Alta Protect monitoring service alarm flow

Last modified: Thursday November 13, 2025.

When an alarm triggers in an Alta Protect deployment with the Alta Protect monitoring service enabled, the alarm is processed as follows.

alarm response flow diagram

Alarms with video

The alarm trigger has associated cameras that capture incident footage, and the zone has Alta Protect monitoring service verification and Remote dispatch services turned on.

  1. Alarm triggered at the customer site in an armed zone.
  2. Alarm data and video flows to the Alta Protect platform via the cloud.
  3. If Alta Protect monitoring service verification is turned on for the zone, the video is sent to the monitoring service:
    1. The video is 20 seconds long, starting when the alarm triggers.
    2. If the detection is made in a zone with an entry delay, the video starts when then detection is made and runs until the delay ends plus 20 seconds.
      1. For example, If a person is detected when there is 25 seconds left of the entry delay, and they do not disarm the zone, then the video clip is 45 seconds long.
  4. Alarm data and video are reviewed by the monitoring service.
    1. The average response time for verification is approximately 40 seconds.
    2. Operators can see only the video clip sent with the alarm.
  5. The operator takes the appropriate action to deal with the alarm.
    1. The response chosen by the operator is shown in the Alta Protect Alarm tool in the Status column.

No threat detected

If an operator determines no threat appears in the video, the alarm status is set to false.

  • They cannot verify an alarm as false until they have viewed the entire clip.

Valid threat detected

If an operator determines there is a threat:

  • The alarm status is set to valid, triggering any configured alarm actions in Alta Protect.
  • If Remote dispatch services is turned on, an automated dispatch request is sent to the monitoring service.
  • An operator does not need to watch the entire video before verifying an alarm as valid.

Dispatch requests

If the operator can identify a clear threat in the video, they can contact the local police and request a dispatch to the address listed for the site.

  • After requesting a dispatch for a clear threat, the operator attempts to notify the emergency contact.

Unclear threats

An operator might not be able to determine there is a clear threat, for example, people loitering or if the camera view is obstructed.

  • The operator attempts to reach the emergency contact for the site who can decide the appropriate response.
  • If the emergency contact is unreachable, the operator requests a police dispatch to investigate.

Sensor-only alarms

The alarm trigger is a sensor without any associated cameras, and the zone has Remote dispatch services turned on.

  1. Alarm triggered in an armed zone at the customer site.
  2. Alarm data flows to the Alta Protect platform via the cloud.
  3. Alarm data is automatically processed and a dispatch request is initiated.
  4. Initially, the operators call and send an SMS to the emergency contact listed for the site.
  5. If the emergency contact is not reachable, operators call the local police.
  6. Dispatch is requested to the address listed for the site.

Turn off automatic dispatch of sensor-only alarms

To prevent automatic dispatches for sensor-only alarms, you can activate or deactivate Alta Protect monitoring service verification and Remote dispatch services when you configure the alarm-response actions of each zone. See Triggered alarm actions.