PRESSZONE
22.04.22
Discover the fundamentals for a successful control room and learn from things to avoid.
Learn more. Please speak to a specialist today.A control room is one of the most powerful assets of an organisation, whether inside network operations, emergency centres or campus security. Control rooms are vital for organisations to effectively monitor multiple information streams and
create a response service that ultimately makes accurate mission-critical decisions.
Today's control rooms need to enable cost-effective system management and offers maximum operator comfort. The biggest challenge control room
operators face is to support their critical infrastructure with their existing technology setup. Too much data, outdated systems, and poor information visibility are issues that can lead to an unhappy and unproductive control room.
What makes a good control room?
Think about software solutions with security and flexibility. Software built from the ground up to centralise, streamline, and do everything possible to simplify control room operations. Control rooms operating on software that's intuitive and easy for frontline teams to use will mean less stress, increased efficiency and less potential for errors that could put your organisation at risk. Here are some essential factors to consider when setting up a sound control room:
Control Room Software
Don't be restricted or defined by software; choose the software that gives you the correct information at the right time. Pull in unlimited volumes of data from unlimited sources to provide a complete insight
to your teams. Share and present the most meaningful information to allow room operators to interact and take proper action.
Control Room Security
You don't need us to tell you how severe a security breach can be and its impact on the control room. Security at every level is covered, from automatic Failover to role-based authentication and a fully
locked down software as standard.
Control Room Flexibility
Monitor multiple control rooms from anywhere by utilising "over IP" technology for video, audio, and control data distribution. View and manage control room displays over the cloud with remote access
via a web browser to offer more flexibility and scalability for centralised or distributed control room operation.
4 common challenges facing Control Room:
Managing Information Overload
The main feedback from operators is the lack of clear information visibility poor representation of data to share with others. Increasing inputs or applications can be challenging to bring together
an efficient and real-time overview for operators to evaluate and respond fast. Making new data useful to teams is often challenging and causes lags in decision-making if the information displayed is unclear. A more centralised way of working has seen significant improvements in modern control room setups.
High Cost of Ownership
Obsolete technology used in traditional control setups can become complex and a huge hassle when required changes. Managers of classic control rooms operate expensive control rooms that can't keep up
with the innovation demands. Frequent modifications to control room procedures and workflows are needed when adapting to the ever-changing nature of technology. Modern control rooms should be an investment that remains relevant as technology, threats and working operations evolve.
Risks of Security Issues
Using hardware that may be outdated, control room systems are at higher risk of being compromised. This security risk can become a severe issue as the operation centre often receives sensitive or confidential
information. As the sophistication and frequency of cyber-attacks increase, control rooms need to shift their focus from preventing incidents to identifying, managing and containing incidents to minimise the impact on the organisation.
The only solution to these issues is to seek out the next generation of cutting-edge technology and software.
Choosing the Right Software
There's still plenty of enterprise-level software out there that isn't designed first and foremost with the end-user in mind. Control rooms designed by people who won't need to be on the operating
floor daily can miss out on some essentials. A lack of operator consideration when choosing the right control room technology can increase operator stress in the long term and reduce productivity. Using expert recommendations is crucial to keep in mind as operator environments can highly impact their ability to take corrective actions and decisions.
4 Control Room features that you shouldn't live without:
A Software-Defined Solution
The best control room software solutions use a graphical interface that users can intuitively navigate. End users should easily create new content layouts, integrate new applications and view or
display information seamlessly from several sources. Compared to a system with hardware constraints that limits your technology potential and future growth. Adopting a software solution means a control room that can be updated regularly
with feature releases, significant upgrades, and innovation without replacing a single piece of hardware.
Flexible Interactivity
Truly dynamic control rooms can deliver richness in functionality and meet evolving requirements. View multiple or entire control room operations with ease and straightforward system management. Access
the control room from anywhere in the world, from any device connected to a web browser. Create teams and assign who can access control with role-based authentication and designate or limit specific commands.
Unlimited Sources
A source is an application, collection of content, or feed that provides the content to your displays or video walls. With the ability to input an infinite number of content sources, control room managers
can scale their visual infrastructure at will. Operators can quickly put any content source onto any display within their network with ease on user-friendly management tools that allow them to control content in real-time and remotely.
Reduced Proprietary Hardware
Removing the need for excess proprietary hardware from your project by replacing it with a single commercially available server that connects all AV sources directly to your video wall reduces extra
hardware by 90%. This reduction saves costs on hardware and cabling and minimises potential points of system failure or security breaches. A more dynamic solution can update itself as each software is released and configured to integrate
with new applications to ensure a lower total cost of ownership over time.
Still don't know which control room technology is right for you?
Get specialist advice and explore your ideal control room design with expert recommendations on the best products in control room hardware and software
available. SCAN partners with world-leading software providers and integrates video walls to tailored computing hardware for industrial-grade control rooms.