Why the IT department loves OpSpace
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We have often talked about the benefits of Barco’s OpSpace operator workspace. But let’s not forget that behind every strong team of operators is a competent IT department. That’s why we will be looking at some of the reasons why your control room IT crew will love OpSpace.
An IT-friendly environment not only means that a solution is easy to install, but also easy to maintain and upgrade. Control room IT people are busy professionals. With an increased reliance on technology, the control room becomes harder to manage and teams find it harder to keep up with the growing sophistication of the workspace infrastructure.
So, how can a workspace solution like Barco OpSpace make the life of IT easier?
#1. Install with ease
The biggest gamechanger for IT professionals is that Barco OpSpace runs on a standard IP network, not on dedicated AV equipment and cabling. This has a number of important benefits. Not only is IP cabling and switching much cheaper and easier to install, it also offers the IT department a lot more flexibility. With OpSpace visual content can be displayed anywhere there is network connectivity without the need to install complex routing equipment.
#2. Manage who sees what
Managing user rights, adding new users, configuring content sources and views… Workspace configuration and user management can quickly eat up your IT team’s precious time. With OpSpace, all this can happen over the network, via the OpSpace System Manager, so there’s no need to visit every operator workstation separately. OpSpace can also be linked to Microsoft Active Directory or other LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) services, which allows IT to give operators secure and seamless access.
#3. Reduce operator workspace clutter
OpSpace makes it possible to virtualize the operator environment, and even run a virtualized OpSpace server on standard server equipment. Most of the workspace hardware can be safely stored in a separate room, which makes sure there is less equipment at the operator desk that needs maintenance and dedicated floor space.
#4. Keep the control room secure
Today’s common operational picture often contains a mix of OT sources and other content sources, such as weather information, social media, and news. While the line between IT and OT is starting to blur, it has become more challenging to maintain information security. With OpSpace, operators only have access to OT sources at the presentation layer, making it easier for IT to maintain security.
In addition, operators are physically separated from the back-end systems that host the content. Fully in line with control room security regulations, all necessary server hardware can be stored in a separate server room.
Last but not least, periodical patches and upgrades from Barco make sure the OpSpace workstation is always in line with the latest security requirements.
#5. Plan for the future
Control room IT infrastructure should be easily scalable to accommodate for future expansion of operations. As OpSpace runs on a standard IP network, it is easy to expand the number of content sources and to route sources and layouts across the entire enterprise, wherever operators are located.
Wrap-up: OpSpace, the workspace solution IT pros love
OpSpace does not only make the life of the control room operator much easier, but also that of the IT department. An IT-friendly solution like OpSpace is easy to install, maintain and upgrade, and will ultimately result in less costly and time-consuming IT interventions.