Security dispatch software: what to look for

Security dispatch software is the control room's side of your radio system. It shows the dispatcher who is on duty, where each officer last reported from and who is talking, lets them reach any group or any one person, keeps a record of what happened, and turns a call into a job that somebody owns until it is closed. Judge it by how well it fits your radios and the people on shift, because a long feature list tells you very little about how a busy night will go.

In short: dispatch software gives your control room one screen for voice, positions and jobs, so every call ends up with an owner and a record. It sits on top of your radios, so the two have to work as one system. The best test is a real shift with your own officers on it.

What security dispatch software does

A control room spends most of the night answering the same few questions. Who is on? Where are they? Who can take this? What happened at that site at two in the morning? On a plain radio, each of those is answered by asking over the air, which ties up the channel and leans on everyone's memory.

Dispatch software puts the answers on a screen: a map with each officer's most recent reported position, the groups and whoever is speaking on them, who is on duty with which radio, and the open jobs.

The dispatcher talks from the same screen, with a headset on the control room PC. A call comes in from a guard or a client, the dispatcher creates a job, assigns it and tells the officer over the radio. The officer updates it as they go and it is closed with a note. Each step lands in the job's timeline, ready for the client report or the debrief. There is more on that flow in how dispatch software improves incident response.

How it differs from a job system or a plain radio

A radio on its own gives you voice, which is most of the job. What the control room lacks is a picture of who is signed on, where they are and who spoke last, so every answer costs airtime.

Job ticketing tools, CAFM systems and rota software are good at work booked in advance: schedules, work orders, timesheets. When something happens on a site at night, the person holding the job is usually reached by phone and the system is updated later.

Dispatch software is built for the minutes after something happens, with the job, the voice and the position together. Most companies keep their rota or CAFM system for planned work and run the live shift from dispatch.

What to look for in security control room software

Most suppliers will show you a map and a talk button. These are the things that decide whether your control room runs smoothly.

One screen for voice and jobs

If the dispatcher has to switch between a radio console and a separate job system, details fall through the gap. Ask to see a job created, assigned and closed while a group is busy, without the dispatcher picking up a phone.

Groups that match your sites

Groups decide who hears what. In security that usually means a group for each site or cluster of sites, one for mobile patrols and one for supervisors, with the control room able to listen and speak on any of them. Check how quickly an administrator can add a group for a new contract and close it when the contract ends. Our guide to managing groups across your sites covers the setup.

A map you can act on

The map should show each officer's latest reported position with a name or callsign, and make it obvious when a position is old. Location history earns its place when a client asks how a patrol route was covered last week. There are tips on using a map with your officers.

A record you can show a client

You want a log of who changed what, who was sent where and who spoke on which group and when. That record settles client queries quickly and protects officers who did everything right. See audit logs for operational communications.

SOS handling

When an officer presses an SOS button, the alert should take over the control room screen, show who raised it and where they were, and stay there until someone acknowledges it. The dispatcher should be able to speak to the officer straight away, and the emergency should leave a job behind as the record. Ask to see one raised from a real radio during the demonstration.

Tablets for duty managers

If the control room runs in a web browser, a duty manager can reassign a job or check the map from a tablet on a site visit. There is more in tablet dispatch for duty managers.

Multi-site dispatch from one control room

Plenty of security firms run one control room covering client sites in several towns, often with a single dispatcher overnight. That dispatcher needs to see which groups are busy at a glance, narrow the map and the jobs to the sites that matter right now, and speak to any site from the same screen. If each site has its own local radio system, the control room has to be linked to every one. Radios that use the mobile phone masts put officers in different towns on one network, so a new site is simply a new group.

Bringing radios on

Ask how a new radio joins. You want an administrator to approve each one, no passwords typed into handsets, and a way to lock out a lost radio immediately. It matters most when agency staff start mid-week or a contract mobilises quickly.

What it costs

Compare the total for your whole operation. Ask whether control room access is included or priced per dispatcher, what the radios and their connectivity cost on top, and what the minimum term is. With RevoNet Complete the control room is included in the monthly price of each radio, and the figures are on our pricing page.

Where RevoNet fits

RevoNet Control is the control room for RevoNet radios, and it runs in a web browser. Your dispatchers talk to any group straight from the screen, see where everyone is on the map, set up jobs and follow them through, and message one person or a whole group. When an officer presses the SOS button on their RevoNet Handheld, the alert appears in the control room with who raised it, and you can speak to them straight away.

The radios and the control room share one network across the UK, so adding a client site means adding a group. You approve every radio before it joins and lock one out the moment it goes missing.

See the whole screen on the RevoNet Control page, and the handset and vehicle radio on our radios page. Your trial includes control room access, so your supervisors use the real thing from day one.

Frequently asked questions

What is security dispatch software?

It is the control room side of a radio system. It shows a dispatcher who is on duty, where officers last reported from and who is talking, lets them speak to any group or person, keeps a log of what happened, and turns calls into jobs with an owner and a timeline.

How does security dispatch software work?

A dispatcher opens it in a web browser with a headset on. Calls come in from guards or clients, the dispatcher creates a job, picks an officer from the map and tells them over the radio. The officer updates the job as they go and it is closed with a note, so each step is recorded with a time against the right person.

Does dispatch software work with radios?

Good dispatch software is built around the radios. The dispatcher should hear and talk on the same groups the officers use and see each radio's position. With RevoNet, the radios and the control room run on one network, so there is no separate equipment to link them.

What is the difference between dispatch software and a CAFM system?

A CAFM or job ticketing system manages planned work such as work orders, schedules and assets. Dispatch software handles the live shift, with voice, positions and jobs on one screen. Many companies use both.

Can one control room dispatch across several sites?

Yes. Set up a group for each site or cluster of sites, give the control room access to all of them, and use the map and job list to focus on the sites that need attention.

Is security control room software the same as police control room software?

No. Police control rooms use systems chosen for a force's own processes and procurement. Security control room software is for a private company running its own guards and client sites.

Try it on a real shift

A demonstration shows you the screen. A trial shows how your dispatchers and officers get on with it on a normal night. Request trial radios or ask us for a quote, and we will set up your groups and control room access for you.