Inspire Development Centers switches 26 campuses to Coram AI

The nonprofit early childhood education provider moved all 26 facilities to Coram AI after renewal costs became unsustainable. Inspire kept its existing cameras, added on-premise servers at each campus, and now manages the network from one interface.

Why it matters: - Inspire Development Centers operates on state and federal funding, so budget stability is critical across its 26 campuses. - The switch shows how schools and nonprofits can replace a security platform without tearing out working camera hardware. - The move cuts vendor lock-in and gives Inspire more control over long-term operating costs.

What happened: - Inspire Development Centers replaced its video security platform across 26 campuses after renewal pricing outpaced its budget. - The nonprofit deployed Coram AI, a Sunnyvale-based video security company, at every location. - Inspire kept the cameras it already owned instead of replacing them. - The organization had previously used Verkada.

The details: - Inspire’s operating budgets are largely flat year to year because they are set by state and federal funding. - Jason Gibbons, IT Director at Inspire Development Centers, said renewal costs had become unsustainable. - Gibbons said the prior system limited the IT team’s use of open-source tools. - Gibbons also said the renewal process became adversarial, with heavy sales pressure. - Inspire said hardware flexibility was a major factor in the switch. - Coram AI’s platform works with cameras from any manufacturer. - Inspire installed one on-premise server per campus, for a total of 26 servers. - Coram AI detected Inspire’s existing cameras and added them to the system. - The rollout allowed Inspire to manage all 26 campuses from a single interface. - Inspire enabled system-wide audio recording during deployment. - Gibbons said facial recognition accuracy improved compared with the previous system.

Between the lines: - The decision reflects a broader tension for budget-constrained organizations: security upgrades matter, but replacement cycles can break the budget. - Coram AI’s hardware-agnostic model positions the platform as a lower-friction option for groups that already own usable camera systems. - For multi-site operators, a single interface and existing-camera compatibility can reduce both cost and implementation complexity.

What's next: - Inspire will continue running the new system across all 26 campuses. - Coram AI is likely to pitch the same model to other schools, nonprofits, and multi-site operators that want AI features without a full hardware overhaul. - The company says organizations can add AI-powered search, alerts, and multi-site management to existing infrastructure.

The bottom line: - Inspire chose a security platform change that fit its budget, kept its cameras, and simplified management across every campus.