GC SurgeDocsGetting Started — Your First 30 Minutes
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Getting Started — Your First 30 Minutes

This guide gives you the fastest path from a new GC Surge account to your first live alarm handled in ZenMode. Follow the steps in order — the whole sequence takes under 30 minutes when your cameras are reachable over the network.

Before You Begin

Confirm you have:

  • A GC Surge account, or are about to create one — Step 1 covers registration.
  • At least one camera that is online and reachable over the network.
  • The camera’s IP address or connection details available.
  • At least one person who will handle alarms during the trial (can be you).

Not sure if GC Surge is the right fit for your operation? See Prerequisites & Customer Categories first.

Step 1 — Register and log in (~5 minutes)

  1. Go to the GC Surge sign-up page and complete the registration form: email, organisation name, phone number with country code, and password.
  2. Verify your phone number via the OTP sent by SMS.
  3. Successful verification logs you in directly — the Home dashboard opens automatically.

Your payment details are not required to start. You will be prompted to add a payment method a few hours after your first login — it must be on file before Day 7 to continue into paid service.

For a full walkthrough of the registration flow, see First-Time Login.

Step 2 — Invite your operators (~5 minutes)

  1. In the left sidebar, go to Users.
  2. Click Invite New User.
  3. Enter the team member’s name, email, and phone number, then select their role: Operator for alarm-handling staff, or Super Admin for managers who need full platform access.
  4. Click Send Invitation. The team member receives an email with a setup link valid for 72 hours.
  5. Repeat for each team member.

You can continue to Step 3 while invitations are pending — operators do not need to accept before you connect cameras.

Step 3 — Connect your first site (~10 minutes)

  1. In the left sidebar, go to Configuration, click ADD, and select Guided Setup.
  2. Follow the Guided Setup steps: choose your camera type (from our supported list or streaming-only), select the connection mode (Public, Private/VPN, or Edge), and fill in the camera details.
  3. For publicly reachable cameras, onboarding completes in approximately 5 minutes per 100 cameras. For cameras on a private network or Edge, follow the additional steps shown in Guided Setup.

For detailed onboarding instructions by camera type and network setup, see Setting Up Sites. For a full deployment checklist when rolling out multiple sites at once, see Full Deployment Journey.

Step 4 — Verify your setup (~5 minutes)

After connecting cameras, confirm the platform is receiving alarms before running your first shift:

  1. Open the Home dashboard. Connected cameras should appear with an Active status.
  2. Trigger a test alarm on one of your connected cameras — walk in front of the camera or use your camera’s built-in test function.
  3. Confirm the alarm appears in Alarm Center within 30 seconds.

If no alarms appear after 10 minutes, check that alarm forwarding is enabled on the camera side and that the camera shows an active alarm-sending state in the platform. See Setting Up Sites for per-mode troubleshooting steps.

Note on NOVA99x: NOVA99x AI filtering is always active from the moment you connect cameras — it runs automatically and does not require enabling or configuration.

Step 5 — Run your first ZenMode shift (~10 minutes)

  1. Have an operator open Alarm Center in the left sidebar.
  2. In the Unassigned Sites table, find a site with active alarms and click the Assign to me icon to claim it.
  3. Click the View ZenMode button (eye icon) to enter the alarm processing screen.
  4. Process and close 10–20 alarms. This establishes your first APT baseline — the number you will compare against after NOVA99x is active.

For a full guide to the ZenMode interface and alarm closure workflow, see ZenMode — Operator Monitoring.

Evaluating your trial at Day 7

After 7 days, GC Surge reads your actual results — APT reduction, Cameras per Operator, and alarm volume — and displays them on your dashboard alongside a subscription prompt.

To evaluate your results before Day 7, check:

  • Home dashboard — overall alarm volume and active camera count.
  • Alarm Center (Admin View) — average APT per operator and team throughput.
  • Analytics — alarm trends across the full trial period.

If your APT has dropped noticeably since your Day 1 baseline, the platform is working. If results are not yet visible, the most common reason is alarm volume still below the entry threshold — see Prerequisites & Customer Categories for the minimum thresholds required for reliable gains.

For the full subscription and billing flow, see Subscription Lifecycle — Trial to Paid.

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