NextTech: New Efficiencies for the GSOC Watch Officer

The job of a corporate security watch officer used to be simpler: Sit in a windowless office, monitor phones and CCTV screens, and react when something goes awry.

Watch officers in modern global security operations centers (GSOCs) no longer just watch. In a 12-hour-shift, they may handle hundreds of alerts, from a “forced door” alarm to local crime incidents to a storm warning. They must decide which alerts affect the business, which threats to escalate, and who needs to know.

Siloed systems and slow processes delay those answers and leave the business exposed. Security teams now use geospatial tools to sort alerts faster and prioritize the most critical threats.

Expanding the Watch Officer’s Map

This video shows how geographic information system (GIS) technology unites data streams into one common operating picture. A watch officer can edit alerts, add context, generate reports, and share information quickly.

An operational basemap pinpoints a company’s assets and scales as the organization grows. To add a newly acquired office building or a corporate campus under construction, an officer drops a pin on a map or traces the property outline.

A geofence adds real-time threat awareness to each asset. When an incident occurs inside the fence, GIS software sends a notification automatically. This cuts false leads and wasted time.

On this real-time dashboard, the watch officer sees all active alerts across the company’s global portfolio, ranked by severity. A few clicks narrows the view to the last 12 hours or the highest severity. The dashboard also charts trends, such as spikes in wildfire or hurricane activity over the past 24 hours.

From Alert to Report in Seconds

Modern security systems automate repetitive, low-level tasks while highlighting information that requires human judgement. GIS adds context to alerts from data providers like Samdesk and Dataminr, giving security officers the clarity to act.

By zooming in on a critical alert for a gas leak in Louisiana, for example, a watch officer can determine that the company’s facilities are unaffected, then clear the alert from the list.

An alert for an active shooter in Houston, on the other hand, does pose a threat to company assets and employees. The watch officer creates a watch report to triage the alert. GIS technology auto-completes the survey fields, allowing the officer to add notes to the report as the situation evolves.

Reports tell GSOC analysts which situations to monitor most closely. Officers can also create a report manually and email alerts to colleagues using a template that pre-populates incident data.

Protecting a Watch Officer’s Most Valuable Asset: Attention

More information does not automatically mean better situational awareness or greater readiness. Geospatial technology gives filters the flood of data so officers can triage the incidents that threaten business continuity.

For security professionals who must stretch their attention across long shifts and global portfolios, such speed and clarity protect the business.