BARCO : How data-happy do you feel today?

A major problem with today's information overload, is the lack of structure. We are flooded with information that is only remotely relevant to our lives, while some truly critical data is hidden. This is frustrating indeed. So what we need is to have all the information we need, presented to us in a format we can contain.

However, a lot of information is kept in information silos. Within private computers, within companies, within different governmental bodies. And it's very hard to get the information from one silo to another. For some data, this makes perfect sense. Strictly private, company confidential or very sensitive information should never be shared with the rest of the world. But a lot of non-critical data could make the world more efficient if it was shared in a convenient way.

An example: on October 28 a lot of head of states were visiting West-Flanders to commemorate the start of World War I. This included King Philippe of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth II of the United Kingdom, Angela Merkel, and many others. Securing the safety of so many dignitaries, requires a massive police force. That is why, for the first time, the state police was cooperating with internal state security officers and private security agents from Securitas. However, one of the challenges in this one-off collaboration project, was sharing information. The police network is a typical example of an information silo: super-secured and very private. Breaking through this silo was however key for this operation's success.

That is why the Belgian police - with whom we have worked together on numerous occasions - came to Barco to help set up a system that could coordinate the different stakeholders in the field, and provide a situational overview to all involved parties. To accomplish this cross-platform visualization and collaboration, we used our new X2O platform. Working on HTML5 technology, it allowed to build gateways of information between different agencies and departments, sharing relevant information between stakeholders. In less than three days, we managed to set up a system that spans different temporary control and crisis rooms, making sure that all forces were presented all the information they needed in real-time. This included sensor data, security camera footage, etc. We could have included a lot more, like information design and KPI dashboards, if we had the time, but sharing the relevant data proved to be a great success. No data overload, no depression but real collaboration.

Guy Van Wijmeersch
Market Director Utilities

Guy Van Wijmeersch is the responsible strategic marketer for the Utilities and Telecom market of Barco's Industrial and Government division.
He started with Barco in 1992 and held industrial designer and design director positions in Belgium, Germany and the USA.
Guy holds a master degree in product design (Artesis University College of Antwerp) and a postgraduate degree of product design from University of Irvine, California, USA. He also holds a master degree in B2B Marketing, and is a member of the Ergonomics Association and Design Management Institute.

Over the last 13 years, he has been involved in several global signature key projects in control rooms and meeting rooms at Reliance, Saudi Aramco, Dubai Police, Telecom South Africa, RWE, National Grid, Airtel, China Rail, etc.
After working for Barco in California, USA and Germany, he is now again based in Belgium.