IMS Research is a market research firm that was founded in the 1980s. Initially, they focused on the semiconductor industry. Over the last decade, they’ve expanded into most other sectors of the electronics industry, including physical security.  Their 70 person team publishes more than 120 reports annually.

IMS published a report titled IMS Top 2010 CCTV Trends. What was their number #1 Trend? Envysion enthusiasts—here it is:

“2010: The Year For IP Video Surveillance as a Service?”

It has a host of names – Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS), Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS), Remotely Monitored Video – but whatever the name, 2010 will be the year it moves out of the shadows into the limelight.

Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing are common currency in the IT world. Simply put, software is run and data is managed on a remote server rather than a local PC. When applied to video surveillance, cameras can be used to monitor a location but the video will be managed and stored remotely. This technology should prove to be attractive to alarm monitoring centers, telcos/ISPs and installers/integrators alike. It will open up new revenue streams, particularly as video verification of alarms becomes more popular, and new applications such as ‘lone worker protection’ or ‘video bodyguard’ are requested.

VSaaS could be the disruptive force needed for network surveillance to penetrate the low-end of the surveillance market. The current high price of network cameras and the need for reasonable IT skills is limiting the uptake of network video surveillance in smaller sized systems with low camera counts. With VSaaS, the initial system cost is reduced by removing the need for local management and storage, and replacing it with a subscription-based monthly service. Furthermore, users are not required to be proficient with IT as the system management is performed remotely.

Low camera count deployments in offices, retail outlets and commercial premises are currently the domain of analogue cameras. However, VSaaS has the potential to disrupt these markets by providing a similar cost product with the additional advantages of remote monitoring, added features such as ‘lone worker protection’, and no need for ongoing maintenance.

Envysion coined the name “Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS)”. I personally think it the most sticky of the names above. The excerpt from IMS Research’s report only scratches the surface on why MVaaS will have a major impact—and this impact will not be limited to “surveillance”, as MVaaS helps businesses achieve greater profitability and brand consistency through practices that would not be viewed as “security” or “surveillance”.

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An article titled “Market for surveillance systems to reach $41B in 2014”, written by J. Bosasia, was published by The SecurityInfoWatch. It was based on a recent research report published by ABI Reseach. Interesting excerpts:

• Global sales of video surveillance systems are expected to reach $41 billion in 2014, up from $19.4 billion this year, a nearly 15% compound annual growth rate, says ABI Research.
• New technology is sparking the rise. Familiar closed-circuit analog video systems with grainy pictures…are giving way to more costly systems that rely on Internet standards to transmit data…
• Retailers and restaurant chains are among those most quickly adopting these new systems, to guard against theft and to help gauge the effectiveness of product displays.
• “Once video surveillance gets embedded into business processes, it’s probably there to stay,” said Stan Schatt, wireless security practice director at ABI Research.
• “Retailers have cut back spending in some areas, but they’re still investing in theft prevention,” Schatt said. “They’re plowing money into security because as the economy goes down, shoplifting goes up.”
• Some major tech vendors are building businesses in this fragmented field. They include Cisco Systems, Honeywell and Samsung. Camera makers such as Pelco, Panasonic and Stanley are also active. Privately held systems vendors include Envysion, Cernium and IntelliVision.
• “With IP (Internet protocol) systems, you can send the information back to a central site for analysis,” Schatt said. “It’s no longer just having security guards with fat stomachs eating doughnuts and staring at video screens all day.”
• Louisville, Colo.-based Envysion offers a Web-based video service to manage cash register transactions. By aiming cameras at each register and noting when cash drawers are opened without a sale, restaurants and stores can reduce losses from thefts or voided sales. Envysion won a contract in July to install video systems for the O&M Restaurant Group, a Burger King franchisee, at 14 BK outlets in and near Oklahoma City. Envysion also has systems in some 800 outlets of the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant chain, among others.
• In addition, marketing execs can use video feeds to assess in-store customer reactions to new product launches. And store managers use the system to improve training programs and business processes.

No article on this topic is complete without a quote from Envysion CEO Matt Steinfort. “We enable multiple operators to use video across a large number of people and sites in a meaningful way to understand their business better and to improve profitability,” Matt said, and added customers can improve profit by 10% to 15% within months of adopting the service.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Archana Rao was also quoted: “A huge untapped market . . . is opening the doors to some real activity in this market in the coming years.”

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Are you a superstar product manager with a strong software and SaaS background?

Envysion’s Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) enables multi-unit operators to easily leverage remote video to better understand their business and improve profitability 10-15% without straining the IT organization or network. Envysion enables the fastest deployment of video to the broadest group of people with the least implementation costs, maximizing bottom line impact.

Envysion has a tremendous opportunity for the right person to step into the best product management opportunity in Colorado. We have an incredibly talented team that is without peer in the video and security markets. We’ve got a proven, scalable service that has a material and demonstrated ROI for an increasing number of very happy and large national customers in a big and expanding market. Our near term funnel is growing exponentially through both direct sales and channels. Our award-winning service is truly differentiated and is disrupting a traditional old-school technology market. Our SaaS and agile development model enables us to continually improve and enhance the service to meet our customers’ growing needs (we have releases every two weeks!). We’ve never had a dedicated product manager, instead sharing the responsibility across the executive team, so there is huge potential to come in and help shape our service and the company. We’ve got strong financial backing and are about to launch a major growth initiative. What more could you want as a product manager?

What you would get to do:

• Work directly with customers and prospects to define product requirements that help them maximize their ROI
• Shape requirements into feature enhancements or new services and help prioritize these for our development team
• Price and package our capabilities into things our sales people and channels can sell
• Communicate our services to existing and prospective customers
• Collect and analyze feedback and stats from customers on what is working and what isn’t
• Be part of an exciting and growing company that is reshaping an industry
• Have a boatload of fun

What we need from you:

• Experience managing software or rapidly advancing technology products
• Passion, enthusiasm and energy for delivering value to customers
• Some GUI/user interface expertise and familiarity with Web 2.0 concepts
• Lots of creativity
• Strong financial/business sense
• Familiarity with agile development (you won’t be managing the technical team, but you’ll need to be comfortable with this rapid approach to product development)
• Very effective communication skills
• To be a positive addition to our company and a fit with our team-oriented and customer focused culture

Details, details:

• Full-time position in our Louisville, CO office
• Title would be Manager or Director of Product Management, depending on experience
• Not looking for a VP of Marketing or VP of Product – looking for someone to do, not to manage product function – please don’t respond if you aren’t good with that
• Salary, stock and benefits based on experience and commensurate with similar positions in other VC-backed startups

If you are interested, AND YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR, shoot Matt Steinfort a note at msteinfort@envysion.com

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Steve Wilson, the veteran account executive at Envysion, wrote a blog post titled The Right Tool for the Job.

We funded Envysion a few years’ ago.  The underlying investment thesis was that a Software as a Service approach to video surveillance would be superior for customers who wanted to view video from dozens or hundreds of locations.    A consistent question we faced was “will there be any features or capabilities that cannot be done through a traditional solution?”.  This turned out to be a hard question to answer.

Certainly a SaaS approach promised dramatic efficiencies to administrators and users.  Many of these are proving to be game-changers.  But most of the capabilities could be provided via a traditional solution (albeit in a far inferior way).   However, identifying capabilities that simply can’t be replicated was less obvious.

Enter My Clips.  Envysion’s MVaaS solution allows a user to point-and-click a interesting video clip to a personal folder in the computing/server cloud.  The URL for this clip can then be sent to other users.  Also, a “friends” list can be maintained to allow others–such as all the store managers in California–to view certain clips.

MyClips enables video to be viewed and shared in ways that traditional systems simply aren’t equipped to handle.  MyClips is becoming one of the most tangible answers to “what features does MVaaS enable that are unique?”.

Thanks Steve for the post.

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Below is a screen shot from an Envysion customer location.  It is one of the first Envysion-implementations of Megapixal cameras.   Quite a stark contrast from the grainy video surveillance shots we know so well.

As you glance at this picture, consider the following:

• Multiple days of 24×7 video are stored at the customer location.
• This is a snapshot of a live feed being viewed via Envysion’s MVaaS.  Either live or stored video is viewable with this clarity.
• DSL is the broadband connection being used at this customer location–and it is being shared by the credit card verification and other applicatons.  The video is designed so as not to interfere with the higher priority uses.
• DSL is obviously a limitation.  However, since the video is being stored at high frame rates on the local DVR, the Envysion MVaaS allows access to higher density viewing options.
• As customers deploy these megapixal cameras, higher bandwidth connections will follow.   More high-resolution video could be viewed and stored remotely.

To learn more about MVaaS, visit Managed Video Blog or Envysion.

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John Honovich is the founder of IP Video Market Info.  John is without question an expert in video surveillance.  John headed up product management for 3VR Security, where he helped design video analytic and facial recognition software for the banking and retail market.  John was also general manager of Sensormatic Hawaii where he led large scale military deployments of IP and wireless video surveillance. Before entering the Physical Security industry, John was a senior engineer designing IP Video over DSL networks for telecommunication carriers.  John provides a monthly news letter that is closely followed by the IP Video Surveillance space.

In the February edition, John wrote the following:

Why Milestone and Envysion get Good Coverage: I had a few complaints about my coverage on these companies (from their competitors). There’s a very simple reason how they get good coverage and other people can as well. Milestone and Envysion do 3 things: (1) They publish a lot of content – they have blogs, they do interviews, etc. (2) They are willing to admit problems they are facing and (3) They let me speak to their engineering team directly. On the contrary, if all you do is issue press releases and marketing brochures (which is the most common tactic in the industry), there’s very little knowledge to share. However, when companies talk about real problems (like Envysion did with the tough retail market and Milestone did when disclosing slower growth rates), this is useful and helpful information to the community. In the same manner, letting me speak with your engineering team, helps me build confidence in your product offerings. Manufacturers need to appreciate that their PR/marketing people generally sound exactly alike – “we are the most cost-effective, scalable, feature rich platform on the market, etc., etc.” It’s only when I get to talk to engineers (and product mangers) that I can technically qualify the claims made. Following any of the 3 practices above will help manufacturers and the community get better information.

Envysion’s blog is Managed Video Blog.

I appreciate John’s comment for two reason.  First (and obvious) is that it is flattering to Envysion.   Second, it gets to the heart of why candid blogging and information sharing in general can be beneficial to a company, particularly when they desire to be among the leaders in an emerging space.

Tomorrow:  do you want to be an investor in Envysion?

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“Add Video Surveillance to your Managed Services Portfolio,” writes blogger Joe Panetteri

InformationWeek published:  Envysion Makes A Strong Case For Managed Video As A Service

Lee Badman, whose name made him especially qualified to cover this topic, wrote: “the more we tinkered with the Envysion framework, both in our test area and in several real-world businesses, the more places we could picture it in use for secure, managed video.”  I agree, Lee.

Badman emphasized that the versatility of Envysion’s MVaaS opens up possibilities that extend way beyond the security connotation of video surveillance.  Marketing, tightening of operational processes, and training are enhanced.  The result for customers: better profitability as well as peace of mind.

Thank you Mr. Badman and InformationWeek for covering Envysion.  Once again, congrats to the Envysion team for a job well done.

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An Envysion customer was the focal point in the CNN Money article “Monitoring the staff pays off“.  The tag line for the article: Installing online cameras helped one restaurant owner boost profits by 40%.

“I couldn’t believe it,” says Ryan Elmore, the owner of few small restaurants. “You may trust your employees, but you don’t know what happens when you walk out that door.”

What did Ryan find out?

The restaurant manager on duty went home minutes after Elmore left. Servers sat at tables, sent text messages on their cellphones, and gave free meals to friends. Cooks took multiple cigarette breaks each hour and cut corners making his signature fettuccine Alfredo.

What does Ryan look for?

Elmore can log in online, view a receipt, and call up the video of that transaction. He can see whether employees cleaned the restaurant when they said they would. He knows whether they’re smiling at customers. And if a customer’s order arrives at the table late or if employees are helping themselves to meals, Elmore sees it.

Ryan says Envysion’s Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) paid for itself:

Elmore and his business partner and wife, Janel, noticed plenty of times when Pepper Jack’s was overstaffed. They adjusted employee schedules accordingly and cut labor costs by 5%, or about $50,000 a year.

Food costs dropped 3% because servers stopped giving friends free meals – something the Elmores now identify immediately by reviewing voided receipts and watching the accompanying videos. In two years the restaurant’s losses from voided tickets dropped from $168 a day to $50 a day.

Pepper Jack’s profits grew 43% last year, by $60,000. In a year when rising food and fuel prices have crippled neighboring restaurants, Elmore was able to cut his operating costs by $100,000.

“‘It’s like your own private, internal YouTube,’ says Matt Steinfort, CEO of Envysion.”

Thank you CNN Money for publishing this article.  Congratulations Ryan Elmore on how you have been able to generate more profits and strengthen your brand.  Envysion Team:  well done!!!!!

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Darren Loher is one of the chief technical gurus at Envysion.  He also is a regular contributor to Managed Video as a Service blog.

In a recent post, Darren offered insightful observations about how MVaaS will progress over the coming years.  Excerpt:

“Operating a managed video system at scales of over a million cameras is something that’s going to take considerable “know-how” that only comes from having “been there and done that” over years of learning.”

If you have interest in MVaaS–or more generally how a new Internet category evolves, please read through his post.

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