Command-and-control rooms for the federal government come with rules most projects never see. Restricted walls. Long operator shifts. Compliance requirements that shape every product choice. In a Q&A for Commercial Integrator + Security Sales and Integration’s Command-and-Control Deep Dive Report, Senior Editor Alyssa Borelli sat down with Tarah Allen, Strategic Accounts Manager for the federal government at Legrand | AV, to talk through what makes these environments different and how integrators can prepare.
Key Things to Know
- Federal command-and-control rooms range from about 10 operators to 75, and design decisions start with the operator.
- Legrand | AV covers the room end to end: LundHalsey consoles, Middle Atlantic chairs and racks, conferencing gear and C2G connectivity.
- The market has shifted from legacy matrix switching to AV-over-IP and KVM-over-IP, which are more scalable and less expensive.
- SCIF environments prohibit drilling into walls, so CHIEF mounting solutions that attach to credenzas solve a common obstacle.
- TAA compliance matters for Department of Defense buying, and it helps secure products in integrator designs.
Who Is Tarah Allen and What Does She Bring to Federal AV?
Tarah Allen brings more than a decade of federal integration experience to her role at Legrand | AV. She spent 10-plus years on the integration side before joining the company a little over a year ago as Strategic Accounts Manager for the federal government. That background matters in a space built on acronyms and specialized requirements.
“Federal is what I know,” Allen says.
Watch the complete video Q&A below:
What Does Legrand | AV Offer for Command-and-Control Environments?
Legrand | AV offers a full stack of product lines built for command-and-control rooms, which lets integrators source most of the room from one manufacturer. The lineup runs from LundHalsey consoles, which are fully customizable, to Middle Atlantic chairs built for comfort during long shifts.
“Some of these operators are sitting in these chairs for 12 hours at a time,” Allen says.
The rest of the room fills in from there. Middle Atlantic racks house the AV gear. Audio, cameras and bridges support conferencing. And C2G handles the connectivity that ties it all together.
Scale varies widely. Legrand | AV is working on a project at Kennedy Space Center with 74 consoles currently installed, and the next phase adds 75 more. As Allen notes, these centers can run anywhere from 10 operators to 75 depending on the space.
How Does the Operator Factor Into System Design?
The operator sits at the center of every design decision. Room size, the number of networks in play and how the space will be used all shape the approach, and every one of those factors traces back to the operator’s experience.
“It goes from consoles all the way to connectivity for best operator experience that they can have,” Allen says.
That mindset connects the furniture, the gear and the workflow into a single goal: giving operators a room that supports the work rather than getting in the way.
How Does Legrand | AV Support Its Integration Partners?
Legrand | AV supports integration partners across the full design process, from furniture layout to cable connectivity to mounting. If a partner is speccing a videowall, Legrand | AV has a team that can determine exactly which mounts are needed and how many, based on the dimensions the integrator provides.
Reliability is built into the handoff. When integrators work with the federal government, the customer usually provides a checklist that has to be verified before the team leaves the site.
“That’s fully functional before they leave,” Allen says.
That checklist-driven commissioning helps confirm systems are live-ready from the moment they go online.
What Technology Shifts Are Reshaping Federal System Designs?
Federal system designs are moving away from legacy matrix switching toward AV-over-IP and KVM-over-IP. Allen says the change is noticeable compared with roughly five years ago, when matrix switching dominated these rooms.
The result is leaner. AV-over-IP and KVM-over-IP require less gear because they’re more scalable and less expensive. Legrand | AV’s long history in the federal space, combined with its range of product lines, keeps the company relevant as those designs evolve.
How Does Legrand | AV Handle Command-and-Control Retrofits?
Legrand | AV approaches retrofits by matching mounting and furniture solutions to each site’s specific limits. That flexibility becomes essential in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), or where you can’t drill into the walls and mounting options get very limited.
CHIEF mounting solutions answer that problem directly. Because the mounts can attach to Legrand | AV credenzas instead of the wall, they fit well in SCIF environments where wall penetration isn’t allowed.
Customization extends beyond mounting. For one customer Legrand | AV has worked with over the past six years, all of the lecterns are custom-made for their specific needs.
Why Does TAA Compliance Matter for Integrators?
TAA compliance matters because it protects an integrator’s product choices in federal work. The Trade Agreement Act is an important requirement for the Department of Defense, and Legrand| AV’s TAA-compliant products give integration partners confidence to use those products into their designs.
For integrators, that means fewer compliance surprises and a manufacturer whose products are secure in the specification.
Where Can Integrators Learn More?
Integrators can learn more at legrandav.com or through Legrand University. Allen points to Legrand University as a resource available not just to internal teams but to all integrator partners and the federal team.
You can download the full Command-and-Control Deep Dive Report here.
