Milestone believes that making Xprotect Essential free gives thousands of new users the chance to take advantage of Milestone’s award winning software for use in businesses, organisations and at home. Xprotect Essential is designed to provide a professional-grade safety experience as a standalone video security solution. It provides users with access to their system from anywhere via three different free and easy-to-use clients. The system has motion detection triggered-recording and the full range of Milestone export functions enabling users to deliver video evidence to law enforcement with a few clicks.

This free version of Xprotect Essential 2016 R3 supports up to 8 cameras from the more than 5,000 supported devices currently supported by Xprotect VMS. This enables users to freely pick the perfect cameras for their needs. The registration has to be renewed every 12 months for the systems to remain functional. Xprotect Smart client, Milestone Mobile and Xprotect Web Client are all supported by this free VMS. These clients are standard Milestone clients with full functionality.

Upon registration, users of the free Xprotect Essential gain access to the Milestone 24/7 online support community dedicated to Xprotect Essential.

An Xprotect Essential 2016 R2 installation can be extended through the use of a subscription pack for a low yearly fee. The subscription pack includes eight additional camera licenses and Milestone Care Plus for one year enabling users to utilise Connected Services such as Push Notifications for Mobile Clients, Smart Connect - ease of deployment for Mobile Client and the Customer Dashboard system monitoring service.  Up to five subscription packs can be added to one system for a maximum of 48 supported cameras.

Xprotect Essential follows the same high frequency release schedule as the rest of the Xprotect products meaning that this software will be constantly updated even though it is free and it can easily be upgraded to Xprotect Express or other advanced Milestone VMS solutions if the need for extra functionality in the form of Xprotect add-ons, interconnection of systems or more advanced features arises.

“With this release of a fully functional, but free version of our award winning VMS software, we are showing our dedication to open platform technology and our Milestone community,” says Kirsten Højland, Vice President of Global Marketing, Milestone Systems. “We strongly believe that our users should be free to choose the right VMS for any situation. We want our users to become part of a vibrant community moving towards a world where visual business systems make a difference.”