiency Improvement

Evidence and data. A key benefit the interviewees highlighted was faster video footage processing that enabled investigation and compliance efficiencies. This was made possible due to the following:

• Accelerated search and review of surveillance footage. Before the Milestone XProtect investment, security operators at interviewees’ organizations would waste hours of investigation time searching and browsing videos. By using XProtect’s built-in search features, operators were able to retrieve videos of interest quickly across multiple cameras. As the technical operations supervisor in education highlighted, “It saves us … hours and hours of labor every year that we’re not spending in just pulling and reviewing video.”

• Quick packaging of videos. An important task for security operators at interviewees’ organizations was to review and package surveillance footage to send to a District Attorney’s office or share with police or other organizations. This used to be a largely manual exercise requiring hours of labor to select and package videos. With XProtect, interviewees shared that it takes very little time to find the right video by using smart search parameters and then to package the video for sharing. They reported a 20% to 40% faster claim resolution time.
  As the IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores observed, “Downloading video previously would take hours and now takes minutes; it’s thousands of dollars saved per week in just pulling videos.”

Modeling and assumptions. Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Before the Milestone XProtect platform investment, the composite organization had five security operators who spent an average of 6 hours each day on surveillance for investigations.

• With XProtect, operators save 30% of their time in the first year. This percentage increases to 60% over the next two years as they become more familiar with the solution’s features and capabilities and more efficient in using them.

Risks. The potential risks that could impact the realization of this benefit include:

• The interviewed organizations varied in the number of security operators as well as the volume of cases handled each week, which results in variances in the amount of time saved on the investigations.

• Different organizations will experience different levels of benefit depending on the previous system they were using prior to Milestone XProtect, as organizations moving from legacy analog systems will see much larger impacts on their investigation timelines and effort compared to organizations moving from more modern surveillance systems.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $243,000.

Server Licensing And Operations Cost Savings

Evidence and data. By using XProtect, the interviewees’ organizations were able to reduce their server footprints, thereby reducing the number of operating system and database licenses and related operational costs. The savings were due to the following:

• More efficient core engines. The interviewees’ organizations reported that the highly optimized core engine of XProtect could achieve a throughput rate of three GBps as compared to their previous solution that only gave a throughput of 300 to 600 MBps, which translates to significant savings in server costs.

• High density server capacity. With XProtect, the organizations were able to run a higher number of cameras per server. On average, most organizations achieved a 50% to 80% increase in the number of cameras per server, which meant they could run the same number of cameras with fewer servers, resulting in savings in server operating costs and license costs.

• Saving in licenses. With the previous system, the organizations had to pay separately to license operator workstations, which is not the case with XProtect. In addition, due to fewer servers needed to run the cameras, the organizations were able to save on the database and operating system licenses. The organizations also saved on the operating expenses for the unused servers, which was around 20% of the overall server cost. As an IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores remarked, “We’re not paying for many database licenses like we were before, which are very expensive.”

Modeling and assumptions. For this benefit, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization is able to increase the number of cameras per server from 100 to 150. For a deployment scenario of 500 cameras, this translates to a reduction of two servers.

• The average cost of a server is $5,000.

• With the reduction in servers, there is no direct saving on the server cost, as this has already been incurred. However, the composite organization saves on the OS and database licenses, which is assumed at $4,000 per server in the first year and then 15% in Year 2 and Year 3. The composite organization also saves on the operating expenses for the unused servers at 20% of overall server cost.

Risks. Risks that could impact the realization of this benefit include:

• The actual savings in infrastructure and licensing costs will vary depending on the actual number of servers and the cameras running on each server and the previous setup and system architecture.

• The quantum of benefits will also depend on how optimized and up to date the current server stack is.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $13,000.

Integrations Cost Avoidance

Evidence and data. The interviewees stated that prior to adopting XProtect, their organizations had to procure licenses and invest significant time and effort integrating their surveillance systems with various third-party applications, such as number plate recognition and building management systems among others.

• Prebuilt plugins and third-party integrations. XProtect’s open platform provides access to prebuilt plugins and ready-to-use third-party integrations, which eliminated the need for costly custom development and reduced licensing expenses.

• Open SDK (software development kit) and API support. XProtect comes with an open SDK as part of its standard offering, which allowed developers at the interviewees’ organizations to create custom built integrations rapidly using APIs with third-party applications, thereby saving on integration costs.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite carries out four integration projects each year.

• Four technicians spend an average of 30 hours per integration project.

• The average cost of a license for a third-party application is $5,000.

Risks. This benefit will vary by organization depending on which third-party applications are integrated and the average price each organization pays for licensing. The effort needed for integration can also vary substantially depending on the complexity of the system.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $106,000.

Administration And Maintenance Productivity Improvement

Evidence and data. All the interviewees’ organizations highlighted that XProtect made it much easier to manage and monitor all the deployed cameras and connected peripherals from one centralized management console.

• The head of operations at a major retail chain noted, “Checking each machine previously took probably about 5 minutes, with 94 different machines … now in 5 minutes, I can check all 2,600 cameras and I can see if they’re offline or not.”

• A technical operations supervisor at an education center explained how XProtect has freed up their technicians’ time to perform higher value tasks, rather than them spending time on basic system monitoring and maintenance. He said, “It saves my technicians’ time. … They don’t have to drive over to the other side of the campus if they can sit there and watch 3 minutes of video instead.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has around five technicians who spend an average of 8 hours each week performing basic maintenance and monitoring.

• They also spend roughly around 10 hours each week doing routine administrative tasks like conducting user management, installing software updates, and performing system checks.

• With XProtect’s user-friendly centralized management hub and built-in smart maps, the technicians are able to reduce the time spent on maintenance and monitoring by 50% in Year 1 and 80% in Years 2 and 3.

• XProtect’s automation allows technicians to manage servers, updates, and installations seamlessly from a single hub, which helps save 40% of effort on administrative activities in Year 1, increasing to 70% by Years 2 and 3. The model assumes a learning curve in understanding the system.

Risks. Different organizations will experience different levels of benefits.

• There is variation in the reported time savings between interviewees’ organizations.

• Organizations may also have different deployment characteristics for their cameras and other peripheral devices, leading to variances in the benefit experienced.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $189,000.

Unquantified Benefits

Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:

• Hardware reuse. One of the biggest benefits interviewees noted is that XProtect’s open platform meant they were able to reuse their existing cameras and avoid investing in new costly hardware. This was often one of the key criteria for going with Milestone XProtect because previous systems would not allow existing hardware (e.g., cameras) to be integrated with their software. Organizations would need to purchase cameras from the software provider to connect hardware and software.
  The security manager at a logistics company said: “XProtect provides flexible support and has a lot of functions; there’s a lot of opportunity to integrate different cameras. So we have installed [existing] cameras or the scanner on the roof and have had the opportunity to integrate the systems without needing to replace them.”

• Theft prevention. Interviewees found that by implementing Milestone XProtect, the number of thefts at their retail stores reduced dramatically. However, when there were incidents of theft, the time to investigate was faster than previous systems.
  The head of internal audit and security at a chain of retail stores said: “When we installed this system, we had 11 [overnight burglaries] in a 12-month period — and we haven’t had any security issues since.”
  The IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores said, “Every customer knows when they walk in the door, they are being monitored, and just the knowledge that people are being monitored reduces that theft aspect.”

• Increased event security. Interviewees stated that events were safer and easier to monitor with Milestone XProtect. They also reinforced that fewer security guards were needed to patrol the events, resulting in reduced costs.
  The head of internal audit and security at a chain of retail stores said: “We expect to have approximately 100 events with more than 500 attendees. … Without Milestone XProtect, we would have to place six security guards. Now we can do it with one operator.”

• Enhanced public safety. Interviewees found that Milestone XProtect has aided in increased public safety due to the consistent monitoring and speed at which police departments are able to access and respond to alarms. Additionally, the footage allows interviewees to have proof of crimes and process claims. The technical operations supervisor at an education center said, “When that alarm happens and the video is linked, it will automatically pull up the video for our police dispatchers on their PCs, allowing them to respond faster to incidents.”

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Milestone XProtect and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:

• Easier integration. Interviewees stated that the flexibility of Milestone XProtect enabled them to integrate more easily with preexisting hardware (e.g., cameras), and that it takes less time than prior systems and other software.
  The technical operations supervisor at an education center said: “Another thing we really like about XProtect is its integration to monitoring software. We have every one of our cameras integrated and associated with the lab to monitor video feeds.”
  The security manager at a logistics company said, “I remember before with our previous system, we spent more or less half a day to integrate a camera and to download the update.”

• Additional use cases. Milestone XProtect allowed interviewees to implement various features that were not possible with other solutions and therefore help resolve/catch incidents more easily by using the detection features.
  The IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores said: “We’re also allowed to use some other analytics. … Analytics would be like knowing when a blue car comes through as opposed to just seeing motion. I can see the differences — this is a car, this is a truck, this is a person, this is a vehicle — and that helps us a lot.”
  The technical operations supervisor at an education center said: “We have a lot of clinical and hospital spaces, so they want to know what’s going on in the lobbies and whether they’re getting too full. So with XProtect having web clients we’re able to create a view for them in their lobby and send it out and say, ‘Here’s your web login, log in and watch your cameras.’”

• Flexible architecture. Interviewees highlighted that Milestone XProtect’s open platform enabled seamless integration with existing hardware such as cameras and third-party software solutions. For example, alarm systems, access control systems, and license plate recognition systems have allowed them to optimize XProtect’s features. This flexibility allowed their organizations to expand functionality and implement additional use cases, such as advanced analytics and automated alerts, which were impossible with previous systems.
  The IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores said: “XProtect also gives us the option to integrate or put any camera into our infrastructure. Before, if we wanted to use any camera that wasn’t from the vendor that we were getting their free software from, that’s where their licensing came in.”
  The IT special projects manager at a chain of retail stores said: “Well, XProtect definitely has a lot, feature-wise. We’ve been able to integrate things like license plate recognition right into the interface using existing cameras.”

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).