Every year carries its own rhythm, but this one felt especially full - conversations, learning, travel, and moments that reminded us why this work matters. As we look back, three themes rise to the surface: the people who shaped our year, the places that brought us together, and the things we built and shared with the ECC community. Together, they tell a story of growth, gratitude, and the unveiling of a new chapter in console design.
The people, places, and things that shaped our year.
People
When we reflect on the year, the first thing that stands out is the people: both inside our team and across the centers we visited.
Amanda Hamilton and Leah Chase joined Watson as Sales Managers, two teammates whose combined 24 years of dispatch experience immediately deepened our perspective. They know the work from the inside, the pressure of real-time decisions, the strain of long shifts, and the difference a workstation can make. Their insight has sharpened our conversations and strengthened our field presence. We’re proud they chose to bring their experience to Watson and to carry the voice of dispatchers into every conversation.
This year’s Gratitude Campaign also shaped our journey. During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW), we joined The Raspy Dispatcher virtually to visit dispatchers at South Lake Tahoe PD, The University of California Berkeley PD, Sacramento Police, among others, and recognize the people whose work keeps communities steady. Dispatchers welcomed us into their rooms, shared candid stories, and gave us a clearer view of what support looks like in practice. Additionally, members of our team visited another 26 centers around the country, delivering handwritten cards and small gifts from Watson to say thank you, face-to-face.
One visit brought a moment we won’t forget, meeting the Yuba City Police’s emotional support bunny. It was a small reminder that wellness comes in many forms, sometimes ergonomic, sometimes environmental, and sometimes warm and fuzzy, and it’s always shaped by the people at the center of the work. Encounters like this remind us that every workstation we build ultimately comes down to the humans on the other side of the headset.
Places
2025 was a big travel year, from state events to national conferences. APCO, NENA, and shows in 25 states gave us the chance to connect with teams across the country. Between those events, we spent time in ECCs walking the floor, listening to operators explain their workflows, and watching the quiet choreography of a shift unfold in real time.
Being in the field reminds us that dispatch centers aren’t just rooms full of consoles. They’re ecosystems shaped by staffing realities, spatial constraints, aging equipment, budget cycles, and the urgency of call volumes that never really slow down. Being in a room with operators, supervisors, IT teams, and directors, getting hands-on feedback, hearing what’s working and what isn’t, and seeing how people adapt to evolving needs is the kind of learning we can’t get anywhere else.
We lifted worksurfaces, opened tech hubs, adjusted monitor arrays, and “kicked the tires” right alongside the people who rely on this furniture every day. Every conversation, every walkthrough, every shift we quietly observed helped shape what came next.
Things
The highlight of our year was the launch of Apollo, the most advanced workstation we’ve ever created.
Apollo reflects Watson’s history of listening to dispatcher insights, conducting field research, building prototypes, and collaborating across the ECC ecosystem. It grew out of what we kept hearing with every interaction: the need for better ergonomics, clearer sightlines, simpler access to expanding technology, and a footprint that supports growth instead of constraining it.
In Apollo, all of those needs come together. Fully electronic height and focal depth adjustment make long shifts more manageable. Support for curved monitors brings clarity to increasingly complex workflows. Expanded tech capacity within the workstation's footprint ensures equipment stays accessible without crowding the operator. Personalized heat, airflow, and lighting help operators settle into their shifts with more predictability, and those preferences can be saved as a comfort profile so any Apollo workstation they sit down at adjusts to them instantly. Three space-smart shapes, Linear, Wing, and Corner, give teams the flexibility to rethink the entire room rather than work around its limitations.
What makes Apollo meaningful goes beyond features. It’s the way the details serve the people on the floor. Features that ease visual fatigue. Intuitive controls shaped by real shift behavior. A precision-engineered steel frame designed for 24/7 use. A system built to grow with the center instead of limiting its future.
Apollo is ready for the floor, ready for the work, and ready to support the people who hold their communities steady, a fitting way to close the year and an inspiring place to begin the next.
Looking Ahead
As the year comes to a close, we’re grateful for the teammates who joined us, the dispatchers who welcomed us into their centers, the places that brought us together, and the work we carried forward into Apollo. These moments strengthened our resolve to keep building consoles that honor the people doing the job.
And there’s already more to look ahead to. Apollo will be delivered to centers across the US, and we’re excited to see it installed and in use in early 2026. Watching this system move from years of development to a live floor is a moment we don’t take lightly, and it’s one we’re looking forward to sharing when the time comes.
Here’s to another year of listening, learning, traveling, and creating spaces that support the work of public safety.
Reach out to our team to learn more about how Apollo can support your center’s growth.
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