Milestone - Cloud on the Horizon

The cloud on the horizon How to make the transition to cloud technology simple and easy

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CLOUD COMPUTING HAS TRANSFORMED ENTIRE INDUSTRIES. There are few organisations today with business models or products and services that aren’t influenced by the cloud.

Now, the technologies available today allow us to

Yet, for many, the cloud and the terminology surrounding

rethink the way we design business systems, and video

it can be difficult to understand. Especially because the

management systems (VMS) in particular. Both on-premise

common understanding of ‘the cloud’ and its opportunities

and cloud-based VMS systems offer different benefits, and

is constantly evolving.

an organisation should consider what best meets its own needs. This white paper will help you make that choice.

To help you figure out the cloud and how it fits into your video management strategy, Milestone has created

According to Gartner, the cloud computing market is

this white paper. It will help you better understand the

expected to grow by 17% in 2020 to total $266.4 billion

opportunities for cloud computing (and its use cases), the

worldwide, up from $227.8 billion in 2019. As Gartner

benefits of using cloud computing, the security of the cloud,

reports, cloud adoption has become mainstream with many

how Milestone is embracing cloud computing, and the

next-generation solutions only accessible to businesses that

benefits of this move to end-users and resellers.

use the cloud. That’s why up to a third of total IT spend is on cloud investments - preparing many businesses for a cloud-first future. For example, the majority of smart city infrastructure will use the cloud to communicate, transfer, and analyse data to improve operations and public safety.

The cloud on the horizon

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WHAT IS THE CLOUD? Cloud computing, also known as the cloud, is the use of computing resources such as servers, databases, data storage, data analysis, networking, software applications, and automation/machine learning, over the Internet.

This provides the ability to innovate and iterate more

It signals a big shift from the traditional way that business

quickly with less risk (due to scalable costs), scale

leaders think about IT resources, from the large upfront

operations more cost-effectively and flexibly, and benefit

investment needed for on-premise solutions to the

from economies of scale.

ongoing and flexible regular costs associated with different cloud solutions.

The types of cloud computing There are three types of cloud that organisations can use, public (available to anyone to purchase), private (IT

Public available to anyone to purchase

services are delivered over a private infrastructure for one organisation), and hybrid (a mix of the two).

The vast majority of organisations use public cloud services like AWS (Amazon Web Services). In a recent survey, the number of respondents adopting the public cloud is 91%, while those using a private cloud is 72%. Some 69% of these

Private IT services are delivered over a private infrastructure for one organisation

respondents use at least one private and one public cloud solution, taking a hybrid approach. For the purposes of this white paper, we will focus on the public cloud, as it provides the global infrastructure, system performance, product innovation and scalability necessary to run a VMS effectively.

Hybrid a mix of the two

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WHY MOVE TO THE CLOUD? You may be wondering why your organisation should invest in cloud computing in the first place, especially if on-premise solutions have served you well for decades.

Simply put, today’s cloud computing services are only the

shifting to cloud-only business models (30% of technology

beginning of what’s in store for business leaders. Forward-

providers’ new software investments were cloud-only in

thinking technology like automation, advanced data

2019). By failing to invest in the cloud, your organisation is

analysis, and artificial intelligence (AI) are underpinned by

writing itself out of many incoming innovations.

the cloud.

This is why cloud computing is a top priority for many By 2022, Gartner predicts that the market size and growth

business leaders. More than a third of organisations see

of the cloud services industry will be three times the growth

cloud investments as a top-three investing priority.

of overall IT services. Some software vendors are already

Benefits are leading adoption The benefits of moving to the cloud are also encouraging

of computing resources can be provisioned in minutes,

more leaders to experiment with cloud technology. Cloud

taking the pressure off of capacity planning.

computing is scalable to each business’ needs, making it more cost-effective and responsive to up and downturns

The cloud computing services offered by Amazon run on a

in the market. Organisations only have to pay for the

worldwide network of secure data centres that are regularly

resources that they use. There is also a faster time-to-

upgraded. This gives greater performance compared to

market for mission-critical services and applications, and the

a single corporate data centre, as well as continuity and

ability to scale to new markets and locations. Vast amounts

reliability benefits.

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THE CLOUD AND VIDEO MANAGEMENT Using the cloud for VMS usually removes much of the friction associated with cost, maintenance, and the hardware dependencies involved in setting up and maintaining an on-premise system.

The cloud can provide the same, full-feature compatibility

Again, that’s not to say that the cloud will – or should –

as an on-premise VMS, with instant access to the power and

replace on-premise VMS completely. As has been made

storage necessary to run a system.

clear already, each approach has its benefits: what works for one organisation may not work for another.

A cloud-based VMS can also be dynamically scaled to meet an organisation’s needs, removing worries about capacity

Even then, it’s expected that cloud and on-premise solutions

planning, storage hardware, software maintenance or the

will overlap in various forms of converged and hybrid

‘heavy lifting’ often involved in installing an on-premise VMS.

set-ups that will serve to protect the investment made in

Lower total cost of ownership is also possible through the

on-premise video management technology and allow for

lower upfront capital costs moving to the cloud typically

optimum functionality and load distribution - while adding

provides, as well as the greater efficiency and utilisation it

elements of cloud capabilities.

can deliver.

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SECURITY AND THE CLOUD The major service providers invest significant sums in securing their data centres, both digitally and physically. This is because many have built their entire business on the same cloud platform.

It makes security a top priority for cloud providers, any

that run AWS services. Its data centres are sited in different

breach will impact the core operations of the provider

locations around the world, while data is stored across

as well as any customers hosted on its cloud. This is why

different servers, with different power supplies, providing

the likes of Amazon invest billions in security research,

so-called ‘redundancy’ and allowing users to access their

innovation, and protection.

data at any time in the knowledge that it is safe and secure.

What’s more, cloud providers’ systems and processes are

Cloud providers such as AWS are responsible for securing

often audited by third-parties as a way to instil confidence

the global infrastructure that underpins your cloud service,

and ensure compliance with a variety of global security

including the hardware, software, networking, and facilities

standards and regulations.

Cloud versus on-premise security

Up-to-date capabilities

Beyond this, the cloud offers higher security compared

The cloud’s infrastructure also makes security architecture

to on-premise networks that may have become overly complex as they have grown, and which typically incorporate aging IT infrastructure - creating vulnerabilities in the system. These networks tend to accumulate many different security technologies (more than 20 on average) that do not integrate or share a common management system. Making it difficult for an in-house IT team to maintain. Worse still, the various technologies may impede

changes much easier to implement. Whereas with an onpremise system, changing vendors or tool types is often difficult and expensive due to complexity, with the cloud, such capabilities are done ‘as a service’. This means that customers can easily trial new capabilities in their cloud environments to assess the suitability and effectiveness of each tool. Helping them to build effective and efficient security processes that are up-to-date with the latest

one another on threat detection and enforcement.

advancements and threats.

In comparison, cloud providers use the same security

Physical security

capabilities throughout their infrastructure, making it

Cloud data centres are highly physically secure. Certified

much harder for potential hackers to find and exploit

data centres have 24-hour monitoring, fingerprint locks,

vulnerabilities. Coupled with consistent patching and

and guards. Such data centres are more secure than

monitoring, this makes the solutions extremely well

almost all on-site data centres. Plus, because redundancy

protected and - if an intruder does manage to get in - data

is built in, business continuity is ensured regardless

is nearly always stored in an encrypted format that must

of physical threats like fire, earthquakes or other

be unscrambled to be of use. Essentially, the cloud gives

emergencies.

organisations of any size enterprise-grade security that may not have been affordable to them otherwise.

Covered by the cloud provider A final security benefit comes in costs and maintenance.

When securing your data in the cloud, there are no costs to maintaining the facilities or hardware. This is done by the cloud provider. So, all you have to invest in is software-based security tools to monitor and protect the flow of information in and out of your cloud resources.

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CLOUD BENEFITS TO END-USERS The benefits derived from using the cloud makes it particularly ideal for large and multi-site enterprises, as well as public organisations and those investing in smart city solutions. For end-users shifting to using a VMS in the cloud, there are several benefits to the move:

Investment shifts

Scalability

The cloud offers a reduced upfront investment (CAPEX

End-users will also benefit from greater scalability as new

- capital expenditure) as organisations don’t have to

resources can be provisioned within minutes if needed.

pay for server and storage hardware. Instead, ongoing

If demand suddenly spikes, with a cloud solution you

costs (usually monthly or annual) allow organisations

can quickly upscale to meet this new demand and then

to procure the hardware needed to operate but as an

downscale to regular levels when appropriate. In contrast,

operating expense (OPEX). This allows for variable costs

with an on-premise solution, you have to set a maximum

that scale with usage. Not having a CAPEX investment

workload level in advance and, once this ceiling is met,

can also improve cash-flow as there are more financial

it can take days if not weeks to provision the increased

resources available to invest in other areas. OPEX costs

resources. If these greater demands are no longer

are also more predictable and can be planned for. Plus,

required, the upgraded on-premise resources often have

with a CAPEX infrastructure investment (like with on-

to be retained.

premises solutions) you will often have to buy for your organisation’s maximum workload, instead of scaling to demand.

Global scalability is also easier. Multi-site installations, for example, can be rolled out in any of the cloud provider’s covered regions (for AWS this is North America, South America, Europe, China, Asia Pacific, South Africa, and the Middle East). Finally, devices and sites can be temporarily added to the service when needed and then taken down with minimal effort.

Cost-efficiencies

Increased hardware reliability and security

Users only have to pay for the computing power, storage

As discussed previously, moving to the cloud enables

and other resources used. This offers greater utilisation of

end-users to benefit from a cloud provider’s significant

resources and cost-efficiencies. Some operations such as

investment in security. The major providers have multiple

server maintenance and physical security are carried out

data centres across the globe and data can be mirrored

by the cloud provider, which provides further cost-savings

in more than one location, allowing for business and

for the end-user.

information continuity in the event of a local catastrophe.

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Benefits to system integrators

Growing your business Instead of doing most of the heavy lifting in installing

For system integrators, several benefits enhance

and maintaining a customer’s XProtect solution, you can

the use of Milestone products like XProtect, and

focus on value-added services like consulting. Instead of

that continues the natural development of the

ordering, buying, and unboxing, racking and stacking the

VMS on-site:

solution, when deployed over the cloud, installation can take mere minutes.

A competitive edge and differentiator Supporting the use of the cloud in video management will help set your business apart from the competition. Helping you to cater to customers across the entire cloud adoption spectrum, from those looking solely at on-premise solutions to others who wish to embrace the cloud.

Addressing new market segments Support installation via the cloud will help system installers meet the need of a growing segment of customers who are increasingly leveraging cloud services in video management. It taps into the growing trend of bringing the cloud to on-premise applications like video surveillance. Furthermore, it can offer a global scale, with providers like AWS operating out of regions worldwide, from North America to Asia, Europe to the Middle East.

Reduced friction Simplified dimensioning, ordering, and installation of server hardware creates a more seamless customer journey and reduces risk. Whereas before, it could take weeks or even months to specify, buy, and install the right hardware and software, installing XProtect via the cloud is possible within 20 minutes.

Reducing on-site service visits Trivial support cases can be addressed remotely, reducing the number of on-site visits you have to make and decreasing associated time, resource, and financial costs.

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MILESTONE ON THE CLOUD: XPROTECT ON AWS Deploying Milestone XProtect on AWS provides the best of both worlds to existing customers, prospects, and installers.

XProtect on AWS offers a new way of designing XProtect systems. It reduces on-premise hardware and leverages AWS’ Infrastructure and Platform as a Service to remove the friction involved in setting up and maintaining on-site VMS systems.

The result is a highly flexible VMS solution with elastic compute, storage, and networking, that can be scaled in minutes to adjust to the distributed needs of any business.

XProtect on AWS provides a user-experience identical to that of on-premise, allowing organisations to benefit from cloud

Milestone will offer two products within the AWS Marketplace: XProtect Essential+: This is Milestone’s free fullyfeatured XProtect product for up to 8 cameras/devices. The product is staged with virtual cameras, pre-recorded Stable FPS streams, and web/mobile access to provide an instant out-of-box experience.

XProtect VMS - BYOL: This is Milestone’s XProtect with the same full feature compatibility as XProtect on-premise.

It can be activated to run any XProtect product and requires a paid license sold through Milestone’s existing channels.

computing and deploy a solution with minimum friction and maintenance requirements.

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THE BENEFITS OF XPROTECT ON AWS With XProtect on AWS, customers will benefit from dynamic

installed without redeploying the entire system. XProtect’s

scaling of compute, storage, and networking, so they no

deployment can also be complemented with AWS’ other

longer have to worry about capacity planning, storage

services, enabling customers to design systems that fully fit

hardware, or software maintenance. The solution can

their needs.

be rolled out in any AWS Region, including within AWS GovCloud (US) regions for government facilities and highly

Using XProtect on AWS, customers will only have to pay for

regulated organisations. Cross-regional deployments and

the resources that they use, optimising their cost structure

multi-site installations are also possible, catering to global

by turning OPEX into CAPAX.

organisations’ video management needs.

Remote or temporary sites can be easily added to your VMS system in just a few clicks, and XProtect upgrades can be

Licensing

Training courses

Availability

Milestone will follow a BYOL (Bring

For those interested in learning how

Milestone’s first product in AWS

Your Own License) model. Using any

to run XProtect on AWS, Milestone

Marketplace will be the XProtect

XProtect license sold by Milestone’s

will offer a training and eLearning

2020 R2 release available from June

current distribution channel further

program to all channel partners and

9, 2020, in all AWS availability zones

simplifies the migration to the cloud

end-customers free of charge. The

worldwide.

and ensures that no customer is left

following courses will be available.

behind in this new transition to the

Visit our website to book your place.

cloud. a) Exploring Milestone Cloud Solutions b) Communicating AWS value c) Designing XProtect on AWS d) Deploying XProtect on AWS

The cloud on the horizon

Ready to start exploring?

Whether you are an end-user interested in XProtect on AWS, or a system installer keen to see how offering XProtect on AWS can provide new business opportunities, find out more by visiting here.

For more information visit: www.milestonesys.com