With multiple campuses, limited resources, and aging systems, Memphis Business Academy needed a flexible, cloud-based way to manage video across every site without locking into expensive hardware or clunky tools.
Customer Snapshot
✅ Customer: Memphis Business Academy
✅ Industry: K–12 Education (Charter School Network)
✅ Use Case: Multi-campus video surveillance modernization and cloud migration
✅ Segment: Public sector / Education
“I believe Coram is the future of video surveillance software,” says Jerry Wilson, IT director at Memphis Business Academy. For a charter network with seven schools across five locations and roughly 1,800–1,900 students, that future needed to be cloud-first, easy to use, and free from rigid hardware lock-in.
Before Coram: Old-School Industry, Expensive Lock-In
Wilson had been pushing for a cloud-based NVR long before he discovered Coram. The problem, he explains, wasn’t just technology; it was the business model around it. Traditional vendors expected schools to pay for cameras, installation, and ongoing subscriptions “for them to essentially provide you with bad service.”
He tested other cloud and software platforms. Verkada’s closed ecosystem, with proprietary hardware and subscriptions, felt like a trap: once you invest, you’re locked in. Avigilon’s promise of hardware agnosticism was appealing, but it still came with licensing overhead, didn’t deliver on support promises, and wasn’t as easy as he wanted for end users.
Meanwhile, day-to-day work remained painfully manual. As Wilson jokes, “Do you know how long it takes to watch three hours of security video? About three hours.”
The Switch to Coram: Cloud, Flexibility, and One Pane of Glass
When Wilson discovered Coram, the pitch aligned perfectly with what he’d been asking for: a cloud-based system that could support multi-site operations and make it simple for security staff to work independently of IT. A modern interface, easy clip sharing via links, and AI-powered tools to avoid scrubbing hours of video all helped Coram stand out.
Crucially, Coram didn’t force a rip-and-replace. At the time of the interview, Memphis Business Academy still had buildings on older systems, along with cameras on Verkada and Avigilon. Coram’s ability to integrate with Avigilon and pull disparate cameras into a single platform meant Wilson didn’t have to abandon existing investments or upgrade every site at once.
“For people who [are] transitioning from different surveillance systems,” he explains, “I think Coram is future proof… it allows a flexibility that doesn't necessarily lock me into one system and it allows me to have an overlay over old systems so that my head of security still gets that single pane of glass.”
Life with Coram: Thoughtful UI and Real Support
Even as a relatively new customer still mid-migration, Wilson sees clear benefits. As a software developer himself, he immediately recognized a different design philosophy in Coram’s UI. “I can tell that this was created by software developers,” he says. The system offers rich functionality “but you're not overburdened with menus and options,” making it far easier for security staff to actually use.
Support has matched the product experience. During trial and early integration, Wilson submitted questions and “got immediate responses.” He appreciated that he was clearly talking to someone who understood the system, not a first-level script reader, and that issues were worked through quickly. “In a lot of ways, Coram seems like a company run by people who know what they're doing,” he says.
As an IT leader in a resource-constrained school, that matters: “every $5 I waste is a $5 that could have gone to a student's education”. When he picks a vendor, he’s looking for a partner, not just another line item. With Coram, “it felt like a right fit.”
Why Coram?
- Cloud-based platform built for multi-location visibility
- Flexible, hardware-agnostic approach that avoids lock-in
- Thoughtfully designed UI that non-technical users can navigate
- Fast, knowledgeable support that resolves issues quickly
- Gradual migration path that preserves existing investments
Recommendation
“I would recommend Coram,” Wilson says. He encourages others to “get on board now while prices are reasonable” and to stop “deal[ing] with old crappy technology” when they could be learning and benefiting from what’s next.
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