Avigilon is doing CCTV systems for corporations, who need multiple 100+ cameras systems.. And they have good integrated solution for that (especially VMS / software side, camera hardware is mediocre at best). Price is from the hell, but they have many advantages for that big integrations...
They don't want doing smaller system or have anything to do with smaller installers...
ps. How Mobotix is doing? I did 10+ years ago a few installs with Mobotix dual cam domes and Mobotix intercoms - but customers weren't happy (no h264, strange MJPEG, bad mobile apps, no IR support, no NVR). 2 years ago all those systems were replaced by Dahua..
Then why did they tell me that they had a bunch of small time integrators as partners that they needed to get rid of before they could bring us on?
We were doing enough business that I met with the Mobotix CEO when he came in from Germany. His request, not mine. Our company is all active/retired law enforcement. Including some pretty high ranking ex-bosses with the juice to get big contracts.
I'm sure how Mobotix is doing.
We got away from it for three reasons:
1. No WDR. No solid plan to implement it three years after $100 cameras had it.
2. Absolutely horrific software. The old CEO decided to design the software for touch screens and then try to adapt that for PCs. Literally the least intuitive piece of software that I ever used. Microsoft tried that with Windows 8. We all know how that worked out.
3.
HORRIFIC distributors.
It was the issues with the distributors that led us to get away from it.
For my first demo set, I bought from an outfit in Texas. They ended up running an unauthorized charge for additional cameras on my card that I never ordered. Never used them again.
I ended up going to a distributor in Northern VA. Another shit show. Orders were by phone and they constantly messed them up. But once again, the big thing was billing errors. On multiple occasions, they tried to bill me for things ordered by other companies.
One of my big flags when dealing with any business is employee turnover. Some industries--like hair salons and food service--normally have high turnover. But when I'm buying cameras, and I call and my salesman is "no longer with the company." Then the new guy is gone within four weeks. And the next guy gone within six weeks.... Tells me that the owner is treating his employees like shit.
If a person will screw over someone he sees every single day, you can better believe that they will screw over a customer that they may only deal with a few times.
After getting another five figure bill for items ordered by another customer, I read Mobotix the riot act. Sell to us direct, or we are out. Mobotix finally agreed to sell to us direct. Then they sent pricing and I laughed. I knew from a former employee that the distributors had been getting things at roughly 50% of MSRP. The pricing I got was roughly what we were getting it from the distributor from. They were going to pocket the extra 25%.
Since we were already unhappy with the product, we switched to Dahua and never looked back.
That said, I'm a huge fan of Ubiquti as of late. While the cameras hardware would need to improve to be average, the Protect ecosystem is phenomenal. And it's way easier to improve cameras than it is to design an incredible ecosystem. I was impressed to the point that I took a six figure stock position in UI.
