Gallagher Command Centre v8.80 First Impressions

Gallagher Command Centre v8.80 First Impressions – Gallagher’s recent release of Command Centre v8.80 presented the ideal opportunity to get across this highly evolved security management solution.

While we’ve met Command Centre in the field a number of times over the years, each time brings a new appreciation of its power, as well as the simplicity of its operation.

I’m zooming into the impressive Gallagher Technology Hub in Melbourne with Dean Matheson and the team. The Technology Hub is designed to allow channel partners to undertake toolbox meetings, demos and training, so everything was perfectly to hand when it came to fleshing out the latest pieces of functionality in v8.80, including SIP intercoms, lockers, alcoholizers, cameras, wireless locks, powered fencing and more. The demo room also features Gallagher’s +5 system for integrated or standalone systems, as well as the Type 1A solution for higher security applications.

Watching Matheson go through the key system functions reminds me that the quality that always stands out with Command Centre is the simplicity of the gateway it provides to intensely complex integrations and v8.80 only enhances this quality. The system’s intuitive and malleable interface delivers even more of the kind of lateral and vertical functionality that can only emerge from a symbiotic relationship between an engineering department and its customers.

What interests me most about v8.80 is that the user interface can be agglomerated around elements of functionality – there’s no need to figuratively walk in through a system’s front door and drill down to find what you need operationally. Instead, an interface can be built around a key viewer – all other functionalities are still present via this viewer, but they are accessed from the perspective that’s most efficient for your application.

If this sounds a touch confusing, it’s not. Some users might want to drive their system through the intercom viewer, others might prefer an alarm viewer, or a CCTV viewer, or through site maps. Or they might pare back the interface to the bare minimum. It’s the drag and drop nature of Command Centre’s interface that makes all this possible – and with v8.80 it’s now possible to create interfaces that are more site-relevant than ever.

Don’t miss the full review of Command Centre v8.80 coming up in SEN and be sure to check the system out at SAGE this Thursday pre-register here!