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Install and connect your Security Center SaaS application.
System automation
Configuring automation triggers
To determine when an automation runs, you must select and configure a trigger type.

Pre-deployment guide
Review requirements, order, and activate your Security Center SaaS system.
Setup guide
Install and connect your Security Center SaaS application.
- Getting started
- User management
- Device management
- System automation
  - What is system automation?
    System automation in Security Center SaaS is a workflow to trigger actions based on schedules or events. It helps administrators manage repeatable tasks with less effort, so they can focus on higher‑value work.
  - Process overview for using automation entities
    To trigger a series of actions manually, on a schedule, or based on events in your system, you can set up automation entities.
  - About events
    An event is a record of an activity or incident that occurred in the system. Security personnel can monitor events in real time and investigate them later. Events can also trigger automations in the system.
  - About schedules
    A schedule is an entity that defines a set of time constraints that can be applied to a multitude of situations in the system. Each time constraint is defined by a date coverage (daily, weekly, ordinal, or specific) and a time coverage (all day, fixed range, daytime, and nighttime).
  - Creating schedules
    To define a set of time constraints for a multitude of situations, such as when a user can log on to the system or when video from a surveillance camera can be recorded, you can create schedules and then apply them to specific entities.
  - Adding audio files
    You can add new audio files that can be played when users receive an alarm in Security Center SaaS, or used with the Play a sound action.
  - About automation entities
    An automation entity is a repeatable process in Security Center SaaS. It consists of two parts: a trigger that defines what starts the automation, and a response that defines the actions that follow.
  - Creating an automation entity
    To begin configuring an automation, you must create an automation entity.
  - Configuring automation triggers
    To determine when an automation runs, you must select and configure a trigger type.
    - Qualifying event-based automation triggers
      Qualifying event-based automation triggers involves identifying events that initiate the automation. These events can be generic or entity-specific, have conditions applied, or need to occur a specific number of times within a defined timeframe. Also, these events can be combined using either the AND or OR operators, or sequenced with time limits for transitions.
    - Combining events using AND or OR
      Each event-based automation trigger corresponds to one specific event. You can combine these events using either the AND or OR operator to form a trigger group.
    - Configuring events that need to occur in sequence
      To trigger an automation by a sequence of events, link multiple trigger groups in the configuration using the Followed by operator.
  - Configuring automation responses
    To define what happens when an automation is triggered, you must add response actions to the automation.
  - Advanced settings for automation entities
    Advanced settings allow you to define the automation’s scope, activation periods, and other configuration options in Security Center SaaS.
  - Adding automations to maps
    To allow Security Center SaaS operators to manually trigger automations directly from maps, you can add automations as map objects.
  - Event data
    Event data is the contextual information that accompanies every event. It can be used to add conditions to automation triggers and to contextualize automation responses. Different types of data are available depending on the type of event.
  - Special operators for event conditions
    Special operators can be used to evaluate event data from camera events and custom events for use in automations.
  - Contextualized actions
    For event‑based automations, you can use data from the triggering event to contextualize the response actions. With contextualized actions, a single automation can handle multiple automation scenarios.
  - Understanding threat levels
    A threat level is a predefined scenario that you activate for a specific area or the entire system to manage special situations, such as a business event or emergency evacuation. Activating a threat level triggers a series of actions tailored to the scenario. Deactivating the threat level returns the system to regular operation.
  - Creating threat levels
    To configure a list of actions to activate in special situations for a specific area or the entire system, you can create a threat level.
  - Scenario: Responding to a fire using threat levels
    In case of a fire, threat levels can be used to facilitate evacuation and response by triggering actions to sound a fire alarm, unlock doors, and bookmark camera recordings.
  - Scenario: Responding to a gunman using threat levels
    If a gunman or shooter is spotted, threat levels can be used to block access to areas, trigger alarms, and bookmark camera recordings.
  - Converting event-to-actions to automations
    You can convert legacy event-to-actions to automations using the Automation task.
  - Converting scheduled tasks to automations
    You can convert legacy scheduled tasks to automations using the Automation task.
- Map design
User guide
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Glossary

Configuring automation triggers

2026-09-03

To determine when an automation runs, you must select and configure a trigger type.

Before you begin

Create an automation.

What you should know

All automations can be triggered manually or from another automation, regardless of the selected trigger type.
All servers and workstations in your system must be time synchronized for the automation triggers to function properly.

Procedure

Select the automation and click the Properties tab.
Select the trigger type to determine how the automation runs:

Manual

Run the automation on demand from maps, hot actions, or manual actions.

Scheduled

Run the automation at specific times or recurrences. This is equivalent to a scheduled task.

Event

Run the automation when a system event occurs. This is similar to an event-to-action, but offers more flexibility.
1. For a scheduled automation, use the Recurrence drop-down to select how often you want the automation to run.
  To run the automation on startup, select On Automation Manager startup.
2. For an event-based automation, qualify the trigger.
Click Apply.

After you finish

Configure the automation response.