Pharos Cloud is a software as a service platform from Pharos Architectural Controls which turns local lighting projects into fully remote installations that can be accessed at any time, from any location, using any Internet-connected device. The simple, secure platform is globally accessible and fully collaborative, providing management, monitoring, and scheduling to end-users through its intuitive interface.
End-user clients and facility managers can benefit from the convenience of online access – via smartphones, tablets, or desktops – to remotely control their lighting installation instantly – selecting different programmed lighting looks, adjusting colour or intensity, or scheduling new events.
Installers, integrators, and site managers can monitor one or even multiple installations, receive notifications and status updates, and crucially offer outstanding support to their customers if there is a request to update show programming: quickly and conveniently from their office, from another job, or even from home. Adding value to continuing customer support, controllers can remotely have new firmware sent via Cloud, to benefit from updates and new features.
Supporting a customer when a “the lights aren’t working”, call comes in can involve complicated troubleshooting, and potential frustration for non-technical people on the ground. But with Pharos Cloud, a technician can quickly ascertain the status of the core devices in the control system and integrated 3rd party devices, and check the log for access and overrides, thereby more accurately diagnosing if there is a fault, and where it may be. If a site visit is then required, the team are better prepared to know what they are fixing. And in some cases – thanks to Cloud notifications – the technician may know before the client that something is wrong and already be working on a solution!
Updating controller firmware or even just tweaking lighting looks without Pharos Cloud would typically involve an installer or integrator sending a member of team to site. Our partners commission installations across the globe, and the response time to arrange a site visit, along with the time, cost and carbon implications of travelling to a project, can be significant.
No additional hardware is required; Pharos Expert and Pharos Designer control systems can be connected to the Internet via their Ethernet ports to connect safely and securely to Pharos Cloud using industry-standard encryption. Pharos Cloud protects all user logins and all connections to hosted projects, including two-factor authentication (2FA), to ensure they are never exposed to external threats. And, despite the huge versatility of Pharos Cloud, the system requires only minimal bandwidth to run effectively and will work over any Internet connection.
Pharos Cloud provides flexible account management, allowing multiple independent users site access with tailored permissions. Activity logging records all access and actions. The multi-page Control Panel provides users a host of options for live control of the lighting, and the online scheduler offers a user-friendly calendar to set up and update when tasks and events should run. Device status and monitoring provides remote, real-time views of DMX output and playback tracking and logging, as well as the comfort of status notifications.
And taking it to the next level, Pharos Cloud Portals allow organisations, multi-site companies, and integration companies to add their own branding to the Cloud user interface, along with enhanced access, notifications, and control of Sites.
Pharos Cloud: simple and secure remote management for lighting installations, providing peace of mind, instant customer support, and an ever-growing set of features and advanced tools for any project, anywhere.
