printer friendly version

MPOP Middle East a success

Milestone Systems Middle East hosted the eighth and largest ever regional community event on April 12-14th at Sofitel, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.

The Milestone Partner Open Platform (MPOP) Middle East event brought together the wider Milestone ecosystem from the GCC countries, Africa, USA and Europe on the spectacular, man-made Palm Jumeirah. Often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, it seemed quite fitting that close to 300 delegates met with the goal of fostering a collaborative environment for shaping the future of the industry.

Key focus at this year’s MPOP was the shift from an open platform company to community. Welcoming Milestone distributors, end users, software solution partners, camera manufacturers and storage providers, Peter Bilsted, director Milestone MEA, highlighted the value of meeting to share knowledge and best practices in a personal and relaxed atmosphere.

Throughout two vibrant days technology trends, business plans and new initiatives were presented and discussed. 23 partners showcased their latest technologies and experienced how the Milestone Open Platform Community can boost the power of partnership for faster innovation and true customer focus.

Dave Taylor, executive architect, SDSS, IBM Systems creatively chose to illustrate the benefits of the community in his session. He said, “You do not need to make paint to make a masterpiece. The value is knowing what colours to choose and how to apply them in a creative way. The Milestone Open Platform Community allows us to have a good palette of colours to work with, understand that there are often new colours to work with, and to mix the colours to make magic.”

Enabling collective success

Milestone’s Kenneth Hune Petersen, CSMO, and Thomas Lausten, VP EMEA Sales, further emphasised how the community focus benefits partners and customers. “By facilitating knowledge sharing, we create a platform for developments based on collective insights. We accelerate collective innovation which helps maximise the business value of video management systems for partners and customers,” Lausten stated. He went on to announce new initiatives to further strengthen community collaboration including:

• The creation of an advisory board with partners and customers.

• Establishment of a developer forum.

• Enhancement of SDK design and better documentation of the API.

• Implementation of the SDK e-learning.

• Expansion of solution certification.

• Introduction of co-marketing programs.

• Creation of a marketplace on our web site.

Customers to benefit

Claus Rønning, director, Professional Services, presented the new Learning & Performance Programme designed to build greater expertise in designing, installing and configuring solutions that meet customer needs. In addition, Milestone has launched a redesigned Training and Certification Programme as an integral part of the 2016 Channel Partner Programme (CPP).

Partners attending MPOP days expressed great satisfaction with the outcome of the event. Winner of the Milestone Solution Partner Award of the year, Stephen Bose, ICetana says, “As a Milestone Solution Partner, the recent MPOP event in Dubai provided iCetana with a valuable opportunity to engage with Milestone channel partners in the region, potential clients, and key Milestone corporate team members. The consolidated event format was impactful and very worthwhile. We look forward to participating in further Milestone events globally.”

Milestone Partner Awards

On the final night of the conference, Milestone Partner Awards were announced to celebrate top performances in sales for the year 2015:

• Best MSP Partner of the Year 2015 - Middle East: Icetana.

• Best MTP Partner of the Year 2015 - Middle East: Fujitsu.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Middle East: MAB International Services.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - UAE: Tablix Technology LLC.

• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 - UAE: Secure Tech.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Abu Dhabi: Atlas Telecom.

• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 - Abu Dhabi: Al Fahad Smart Systems.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Dubai: MVP Tech General Trading LLC.

• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 - Dubai: G4S UAE.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Oman: Majees Technical Services.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Africa: Cairo Communication Systems.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Egypt: EFADA Technology.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Bahrain: LSS Technology W.L.L.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Qatar: Euro Technologies co.

• Excellence Award – Mecca Project: Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• Best Performing Partner 2015 – Saudi: Etqaan & Metallic Equipment Company.

• Fastest Growing Partner of the Year 2015 – Saudi: Hardware Solution Builders.

• Best Partner of the Year 2015 - Levant: Libatel S.a.r.l.

• Best Distributor of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Network Information Technology.

• Fastest Growing Distributor of the Year 2015 – Middle East: Anixter Middle East.

• Best New Distributor of the Year 2015 – MEA: ZMR Technology Distribution.

Share this article:

Further reading: