SJA hears from Michael Alatortsev, Director of Product Strategy and Co-Founder of Monitoreal about how the company stays on the cutting edge of an evolving industry.
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of technology and innovation, with roots in both Silicon Valley and global markets.
My educational background was initially focused on aerospace and propulsion. That foundation gave me a deep understanding of how complex systems work, as well as a structured framework for learning new technologies quickly, which is essential in today’s fast-moving tech world.
I began as a software developer, then moved into management, eventually building and leading teams and companies. Before co-founding Monitoreal, I held senior roles within Meta and Amazon Prime Video.
My Co-Founder, Aydar Yakupov, comes from a similar background. He also has deep expertise in aerospace engineering, chemistry and manufacturing.
We reviewed the state of the video security industry and were both frustrated by the same things: a near-total reliance on cloud infrastructure, lack of control for users, outdated software and hardware components and privacy models that bordered on irresponsible – and that’s what led us to build Monitoreal.
Today, I serve as Director of Product Strategy at the company. My focus is on scaling the business through new product capabilities, sales initiatives and strategic partnerships.
I’m primarily focused on growth in North and South America, although I regularly collaborate with other team members to support our global expansion.
Staying ahead starts with questioning assumptions – especially the industry’s overreliance on cloud platforms, “AI hype,” and business models that prioritize revenue over user value.
At Monitoreal, we ask: what would we build if we weren’t constrained by the status quo?
We actively work with our customers to understand their pain points, real-world challenges and how technology can meaningfully improve their experience.
We’ve also built a company culture that promotes continuous learning. Even those of us focused on strategic decisions – like Aydar or myself – still know how to write code, troubleshoot a detection pipeline or test a large language model (LLM) locally.
We believe that staying hands-on, even as executives, is essential for keeping our edge and making smart product decisions.
I also make it a priority to stay in touch with the broader tech community, including my network in Silicon Valley, and to follow the latest research in AI, edge computing and privacy-preserving technologies.
It’s important to stay grounded in both what’s possible today and what’s coming next.
Right now, there’s a rush to inject LLMs into every product category. While we understand the power of LLMs and know how to leverage this technology, we’ve been intentionally cautious about where and how we introduce it.
Our focus is on delivering reliable, purpose-built features that add real value in the field – not just following trends for the sake of headlines.
We focus on delivering AI-powered features that are fast, private and genuinely helpful. That’s why our object detection engine runs on the edge, analyzing multiple camera feeds in real time, with no internet connection required.
We also invest heavily in R&D – especially around object detection and automation – and partner with technology providers, distributors and monitoring centers to stay close to evolving needs.
That’s how we’ve managed to anticipate industry shifts before they become mainstream, like the growing demand for cloud-free solutions and tighter data sovereignty regulations.
You can secure your property – whether it’s your home, your business or a critical facility – without handing over your private data to cloud servers or accepting that “big tech” owns your video feeds.
We’re not anti-cloud – we just believe you should have the choice.
Security systems shouldn’t be passive or only useful when something goes wrong. Even when a system isn’t “armed,” a good video analytics solution can deliver real business value.
Our platform helps you detect patterns in how people move through your space – whether that’s a retail store, showroom or warehouse.
It can alert you when your store is getting crowded, when lines are forming, when deliveries occur or when foot traffic surges in certain areas.
More importantly, you own the analytics (it’s included with the device) and you don’t have to pay for it each month.
We also support popular integrations such as IMMIX or Bold to ensure your security operations center (SOC) can receive and validate alarms.
AI object detection shifts the focus from constant recording to intelligent monitoring, allowing you to filter out noise and highlight what actually matters: a person loitering after hours, a car entering a restricted area or movement in an unexpected zone.
Edge processing also means minimum latency with truly real-time detection and automated response and deterrence. It will still function when there’s an internet or power outage.
Another overlooked advantage is energy and bandwidth efficiency. Because our AI runs locally at the edge – on the device itself – users don’t need to stream footage to the cloud 24/7.
That dramatically reduces bandwidth usage, which is a big win for rural areas, edge deployments or bandwidth-constrained networks.
Running AI locally also means faster detections and more reliable operation. There’s no need to wait for cloud processing or worry about connectivity outages. Everything happens in real time, directly on the Monitoreal device.
Finally, AI object detection enables truly proactive security. Our system doesn’t just notify you – it can trigger deterrence actions like lights, sirens or relay outputs.
Privacy. We are one of the only companies in the space delivering enterprise-grade AI detection and automation fully on-premise – no cloud required, and no user data ever leaves the device unless explicitly configured.
Flexibility. Monitoreal works with almost any IP camera, including systems customers already have. We’re not pushing expensive proprietary hardware. Our hub acts as an overlay that enhances what’s already in place.
Performance. Our AI hub is optimized for real-world use, capable of monitoring up to 20 cameras at once in real time. The detections are reliable and fast, and we give users granular control over what events matter to them.
We don’t just write software – we design and build our own hardware as well. This gives us full control over the entire system and lets us optimize for power efficiency, performance and reliability.
Our newest products are manufactured in the European Union, where we can maintain higher quality standards and ensure better supply chain oversight.
We’re on a strong growth trajectory globally, and we’re being very intentional about how we scale – balancing innovation, cost and privacy as we expand into new markets.
We’re building out new technology partnerships to strengthen our ecosystem and bring more value to end users. For example, we’re working with partners like NVIDIA to bring next-generation AI capabilities to market – while maintaining the same compact, efficient edge footprint we’re known for.
These collaborations allow us to push the boundaries of what’s possible on-device, without increasing complexity or compromising user privacy.
We’re also advancing our own hardware platform – not just the core security hub, but also key accessories like cameras and relays.
Having control over both the software and hardware stack allows us to deliver fast, reliable and easy-to-deploy solutions for both residential and commercial use.
We’re also expanding the use cases our platform supports. Beyond traditional security, our solutions are being adopted for occupancy analysis, wrong-way detection, traffic heatmaps and other real-time business intelligence applications.
These features are especially valuable in spaces like retail, transportation and logistics – where safety, flow and operational efficiency all matter.
Meanwhile, we continue to enhance our core AI stack – improving detection accuracy, expanding object classes and building smarter automation.
But we’re doing all of this while staying grounded in our principles: privacy-first, cost-effective, cloud-optional and totally user-controlled.
If you’re a systems integrator, there’s never been a better time to work with us.
Monitoreal is built to make your job easier – and your offerings stronger. Our solution is cost-effective, simple to install and easy for your customers to operate.
You don’t need to replace existing cameras. You don’t need to rely on a cloud connection. And you don’t need to spend hours configuring complex software or explaining it to clients.
Our devices ship ready to deploy, support ONVIF and run all AI processing locally on the edge. That means fewer support calls, fewer points of failure and significantly lower overhead for remote monitoring.
We have released our Global Management System (GMS) that allows you to monitor and manage all of your devices from one central console.
Whether your business focuses on residential, commercial or SMB deployments, Monitoreal gives you a reliable platform that integrates easily with existing cameras, network video recorders (NVRs) and monitoring platforms without locking you or your customers into expensive subscriptions or cloud infrastructure.
And if your clients need proof of concept, we’ll even simulate their real-world footage through our system and show them exactly what our AI can detect and automate before they buy.