Softwr

Government · head to head

Trimble Unity Maintain vs VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Trimble Unity Maintain logo

Trimble Unity Maintain

Government

GIS-centric public asset and work management, the product formerly sold as Cityworks

From
On request
Free plan
No
VIVOTEK VAST Security Station logo

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Cybersecurity

Camera-vendor video management software with a free 32-channel tier for VIVOTEK devices

From
On request
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Trimble Unity Maintain esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.; VIVOTEK VAST Security Station vAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • They diverge on capability: Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS, VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Trimble Unity Maintain and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station actually diverge.

Attributes where Trimble Unity Maintain and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station differ
AttributeTrimble Unity MaintainVIVOTEK VAST Security Station
Pricing modelquoteOne-time purchase per camera channel
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Built on ArcGIS
  • Service requests
  • Work order management
  • Permits and licensing
  • Mobile field access
  • Storeroom and inventory
  • Operational Insights
  • AgileAssets convergence

Only in VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VSS Lite free tier
  • Per-channel licensing
  • Third-party camera support
  • Failover and TV matrix
  • Vision object analytics
  • Embedded NVR licensing
  • NDAA and TAA compliance

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • A water utility wanting valve exercising and hydrant flushing recorded against the same GIS features the engineering team maintainsnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • A city consolidating a citizen service request line, work orders and inspections into one location-based systemnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • A state transportation department managing pavement and bridge assets with linear referencing rather than point assetsnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • A public works department that has already licensed ArcGIS Enterprise and wants to avoid rekeying its asset inventorynot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • A school or small public building with fewer than 32 VIVOTEK cameras that needs a VMS at no licence costnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • A United States public sector site that must meet NDAA and TAA procurement restrictionsnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • An existing VAST 2 site that needs to migrate before the software falls further out of maintenancenot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • A mid-sized site standardising on VIVOTEK hardware with a handful of third-party cameras to absorbnot Trimble Unity Maintain

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.
  • The product is mid-rename from Cityworks to Trimble Unity Maintain with transition timelines Trimble has not committed to publicly, leaving contracts, documentation and integrator experience split between two names.
  • CVE-2025-0994, a deserialisation flaw in Cityworks, was exploited in the wild and listed by CISA in February 2025, which makes on-premise deployments a patching obligation rather than a set-and-forget install.
  • Because assets live in the GIS, changing the asset model is a GIS division change, so maintenance teams cannot restructure their own hierarchy without another department in the loop.
  • It is built for North American public sector practice, and the permitting, funding source and reporting models do not map cleanly onto other countries or onto private industrial estates.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • The free Lite tier is hard capped at 32 cameras and VIVOTEK devices only, so a site that grows to 33 cameras or adds one third-party camera moves straight to paid Standard licensing.
  • VSS Professional includes no camera licences at all, so the edition that large deployments need starts from a higher effective price than the tier comparison suggests.
  • It is a camera manufacturer's VMS, so the third-party device list, analytics ecosystem and integration catalogue are all narrower than an independent platform like Milestone or Salient.
  • No pricing is published for Standard or Professional channels; everything runs through distribution, which makes budgeting a phased expansion difficult without repeated quotes.

Pricing, plan by plan

Trimble Unity Maintain

On request
  • Trimble Unity Maintain$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription sized by population served, asset volume and user count
    • Esri ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online licensing required separately
    • Hosted and on-premise deployment priced differently

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

On request
  • VSS LiteFree
    • Free of charge
    • Up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server
    • No third-party camera support
  • VSS Standard$undefined/one-time
    • Up to 256 cameras per server
    • Eight camera licences included for VIVOTEK or third-party devices
    • Additional channel licences purchased individually
  • VSS Professional$undefined/one-time
    • Large scale deployments with failover and TV matrix
    • No camera licences included at all
    • Every channel purchased or upgraded from Standard

Which should you pick?

Choose Trimble Unity Maintain if

  • You need built on arcgis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want service requests.

Choose VIVOTEK VAST Security Station if

  • You need vss lite free tier.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want per-channel licensing.

Questions people ask

Is Trimble Unity Maintain or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station better?
Neither clearly leads. Trimble Unity Maintain starts at On request and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Trimble Unity Maintain or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station?
Trimble Unity Maintain starts at On request and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station at On request.
Does Trimble Unity Maintain or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station run on more platforms?
Trimble Unity Maintain runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is Trimble Unity Maintain best used for?
Trimble Unity Maintain is most often used for a water utility wanting valve exercising and hydrant flushing recorded against the same gis features the engineering team maintains, a city consolidating a citizen service request line, work orders and inspections into one location-based system, a state transportation department managing pavement and bridge assets with linear referencing rather than point assets, a public works department that has already licensed arcgis enterprise and wants to avoid rekeying its asset inventory. Of those, a water utility wanting valve exercising and hydrant flushing recorded against the same gis features the engineering team maintains and a city consolidating a citizen service request line, work orders and inspections into one location-based system are not what VIVOTEK VAST Security Station is typically brought in for.
What can Trimble Unity Maintain do that VIVOTEK VAST Security Station cannot?
Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS, Service requests, Work order management, Permits and licensing. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier, Per-channel licensing, Third-party camera support, Failover and TV matrix.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Trimble Unity Maintain: Is Cityworks discontinued?

Not discontinued, renamed. It is becoming Trimble Unity Maintain, converging with AgileAssets, and Trimble has not published a final transition date.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Should I still buy VAST 2?

No. VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with support and software files withdrawn. VSS is the current product, and any VAST 2 licence still on a distributor price list should be questioned.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Do I need Esri ArcGIS?

Yes. The product is built on ArcGIS and cannot be deployed without an Esri licence.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VSS Lite really free?

Yes, for up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server. It does not support third-party cameras and cannot exceed 32 channels.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Was there a security incident?

Yes. CVE-2025-0994 in Cityworks was exploited in the wild and added to the CISA known exploited vulnerabilities catalogue in February 2025.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: How many licences come with Standard?

Eight camera licences, usable for VIVOTEK or third-party devices. Professional includes none.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Can it handle roads and pavement as well as pipes?

Yes, through the AgileAssets lineage now inside the Unity Maintain family, which adds linear referencing for transportation assets.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VIVOTEK NDAA compliant?

VIVOTEK publishes an NDAA and TAA compliant product list, which is why it appears in United States public sector specifications where Section 889 excludes several other manufacturers.

Share

Related pages

Other head to heads