The sophisticated Control Room facilities of our remote monitoring centre, unrivaled by any local or independent operator, were opened to delegates consisting of local government dignitaries and members of commerce in July 2016. The facilities are ahead of the curve in terms of technology and operator standards and credence of this has been provided offshore by the United Kingdom ISO 9001 accreditation program – this is one of the most exacting international standards in control room installation and operation in the world. The technology and installation showcased to delegates is already employed in many professional environments and also supports our operations in the UK, where a separate division of the Optimum Group Partnership undertakes the front end service provision and response.

From the perspective of a potential buyer of security, who procures in a very competitive marketplace, and is no doubt able to negotiate a most attractive deal with any number of traditional security providers, there might appear little or no incentive to utilise our remote monitoring centre over their existing arrangement. But there are a number of concrete reasons why the technology OGP has invested in will address the prevention of crime in your organisations, as follows:

1. Technology never sleeps: Unlike a nightwatchman, technology does not get tired or become bored so you or your most senior executives or more importantly your clients, will never enter your premises to see the bad impression such an individual gives over. Manpower is of course an important aspect of our remote monitoring model too, because Optimum staff are employed at our facilities to remotely view, operate and respond to incidents on site. However, our remote monitoring centre carefully rosters staff, and their working conditions are far superior to an underpaid security officer. Moreover, we also work and engage with emergency services, who share our ethos of implementing high standards in training and management.

2. ASIS International, founded in 1955, is the leading professional association for security managers worldwide. ASIS has referred to video surveillance and remote monitoring as “investigation’s ubiquitous tool for forensic examination”. In other words, a remotely monitored security system operated by well trained staff, such as we provide, is likely to result in a far higher incidence of prosecution following a crime than manned guarding.

3. Compared to manned security staff, the cost proposition of our remote monitoring centre services is highly attractive. The margins and overheads associated with technology are far lower than comparable manpower and we can pass on the cost benefits to you.

4. Remote monitoring is a scalable and modular solution. This allows it to grow with your organisation. Each of us hopes and expects for organisational growth; you may move to larger offices and choose to take your existing equipment with you. In such instances, we can assist with this as a part of a value added solution. Alternatively, you might choose to move to an office where technology is already in place – here again our remote monitoring centre can work with all internet connected equipment to ensure coverage in your new premises and thus save further expenditure.

5. Unlike the cameras we monitor, which tend to be inflexible when used alone, the service our remote monitoring centre offers to monitor such technology is operated by people. This means a great degree of flexibility is provided. For example, if the client wishes us to undertake virtual patrols, or to safely escort vulnerable members of staff off premises by following them through a series of cameras, we may do this. This gives an otherwise sterile technical service a personal touch.

6. Every new our remote monitoring centre assignment is treated like a standard guarding contract. This is to say our remote monitoring centre provides the cost benefits and capacity for real-time response to incidents from a remote location, with a tailored Service Level Agreement Programme and nominated manager to discuss the service with you on a more traditional basis. We bring all of this, alongside proven technology.

7. The combination of cutting edge technology and our proven escalation procedures allows our remote monitoring centre to provide organisations with a high level of Critical Awareness. It is sad but true that we are not in the business of reducing crime, but merely making organisations a harder target so that the opportunist criminal will seek his ill gotten gain elsewhere. With our system and approach the problem moves on.