Developed by the British company Monitor Computer Systems (MCS), Sentinel is a leading alarm and video handling software application used by a significant number of Alarm Receiving Centres (ARC) in the UK. It is also adopted in many monitoring stations across Europe, North America and Australia.

Michael Askew, Managing Director of MCS, wanted to provide ARC operators with the best possible experience when handling a customer’s alarm activation, especially when a person is identified on site. By integrating Optex and Sentinel technologies, operators are given instant access to the event video, and are able to share that video with the end-user or site manager, who can instruct on how to handle the event (i.e. dismiss or respond). The instruction given by the customer is automated within Sentinel and provides the operator with any follow up actions required. This process which stores all actions in a clear audit trail enables a quick and efficient response to alarm activation and importantly avoids unnecessary security or police dispatch due to user error or false alarm. This helps businesses and home-owners keep their Unique Refence Number.

“Thanks to Michael and his team, the integration of the Optex Visual Monitoring solution and Sentinel software is seamless. It allows the Alarm Receiving Centres adopting our solution to offer a unique visual verification service and handle activations within the Sentinel interface,” says Ben Linklater, Commercial Director at Optex. “We are delighted to see the level of partnership between the two companies.”

The Optex Intelligent Video Monitoring solution enables indoor and external sensors to be integrated with any ONVIF video device and connect to a Cloud portal to generate an easy and cost-effective way to add video to a monitored alarm or personal attack system. The solution simply requires the installation of an IP gateway - The Optex Bridge - on site, followed by connection to the Cloud portal and to a participating ARC.