May 11, 2021
The MIP SDK not only benefits the customer in creating individualized integrations with Milestone partners but also creates opportunities for Milestone partners to collaborate and grow the channel together. In this article, our partner 6SS explains how the MIP SDK benefits their operations.
About 6SS
Founded in 2013, 6SS is the exclusive training and professional services partner for Milestone in the Middle East and Africa region. As experts in the security and surveillance market, they also offer video analytics and customer-specific integrations with the MIP SDK. 6SS train and meet face-to-face with both system integrators and end customers, putting them in a unique position to collaborate and provide tailored solutions to meet multiple application needs.
6SS plug-ins on marketplace
6SS’s core business is providing services and integrations exclusively for Milestone and XProtect. They currently have 11 plugins on Marketplace and will soon release another nine. This makes 6SS the partner with the largest number of plugins on Marketplace.
Check out 6SS on Marketplace here.
Benefits of the 6SS plugin for Milestone users
Integrated with Milestone Central Search, the 6SS Face Mask Detection plugin is used for easy retrieval of video and image footage of people wearing or not wearing a face mask. Using Intelligent Video Analytics and an object detection approach, the software monitors video streams in near-real time.
Ideal for monitoring multi-branch sites, the 6SS iMonitor plugin enhances XProtect’s Interconnect feature. It offers fast processing and customizations. This plugin can be installed at headquarters and used to monitor all the interconnected sites. It allows customers to add more features, gain greater flexibility, and generate an unlimited number of reports.
Ideal for multi-site environments and huge deployments, the Federator plugin centralizes all XProtect site operations to help companies save time and deliver improved customer support. It includes configuration and reporting in one centralized interface. Administrators can manage and configure multiple XProtect sites, visualize XProtect with dashboards, and create reports.
Ideal for monitoring multi-branch sites, the 6SS iMonitor plugin enhances XProtect’s Interconnect feature. It offers fast processing and customizations. This plugin can be installed at headquarters and used to monitor all the interconnected sites. It allows customers to add more features, gain greater flexibility, and generate an unlimited number of reports.
Ideal for multi-site environments and huge deployments, the Federator plugin centralizes all XProtect site operations to help companies save time and deliver improved customer support. It includes configuration and reporting in one centralized interface. Administrators can manage and configure multiple XProtect sites, visualize XProtect with dashboards, and create reports.
Integration with MIP SDK
6SS has experience using all parts of the MIP SDK. Small implementations typically take one month to develop, test, and document. For larger projects, this can take anywhere from two to six months. Their plugins are tested on two different XProtect versions to ensure compatibility. 6SS found the MIP SDK to be beneficial because:
The Developer Forum and the documentation offer valuable support, especially with customer use cases. Continuously updated, this free source of knowledge allows 6SS to learn from the experiences, and mistakes, of other Milestone partners.
Video Processing Service (VPS) makes it easy to integrate with Linux-based servers.
Video, audio, and metadata features make it easy to retrieve metadata from specific cameras. For instance, 6SS created an integration for a COVID-19 application that measures temperature. The metadata and video are retrieved from the cameras, and the plugin is configurable and can be viewed inside the Smart Client.
The Developer Forum and the documentation offer valuable support, especially with customer use cases. Continuously updated, this free source of knowledge allows 6SS to learn from the experiences, and mistakes, of other Milestone partners.
Video Processing Service (VPS) makes it easy to integrate with Linux-based servers.
Video, audio, and metadata features make it easy to retrieve metadata from specific cameras. For instance, 6SS created an integration for a COVID-19 application that measures temperature. The metadata and video are retrieved from the cameras, and the plugin is configurable and can be viewed inside the Smart Client.
Benefits of working with Milestone
Because of close connection between 6SS and Milestone, when people hear of 6SS they link it to Milestone. This gives customers trust in 6SS services. They can offer their training and services as well as help on other levels with analytics and integrations.
Good experience with Marketplace: It has given 6SS unique opportunities for exposure as well as increased sales. Even without strong marketing efforts, 6SS receives an average of 10 leads per month.
From pricing and product architecture to technicality and business line, 6SS has adopted Milestone’s model in their work. They always adapt processes to align with Milestone’s way of doing things, and this works very well. It creates a way to communicate with customers who are already familiar with Milestone models and can easily adopt the 6SS model.
Good experience with Marketplace: It has given 6SS unique opportunities for exposure as well as increased sales. Even without strong marketing efforts, 6SS receives an average of 10 leads per month.
From pricing and product architecture to technicality and business line, 6SS has adopted Milestone’s model in their work. They always adapt processes to align with Milestone’s way of doing things, and this works very well. It creates a way to communicate with customers who are already familiar with Milestone models and can easily adopt the 6SS model.
We recently worked on a project where we used the MIP SDK to integrate the customer’s internal database with Milestone Central Search. We also integrated a variety of 6SS video analytics and other analytics provided by a Milestone provider specializing in GIS mapping. With this type of setup, we can quickly address any issues, and the customer also benefits because they only need to deal with one single point of contact.
Elias Bechara, Founder and Managing Director of 6SS
Increased business through a strong partner network: The Milestone community is very organic. Instead of looking for competition within the community, 6SS looks for partners they can do business with. This enables everyone to grow the channel together.
6SS actively encourages non-technical partners to integrate with Milestone. This helps Milestone sell products, while 6SS also earns revenue through training and professional services. And, there are further opportunities for integration projects, and maintenance and service to ensure the ecosystem is always kept up to date.
6SS actively encourages non-technical partners to integrate with Milestone. This helps Milestone sell products, while 6SS also earns revenue through training and professional services. And, there are further opportunities for integration projects, and maintenance and service to ensure the ecosystem is always kept up to date.