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Latest App allows Security Guards to be more mobile

ProductImage-phone-in-hand-small2Security guards are an expensive resource. Here in Australia, it costs well over $300,000 a year to have a 24/7 security presence and much more for larger sites where multiple guards may be required. As such, it has always been important for business to maximise the value and function of their security presence.

Traditionally, security guards would be stationed in control rooms and back office areas to monitor alarms, answer phone calls and to watch over the CCTV systems. It was important that these control rooms were always manned so security incidents would do not go unnoticed. This often meant that multiple guards were needed – one to monitor the building systems and another to do patrols and respond to alarms.

Many of the Video Management System (VMS) vendors have been offering the ability to view CCTV on tablets and mobile phones for a little while now. It is possible to call up a given camera feed from pretty well anywhere on the planet now and see what is going on in our homes or business. And as communications have improved, so has the quality and number of cameras we can see on our mobile devices.

Gallagher, a global leader in the provision of enterprise access control and alarm management solutions, has just released an application for their Command Centre software. And it looks great.

The application which is specifically designed for the Apple iPhone, immediately allows security guards to be more
mobile and spend more time on patrol performing security functions. The guard will have full visibility of any alarms and have the ability to acknowledge and process the alarm from the mobile device. Guards will also be able to monitor the status of any device or zone and perform many other functions that would traditionally require a workstation to complete.

They can remotely open gates or doors from their iPhone as well as view specific alarm related instructions on the mobile phone.

Gallagher is used extensively across universities and in countless commercial buildings across Australia and around the world. We see apps like this as a natural progression in a mobile world and one that brings significant value to sites with a permanent on-site security guard force.

*This is a completely independent technology review. Matryx has no commercial affiliation with Gallagher or its products.

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