Case Study: Manchester City Council achieves unified security and streamlined visitor management with Genetec Security Center

Manchester City Council goes state-of-the-art with Genetec Security Center unified platform

Manchester City Council (MCC) needed to modernize public access and protect historical documents across the Town Hall Extension and Central Library, which had a patchwork of aging analog CCTV and access control systems. After a public tender, Genetec’s solution—deployed by integrator Granften Fire and Security—was chosen, centered on the Genetec Security Center unified platform with Omnicast video and Synergis access control to meet MCC’s requirements for deep third‑party integrations and centralized alarm management.

Genetec implemented Security Center 5.2, unifying nine systems (video, access control, intrusion, fire, building management, intercoms, leak/flood detection, lift and emergency lighting) and providing a single control-room view with map-based Plan Manager. The deployment includes over 170 cameras, ~135 TB of storage for roughly 30 days retention, 205 smart-card readers, 22 wireless readers, 23 keypad readers (3 with biometrics) and visitor-management kiosks that enable self-serve check‑in. The Genetec solution has streamlined operations, consolidated reception services, automated alarm procedures for compliance, and created a scalable platform for future expansion (mobile access and ANPR).

Manchester City Council