Bryn Mawr, PA-[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 30, 2007 - Over the summer, Bryn Mawr implemented a new emergency communication system to provide immediate information to students, faculty, staff, parents and other interested parties in the event of any campus emergency. The College has purchased a system called e2Campus to provide electronic communications in any of several formats, including telephone text messaging, e-mail and RSS feeds.
Registration (at http://www.brynmawr.edu/emergency/e2Campus.shtml) is free and takes only a few minutes. If you plan to register for mobile-phone text messages, you should have your phone with you when you register; the service will send you a confirmation number that is required to complete the form.
Any emergency message sent through e2Campus will appear on the Bryn Mawr Web site's gateway pages for current students, faculty, staff and parents; the system will be used to communicate information about weather and transportation as well as emergencies. The College has also purchased a siren that can be used to notify community members of emergencies.
Phone Registration and E-mail Forwarding for Students
According to Chief Operations Officer Jerry Berenson, communicating with students has become more difficult as they have embraced cell phones rather than the College's phone system. For the first time this year, the College will not assign dorm-room telephones unless students request them. The College strongly urges all students who use cell phones to register them with the College to ensure that the College can communicate both routine and urgent information to them. To register a telephone number, visit http://virtual.brynmawr.edu and follow the steps below:
Under "Self-Service," click on "Student Center" and then click the link to the Biographical Update Form.
Update your preferred contact phone number (may be a mobile phone number) and emergency contact information. Be sure to indicate which phone number should be included in the campus directory: dorm or mobile phone. If you choose to register a dorm phone, you must visit Telephone Services to activate your room phone.
Berenson notes that e-mail is also used for many important communications from the College. He recommends that students who prefer an outside e-mail service to their Bryn Mawr accounts have their Bryn Mawr e-mail forwarded. To initiate e-mail forwarding, go to http://www.brynmawr.edu/computing/docs/e-mailforward.shtml.
Source: Bryn Mawr Press Release
e2Campus System in Place at Bryn Mawr College
Northern Arizona University NAU improves emergency notification system
NAU today announced a new emergency text notification system that sends urgent text messages to students, faculty, staff and even family members. NAU is partnering with Omnilert, LLC. and using its service e2Campus to create NAU Alert, a mass notification system to send text messages to cell phones in case of an emergency, including weather-related closures. The service is free and voluntary, but users must register to receive NAU Alert. They also can add an additional phone number as well, so that a family member or friend receives notification of an emergency. "NAU prides itself on its great safety record, and we are doing all we can to keep it that way," Fowler said. Currently NAU uses computer pop-ups, e-mail, web pages and the NAU Now Line (928-523-0007) to inform individuals of weather alerts or other emergencies. The university also works with local media to spread messages. "NAU Alert is a great new tool we can use to get critical message sent out to students, parents, staff and faculty" said Fred Estrella, NAU chief information technology officer. "It will be another method we use to communicate effectively during an emergency situation." Only emergency or other urgent messages will be sent via NAU Alert, and the system will not be used to distribute advertising or other unsolicited content. Though the system is free, subscribers may have to pay fees associated with their text messaging service. Source:
Flagstaff, Ariz. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 30, 2007 - Students at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and their families have a new and fast way to learn about campus emergencies.
"The public safety partnership here at Northern Arizona University between the students, faculty, staff and the NAUPD will benefit tremendously from the improved communication created by the NAU Alert program," said NAU Police Department Chief GT Fowler. 
Thomas Bauer
NAU Office of Public Affairs
(928) 523-6126
Thomas.Bauer@nau.edu
University of Southern California Launches Roam Secure Alert Network for Emergency Notification (RSAN)
Text Alerting System Showcased on NBC Nightly News
Arlington, VA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 28, 2007 - Roam Secure, Inc. today, announced that the University of Southern California (USC) has deployed the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN™). TrojansAlert (https://trojansalert.usc.edu) enables campus public safety and university officials, to send targeted alerts to its 33,000 students and more than 17,000 faculty and staff. Parents of USC students can also sign up for the system.
USC’s main campus is located in downtown Los Angeles. The university also has a health sciences campus located east of downtown, plus facilities in Marina Del Rey, Orange County, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., Santa Catalina Island, and Alhambra. With RSAN the entire campus, or targeted areas both on and off campus can be notified. The system is capable of reaching most text-enabled device including: cell phones, pagers, e-mail, Blackberry, instant messaging as well as voice calls via landline and cellular phones and fax. RSAN integrates with other communication media including indoor and outdoor speakers and AM radio station. The system also provides two-way messaging capabilities. All messages are stored and presented in the web-based application via the AlertTracker or to the field via a mobile device, creating an alert summary and audit trail.
Roam Secure supports more than 135 RSAN systems across the country at major cities, counties, states and federal government agencies, schools, hospitals, airports, refineries and other key businesses for routine and emergency communication. The Roam Secure Information Exchange (RSIX) enables the University of Southern California to automatically and securely connect with other RSAN systems in six major metropolitan areas, including the Northern California Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center (NC RTTAC) and the three county system in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. USC’s system can also share information with other RSAN systems across the country in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Colorado via RSIX. Each new RSAN system, including existing systems throughout California, can join the growing national emergency information exchange and share private and public all hazards emergency information regionally, statewide and nationally at no additional charge.
“USC joins a growing number of Universities across the country deploying RSAN and RSIX. USC has deployed a text-based, fully interoperable emergency alert system that serves the students, faculty, parents, and campus security at USC,” said David Drescher, CEO of Roam Secure. “They have further enhanced their communication capabilities and are better prepared to communicate with their constituents quickly, on all types of devices, and share information with other colleges and government agencies across the country.”
NBC Nightly News showcased the USC alert system along with Washington, DC and Roam Secure. Watch the video at http://www.roamsecure.net/pressitem.php?news_id=189.
Source: Vendor Press Release
U of I Announces Hawk Alert Emergency Notification System
IOWA, IOWA CITY -- [EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS] -- Aug. 28, 2007 - University of Iowa administrators will soon be able to send emergency voice and text messages to students, faculty and staff within minutes, thanks to a new emergency notification system, called "Hawk Alert." University administrators are urging all students, staff and faculty to add or update their cell and other phone numbers in the university's database as soon as possible.
The first phase of the Hawk Alert System will include voice calls and e-mail, and will be implemented by Sept. 1. By Nov. 1, the second phase will add text messages for those with text messaging capabilities, such as text-message-enabled cell phones.
"The recent bomb scare on the UI Pentacrest illustrates the need for such a notification system," says Steve Parrott, UI spokesperson.
"Even though we had a mass e-mail prepared within a few minutes of learning that there might be bombs on campus, it took too long for the e-mails to be delivered, and many people are away from their e-mail for extended periods. This new system promises to send messages within minutes to thousands of phones and text-message devices at once," Parrott says.
"The new service gives the university the ability to contact students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency, using a variety of methods," Parrott says. "Once students and employees add or update their cell and other phone numbers, they can rest assured that we will do our best to contact them at the numbers provided if there is an emergency situation."
"Except for testing, our intention is to use the Hawk Alert System only in the event of an emergency," Parrott says, "and personal cell phone numbers provided specifically for the emergency system will not be used for other purposes, nor will they be listed in any public directories." Detailed instructions on how to provide emergency numbers are available at http://hawkalert.uiowa.edu.
The service being used by the Hawk Alert system is Connect-ED®, developed by The NTI Group, Inc., of Sherman Oaks, California specifically for schools, colleges and universities.
"The University is also investing in a series of notification towers equipped with sirens and voice alert systems that also will help ensure that those on campus hear alerts and warnings," Parrott says. "We hope to have these towers up and working in the next few months."
"A test call will be made in early September to ensure that each individual successfully receives the message. Test calls will be made as infrequently as possible," Parrott says. "We don't want anything, especially annoyance with unwanted calls, to prevent people from providing their numbers for this important function."
SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500
MIR3 Announces Completion of TelAlert Acquisition - Industry Consolidation Continues
Integrated Company Now Single Source for Strategic Enterprise-Wide IT and Business Continuity Intelligent Notifications
SAN DIEGO, CA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 27, 2007 - MIR3™, the technology leader in Intelligent Notification (IN®) solutions for global enterprises, today announced the completion of its acquisition of the TelAlert software business unit of CalAmp Corporation (NASDAQ:CAMP), a leading provider of wireless products, systems and services headquartered in Oxnard, California.
CalAmp previously announced that the transaction was valued at approximately $10M in cash, a note and preferred stock in privately-held MIR3. For many years TelAlert has been the industry leader in wireless notification for IT, providing enterprise customers with the communications infrastructure to meet critical service-levels.
TelAlert integrates with major IT infrastructure management applications including HP OpenView, HP ServiceCenter, BMC Remedy and Tivoli®; databases such as Oracle® and Sybase®; and system architectures from IBM®, Hewlett-Packard, Sun®, Microsoft® and Red Hat®. Thousands of companies, including 80 of the Fortune 100 U.S. companies and a growing number of global companies in Europe, Asia and Latin America, have deployed TelAlert’s software solutions.
Amir Moussavian, MIR3 president and CEO, said, "The acquisition of TelAlert creates the only global enterprise notification platform and allows us to provide superior market solutions based on leading IT and business continuity/disaster recovery (BC/DR) notification technology. Through our extended suite of products and services, MIR3 is now positioned as a single-vendor source for all aspects of strategic enterprise-wide IT, BC/DR and supply chain management notifications.” Moussavian added, “TelAlert’s existing customers should rest assured that MIR3 is committed to providing the best product and customer support in the industry without interruption while preserving our customers’ investments in integration of their current TelAlert solutions with their IT enterprise systems.”
MIR3’s OEM and channel partners now have access to a richer, more scalable solutions portfolio that spans the realm of intelligent enterprise communications and includes hosted, installed and mobile solutions. MIR3 is committed to maintaining and sustaining all of the business and technical resources needed to support TelAlert and MIR3 customers and partners.
New Customer Appreciation Pricing Program Announced
In conjunction with the acquisition, MIR3 is rolling out the Customer Appreciation Pricing (CAP) program, designed to make it easy for TelAlert’s users to upgrade to TelAlert 6e. CAP is a unique, limited-time offer that gives customers full credit for every dollar they spent on their most recent TelAlert Messaging Server software purchases toward the purchase of a new TelAlert 6e configuration. TelAlert 6e is specifically designed as an enterprise messaging system that provides a fully integrated and assured communication channel by making use of existing corporate portals, databases and business applications. Built on top of the market-leading messaging engine, the TelAlert 6e SOA platform extends the service beyond IT and network management usage to include the global enterprise. To take advantage of the CAP offer, customers must commit to the upgrade by October 30, 2007. Customers may phone 1-510-903-4072 or email sales@telalert.com for CAP program details; or visit www.telalert.com/CAP.
“For the long term, customer relationships are unquestionably more important to us than an individual sale,” Moussavian said. “We’re determined to provide the best ongoing support to loyal TelAlert customers. The CAP offering signals our intention to be a vested partner in their success.”
Source: Vendor Press Release
Financial Services Consortium Created By Presidential Directive Selects MessageOne For Emergency Notification
Austin, TX--[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 27, 2007 – MessageOne today announced it has been selected by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) to offer the AlertFind emergency notification service to a membership of more than 4,000 financial institutions. Since signing on as a customer six months ago, FS-ISAC has utilized AlertFind to communicate urgent security information to its members. Extending the relationship will make it easier for financial services member organizations to protect employees.
Immediate Notification of Threats
Launched in 1999 by a presidential directive to secure U.S. resources, FS-ISAC works with the nation’s largest financial services institutions and the U.S. Treasury, to be the single source of timely, accurate physical and cyber security information. The FS-ISAC filters through and shares information from financial services providers, commercial security firms, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources to minimize the impact of any threat for its members. When there is a threat or emergency, including natural disasters, coordinated cyber attacks, disease outbreaks or specific acts of terrorism, FS-ISAC uses AlertFind to help protect the critical U.S. infrastructure.
Given the urgent nature of FS-ISAC’s mission, AlertFind’s two-way communications capability is critical for saving lives and protecting assets in an emergency. AlertFind enables customers, like the FS-ISAC, to instantly contact thousands of employees or members to deliver important messages using individual’s preferred method of communication (e.g., cell phone, email, home phone, etc.). The system, which can tell the difference between a real person and voicemail, is able to deliver an spoken electronic or recorded message and even ask questions such as, “Are you okay?”
The Importance of a Platform for Communications
“Since financial service organizations can be a target for a variety of different cyber and physical threats, the ability to share information immediately through an automated, two-way system will empower our members with the facts they need to help keep U.S. infrastructure safe,” said Bill Nelson, president and CEO for FS-ISAC. “Specific cyber threats from overseas organized crime units, intense weather conditions that have crippled cities and regional power outages are just a few recent events that can have a real impact on our members. AlertFind enables us to easily communicate whenever one or all of our members might be affected by a threat or emergency.”
“As a MessageOne customer, we know first hand how valuable this tool is for financial services organizations,” said Blaise D'Ambrosio, vice president of Business Continuity for T. Rowe Price Group Inc. “Emergency notification helps financial services organizations drastically improve their ability to react to any crisis or emergency situation. First, it immediately connects management to employees to provide safety information. Once we know the status of our employees, we can begin implementing a recovery plan. Ensuring safety and protecting the vitality of our business is a powerful combination.”
About FS-ISAC
Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive - later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 - mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Source: Vendor Press Release
University of Pennsylvania Implements MIR3's Emergency Notification System for Alerting
MIR3 selected for its secure, two-way, voice and text communication platform
SAN DIEGO –[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS] - August 27, 2007 – MIR3™, the technology leader in Intelligent Notification (IN®) solutions for global enterprises, has implemented inEnterprise™, a unified, multi-modal emergency communication system, at the University of Pennsylvania. With support for all types of voice- and text-based communication devices, inEnterprise provides two-way notifications and instructions to students, staff and parents during critical events.
“inEnterprise ensures communications during an emergency, no matter what type of device a person has at hand and even if one communication channel is jammed,” said Amir Moussavian, MIR3 president and CEO. “Its two-way functionality lets recipients acknowledge they’ve received an alert, so that first responders can track responses and react accordingly. By implementing inEnterprise, the University of Pennsylvania has taken a critical step toward ensuring communication and accountability to students and staff as well as to parents, off-campus law enforcement agencies and other external organizations.”
MIR3’s enterprise-grade platform was chosen for its functionality, cost, redundancy and security and for its successful deployment at several universities, as well as hundreds of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies such as the Pentagon, the Air Force and NASA.
“Emergency communications are a challenge at a university such as ours, which has widely dispersed campuses and decentralized departments with diverse requirements,” said Maureen S. Rush, vice president for public safety, University of Pennsylvania. “We looked carefully at several solutions that would meet everyone’s needs, and only MIR3’s emergency notification platform met all our requirements.”
The University of Pennsylvania, which is comprised of three campuses, 16 schools, nearly 24,000 students, and more than 20,000 staff and faculty, cited several features that were key to the selection of the MIR3 emergency notification platform:
- Unlimited communication devices per user to support all options used by today’s technology-savvy students.
- Two-way messages for both voice and data to allow the university to track notifications and quickly determine who is safe and who needs help.
- A Message Bulletin Board feature that lets users call into a central number to obtain updates about the status of an event.
- A fully hosted, redundant system that is located at three separate centers throughout the United States.
- A unified approach for contacting parents using emergency contact data.
- Robust data protection and security features to ensure user privacy and compliance with federal regulations.
- A strong Application Program Interface (API) to automate the sharing of users’ emergency notification information with the university’s master database.
inEnterprise bridges the gap between all standard forms of communication to enable high-speed two-way communications to tens of thousands of users and devices across all modalities, including email, wireless pager, PDA, landline, mobile phone, satellite phone, TDD/TTY, fax and two-way text messaging. It can also be used for routine high-volume messaging and all-purpose broadcasting such as administrative notices to university staff, messages for coordinating faculty and schedules, and delivering information and receiving responses from students and parents that can be monitored and reported on.
Campus Security Task Force to Governor: First Responders Need Daily Campus-Alerting, Citizen-Alerting Communication Tools
ST. Louis, MO -- [EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS] -- August 22 - This was the clear message here today from the Campus Security Task Force: Rapid Response Subcommittee, part of 29-member task force on campus security, to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. Blunt commissioned the task force, consisting of mostly of higher education and law enforcement officials, after the shootings in April at Virginia Tech.
The entire report to the governor is here.
Communication between first responders and law enforcement agencies:campus-alert campus-alerting Campus Campus-Security citizen-alert Communication saint louis st. Gov Blunt Rapid-Response campu-security Task-force
This issue is of critical importance for rapid response success.
Tactical and radio interoperability is an ongoing issue within first responder and law enforcement communities. Any emergency is rife with confusion and an inability for the key safety and security personnel to communicate effectively and efficiently only adds to the intrinsic chaos.
Interoperability of communications is essential. The State must lead the way and provide a statewide communications system that can be accessible by all first responders on a daily basis. It is also important that communication occur between the campus and the public. In an emergency situation it may be advisable to have the availability of satellite telephone technology to communicate with the public and first responders.
The campus security discussion is another in a long line of activities that represents
another component to the interoperability issue. Technological solutions exist and are being implemented in many cases to overcome t his obstacle, but this needs to be a continuing effort. Funding is important to achieve this goal.
Pepperdine University Launches Comprehensive Emergency Communication System with 3n
University Selects 3n’s InstaCom Campus Alert Mass Notification System
GLENDALE, Calif. -[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-– August 21, 2007 – To further strengthen University emergency preparedness, Pepperdine University has launched a comprehensive campus-wide emergency communication system leveraging InstaCom Campus Alert, a mass notification system from 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider.
The 3n mass notification system enables Pepperdine to communicate with students, staff, and faculty in minutes via a number of contact methods—including native SMS text messaging, almost any voice-enabled device such as cell phones and landlines, instant messaging, pagers, and faxes—greatly increasing the likelihood that messages will be delivered and received in a timely manner.
3n’s emergency notification system can be used across Pepperdine’s multiple campuses to assemble and coordinate public safety and crisis response teams; convene immediate briefings for the Emergency Operations Committee; notify students, faculty and staff in minutes; and reach students on popular devices with voice and text simultaneously. It automatically cycles through all specified communication devices in an effort to reach people, reducing the time it takes to send critical messages while freeing up personnel to manage other critical tasks before, during and after an emergency.
Amcom Software Selected for Red Cell Project Preview
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- [EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS] -- August 20, 2007 -- Amcom Software, a provider of mission critical communication software, today announced it has been selected to participate in the Red Cell project -- a platform for the detection, response and emergency communication associated with man-made and natural threats to public safety. Amcom is providing the emergency notification software for the solution which will be demonstrated for the Institute for Defense and Homeland Security (IDHS) in September 2007. The initiative is led by AMERICAN SYSTEMS -- a government IT solutions provider and one of the top 100 employee-owned companies in the
The objective of the Red Cell project is to ensure timely decision-making and rapid response in the event of man-made emergencies such as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive events. In addition, Red Cell may be used as a public safety service for natural disasters and as a complement to existing public notification systems.
"We have assembled an outstanding roster of partners to collaborate on Red Cell, and Amcom Software's expertise in emergency communications has been pivotal in this project," said Peter Smith, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Engineering Group, AMERICAN SYSTEMS. "Together, we have created an integrated platform that is destined to save lives and help dramatically enhance the safety and security of our citizens."
Red Cell is built on a standards-based, net-centric framework that interconnects sensor networks and mobile phone users located in a specific geographical area (cell tower footprint). Sensors will detect deviations from baseline data and notify appropriate first response command and control personnel who can then take immediate action. As a leading provider of software products for emergency communications, Amcom will contribute both the software and expertise for managing key elements of the Red Cell emergency notification system.
"Our e.Notify emergency communication solution has quickly been recognized as the leader in sophisticated, high-end mission critical notification systems," said
Founded in 1975, AMERICAN SYSTEMS is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the
HISD Leads the Nation in Proactive Preparation
With Hurricane Dean Looming, The NTI Group Works Alongside HISD to Update
Parent Contact Information for the Connect-ED Emergency Communication System 
HOUSTON, TX --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 17, 2007 - In preparation for the school year, Houston Independent School District (HISD) announced today a district-wide data drive for their school to parent notification system, Connect-ED from the NTI Group, Inc. As Hurricane Dean sets its course for Texas, HISD officials are taking this opportunity to encourage parents to give the school district updated contact information to make sure that the district can take full advantage of the Connect-ED service. The system gives district leaders and security professionals the ability to reach all parents and staff with time-sensitive information during unforeseen events or emergencies, within minutes, through a single phone call.
Last year, HISD used the Connect-ED system to deliver more than 3.3 million phone messages to parents and staff. With the school year starting on August 27 and hurricane season in full swing, having updated contact information in the Connect-ED system is crucial to reach parents and guardians with important district-wide announcements.
“It is critically important that we be able to get in touch with our parents immediately in emergencies or with other important school information,” Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra said. “With our new technology we can provide vital information directly to parents in minutes, but only if we have the correct contact information. We’re urging our parents to update their contact information with their schools as quickly as possible so that if we have an emergency and when we have important information to share, we can call them with those messages and reach everyone.”
“As students head back to school, we are strongly encouraging parents and college students across the nation to ensure that they take responsibility for providing their schools with up to date information as quickly as possible. Hurricane Dean serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to be prepared today,” said Robin Richards, Chairman and CEO of NTI.
The Connect-ED service enables campus leaders to schedule, send, and track personalized voice messages to up to six phone numbers per person, and sends messages via four different modes of communication:
- Voice messages to home phones, work phones, cell phones, and even e-mails
- Text messages to cell phones, PDAs and other text-based devices
- Written messages to e-mail accounts
- Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired
Baton Rouge Mayor Announces New Emergency Notification System
Outreach Expanded to include Cell Phones and Email 
Baton Rouge, LA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 16, 2007 - With the busiest period of hurricane season approaching, Mayor Melvin L. “Kip” Holden today announced a new system of emergency response outreach to notify the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish by residential, business or cell phone as well as email, text message or devices for the hearing and speech impaired.
“New technology brings new ways to assure that every citizen is notified when an emergency occurs,” Mayor Holden said. “No longer is the home telephone the most effective way to reach a highly mobile society, so it’s important that we keep up with the changing needs of our community.”
East Baton Rouge Parish has selected Connect-CTY to provide a system that will allow parish officials to notify citizens through voice and text messages and to allow residents to sign up unlisted numbers for emergency contact through the city-parish website, BRgov.com.
“We are the first city in Louisiana to adopt the Connect-CTY service,” Holden said, “again putting Baton Rouge at the forefront of utilizing advanced technology in emergency response.”
Test calls to businesses currently in the database are scheduled for Friday, August 17th around 4:30 p.m. and test calls to residential numbers currently in the database will begin at 6:30 p.m. Residents will receive a message from Mayor Holden indicating the call is testing to assure their number is in the system.
The city is now collecting e-mail addresses, cell phone and unlisted landline numbers to also be included in the Connect-CTY communication service. Additionally, the city is requesting that citizens alert the city should they wish to receive messages via their TTY/TDD receiving device for the hearing impaired.
Primary residential and business phones in Baton Rouge have been automatically included in the system. Residents can opt-in to have their unlisted contact information included for emergency notifications by visiting the Baton Rouge website (brgov.com) and clicking on the “Emergency Information” link on the left side of the home page, then the link that says “SIGN UP NOW – SERVICES BY CONNECT-CTY” to enter additional information into the secure database.
“The lessons of Hurricane Katrina and Rita taught us how critical it is to communicate with our citizens during emergencies,” Holden said. “It’s important that we be able to notify residents through multiple means of communication to assure that we get life-saving information to them. This system allows us to communicate at any given moment or location and will serve as a reliable, effective tool in Baton Rouge’s emergency planning and preparedness.”
East Baton Rouge Parish officials can also keep track of which telephone numbers were not reached should follow up or additional assistance be required with a report on the results of outgoing messages that is sent to city-parish administrators immediately upon availability.
“With the Connect-CTY service, city administrators can target messages to groups for everything from mobilizing emergency response teams to notifying key department heads on our own staff,” said Joanne Moreau, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness of Baton Rouge. ”
Authorized officials also can use a map on the Connect-CTY system to contact specific geographical locations, sending messages only to select Baton Rouge communities or even neighborhoods. “
Source: Baton Rouge City Press Release
RIT Selects 3n for Campus-Wide Emergency Communication
Rochester Institute of Technology Enhances Campus Safety Initiatives with Mass Notification System
GLENDALE, Calif. and HENRIETTA, New York -–[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 15, 2007 – The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) selected 3n (National Notification Network), a global mass notification system provider, as its campus-wide emergency alert system to communicate with RIT’s students, faculty and staff instantly in any emergency.
“Safety and security at our university is of paramount importance,” said RIT President Bill Destler. “We are constantly vigilant about improving safety procedures and policies at RIT. Our community can be assured that we will use the 3n mass notification system and couple it with well-planned, tested, and reviewed continuity and contingency plans. The partnership with 3n adds additional effective communication channels in RIT’s layered approach to disseminate information.”
RIT will be working with 3n to quickly implement the 3n mass notification system campus-wide and anticipate it will be fully operational prior to the start of the Fall 2007 semester.
Villanova University Harnesses the Power of Roam Secure Alert Network for Emergency Notification
RSAN Notifies University Community Instantly via Text, and Can Tap Into Five County Area Emergency Information Exchange
Arlington, VA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]--August 14, 2007 - Roam Secure, Inc. today, announced Villanova University purchased and deployed the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN™). Nova Alert (https://alert.villanova.edu) will enable campus public safety and university officials, to send targeted alerts to its 10,000 students and faculty members. Parents of Villanova students can also sign up for the system, and receive real-time information during a major emergency or a routine incident.
Villanova University sits on more than 254 acres, and spans 60 buildings. With RSAN and advanced GIS mapping capabilities, the entire campus, or targeted areas both on and off campus can be notified in seconds. The system is capable of reaching any text-enabled device including cell phones, pagers, e-mail, Blackberry, instant messaging and other communication media. The system also provides two-way messaging capabilities. All messages are stored and presented in the web-based application via the AlertTracker or to the field via a mobile device, creating an easy to view alert summary and audit trail.
"The Roam Secure Alert Network gives Villanova University the ability to instantly communicate emergency information to our on and off campus constituents,” said Stephen Fugale, Villanova University’s Chief Information Officer. “Even before the Virginia Tech tragedy, Villanova had been researching text messaging systems in an effort to expand our communications platforms for students, parents, faculty, and staff. We chose Roam Secure based on their superior technology, streamlined implementation plan, and the ability to tie the system into other RSAN systems across the greater Philadelphia area.”
Roam Secure supports more than 130 RSAN systems across the country at local, state and federal government agencies, schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, airports, refineries and other key businesses for routine and emergency communication. The Roam Secure Information Exchange (RSIX) enables Villanova University to securely connect with other RSAN systems in five major metropolitan areas, including the City of Philadelphia and five county surrounding area. Using RSIX, Villanova’s alerting and information sharing system can also share information with other RSAN systems across the country in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Colorado and California. Each Roam Secure customer can join the growing national emergency information exchange and share unlimited private and public all hazards emergency information regionally, statewide and nationally at no extra charge.
“Villanova University chose to join the RSAN platform deployed across the City of Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery and Gloucester Counties in the region. This gives the University the leading and proven text-based alerting technology, and a truly interoperable emergency information sharing system that serves the students, faculty, parents, and campus security at Villanova University,” said David Drescher, CEO of Roam Secure. ”We welcome Villanova to the growing base of higher education customers to be part of the Roam Secure Alert Network and the national emergency information sharing exchange.”
About Villanova University
Villanova University is a co-educational Roman Catholic institution that welcomes students of all faiths. Villanova was founded in 1842 by the friars of the Order of St. Augustine and offers a wide variety of degree programs through four main colleges – the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the College of Nursing – and a School of Law.
Robert Morris University and Send Word Now Partner to Offer Emergency Notification Service for Campus Community
New “RMU Alert” system allows students, faculty and staff to receive instant text or voice messages during weather-related, other emergencies
NEW YORK, NY --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 14, 2007. Send Word Now, a provider of on-demand alerting and response services, today announced that it is partnering with Robert Morris University (RMU) to enhance the University’s emergency preparedness and campus security through the introduction of its SWN Alert Service beginning in the 2007-08 academic year. The multi-modal alert and response service, known as RMU Alert, will allow the University’s 6,000 students, faculty and staff to receive rapid communications during situations such as power outages, weather emergencies, or other time-sensitive situations, as well as to respond to alerts if required.
“Robert Morris University is pleased to partner with Send Word Now in offering the RMU Alert service, which will support multiple modes of communication with our campus community,” said Ellen Wieckowski, chief information officer for Robert Morris University. “After this spring’s incident at Virginia Tech, institutions nationwide recognized the importance of being able to reach individual students, faculty and staff instantaneously; we believe that Send Word Now’s ability to contact people through various modes - high-priority texting, as well as voice and email – will allow RMU to accomplish just that, if and when needed. Because the service allows each subscriber to specify up to six contact points, the University feels confident that at least one of our communications will reach individuals, regardless of whether they are on or off campus at the time.”
Many colleges and universities are putting a new focus on leveraging the new technology to reach students promptly– with the communication devices and modes that are most familiar to them. The SWN Alert Service uses multiple modes of communication - including text messaging, telephones, mobile phones, email, pagers, Blackberries, Treos and other PDAs – to deliver alerts within minutes of a message being sent. Campus police, security personnel or administrators can initiate an alert from the web, phone, email or internal information system application. The two-way alert and response service that Send Word Now is providing to RMU is also designed to enable real-time response to voice and text alerts, allowing message senders to verify and track whether a response was made.
About Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University, founded in 1921, is a private, four year institution with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University offers 30 undergraduate programs and 19 masters and doctoral degree programs. An estimated 22,000 alumni live and work in western Pennsylvania.
Honeywell Upgrades Emergency Notification System for Bridgewater State College
Web-based Notification Service Gives College Fast, Reliable Way to Reach Students, Faculty and Staff
MINNEAPOLIS --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 14, 2007 - Honeywell today announced that Bridgewater State College in southeast Massachusetts has selected Instant Alert® Plus to deliver critical news and direction to students, faculty and staff in an emergency.
A new, Web-based notification service, Instant Alert Plus gives administrators the ability to reach people on and off campus with a clear, consistent message. The service broadcasts information to any communications device -- phone, cell phone, pager, email or PDA. It can send 100,000 30-second phone calls and 125,000 text messages in 15 minutes.
"Our staff and students prefer to receive information in different ways to suit their lifestyles and preferences," said Pat Cronin, associate vice president, Department of Technology, Systems and Networking, Bridgewater State College. "It may be easier to reach students with a text message, while a phone call may be more effective for faculty. Instant Alert Plus allows us to immediately reach people in whatever way they choose."
Recognized as a leader in adopting new, innovative technology, Bridgewater State College currently uses two Web sites to alert the media, students, faculty and staff of any emergency situations -- its main Web site and a special emergency notification site housed off campus and updated by administrators. The college decided it needed a more proactive and effective emergency notification system, particularly for pandemic planning purposes.
In the event of a pandemic or other crisis, Bridgewater State can now reach its key publics quickly and directly. To activate an alert, administrators only need to place a phone call or type a message on a computer with an Internet connection. In addition, the college can pre-record messages as part of its emergency planning, which allows an almost immediate response in a variety of situations.
Instant Alert Plus uses a series of distributed, redundant call center networks to disseminate information. As a result, it is one of the most reliable means of emergency communication. And along with broadcasting news, the service can send customized messages to an unlimited number of subgroups, such as emergency responders or the board of trustees. The real-time reporting feature provides college personnel easy-to-read, Web-based reports that show who has and has not received a particular alert.
The service also has a two-way communication function that allows the college to poll and get feedback from employees or students. Other features include the ability to automatically bridge message recipients into a conference call, and send attachments with text-based messages to provide more detailed information and instructions.
"Time is the enemy in a crisis so getting accurate information to people fast is crucial," said Mike Taylor, vice president of Americas marketing for Honeywell Building Solutions. "Instant Alert Plus delivers a consistent message with a definitive course of action in minutes. The service helps users like Bridgewater State College manage the situation instead of the phone lines."
Created for municipalities, colleges and universities, and healthcare and industrial facilities, Instant Alert Plus is an extension of Instant Alert for Schools, a notification service that helps K-12 school districts improve communication and emergency preparedness. More than 1,500 schools nationwide use Instant Alert to connect with parents and guardians.
For more information about Honeywell Instant Alert Plus, call 800-345-6770 ext. 601 or visit www.honeywell.com/instantalert.
e2Campus Version 2.4 Now Calls Traditional Wired Phones, Satellite Phones, Mobile Phones, and VoIP Phones
The new enhancements include message confirmation and more automated tools
RICHMOND, Va., --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- Aug. 13, 2007- From the Governor's Campus Security Conference, Omnilert(TM), LLC, maker of an emergency notification system for higher education called e2Campus(TM), today announced the release of e2Campus version 2.4. A major new enhancement to the service includes the ability for the system to call phones and broadcast a message that recipients can listen to and reply with confirmation that the message was received.
This new version will enable a greater broadcast of time-sensitive communication to reach ALL students, faculty and staff whether they are in class, at home, or at their office desk.
Now any authorized campus official can conveniently push an urgent message to the campus Web site, to all digital visual displays, alert beacons, and loudspeakers around campus, and to the phones, mobile phones, email accounts, and RSS readers of the entire campus community.
As a hosted solution or Software as a Service (SaaS), e2Campus 2.4 is available immediately. All institutions purchasing the new e2Campus Voice service must also have e2Campus Text service. The e2Campus Text service costs about $1 per user per year, depending on the total number of recipients to be covered. e2Campus Voice service plans start at $841 per year.
Adelphi University Selects MessageOne To Expand Its Communications Capabilities
Garden City, NY -- [EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS] -- August 13, 2007 -As part of an effort to broaden its emergency notification and crisis communication channels, Adelphi University recently partnered with MessageOne. Adelphi will use MessageOne’s AlertFind emergency notification system to instantly broadcast urgent messages and deliver instructions to the campus community.
With MessageOne’s AlertFind service, Adelphi will be able to send notifications to students and staff using their preferred communications channels, including text or voice messages to a cell phone, home phone, and/or email. The system also allows for two-way communication, so that users can respond with any updates or requested information. AlertFind, which can tell the difference between a real person and voice mail, is able to deliver a spoken electronic or recorded message.
Students and staff will be able to update and customize their contact information via Adelphi’s eCampus Web portal.
To learn more about Adelphi University, visit www.adelphi.edu.
About Adelphi University
Adelphi University, chartered in 1896, was the first institution of higher education for the liberal arts and sciences on Long Island. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, the Honors College, the Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls more than 8,300 students from 40 states and 50 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.
Biola University Expands Use of 3n InstaCom Campus Alert Solution to Ensure Campus-Wide Safety
Southern California University Implements 3n Solution for Emergency Communication with Students, Faculty and Administration
GLENDALE, Calif. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 8, 2007 – 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider, today announced that Biola University has expanded its use of 3n’s InstaCom Campus Alert solution to automate emergency communications with students, faculty and administration. The University, which has been successfully using the 3n system for the past year to enhance its IT alerting capabilities during technology disruptions, recently decided to expand its use to notify the entire campus during emergencies or other critical incidents.
Founded in 1908, Biola University has more than 5,500 students enrolled in seven different schools. The University identified several key criteria in its notification system selection process: ease of use; ability to integrate with existing systems; guaranteed infrastructure security and reliability; and ability to address challenges specific to a campus environment, including delivering messages using student-friendly contact paths, such as instant messaging and true 2-way SMS text messaging.
Prior to selecting 3n, Biola relied upon a laborious calling list process that required the message initiator to manually call each phone number or pager number in an effort to contact each message recipient. The process was time consuming and delivered inconsistent results. Using 3n’s InstaCom Campus Alert system, Biola University will be able to communicate quickly and reliably in any crisis with all constituent audiences–students, faculty and administration–wherever they are located and independent of which communication devices they are using. The 3n system notifies message recipients via standard modes of communication, including phone, email, text messaging, instant messaging, pager, fax, and BlackBerry® devices.
“The Virginia Tech tragedy underscored the need for colleges and universities to adopt a crisis communication solution that speaks the language of students, and that means being able to communicate rapidly across newer technologies popular with students, such as instant messaging and native text messaging,” said Cinta Putra, CEO and co-founder of 3n. “As colleges and universities analyze how best to contact students, faculty and administrators in and outside of class during a crisis, they are finding that systems unable to leverage these critical communication paths represent a serious limitation in their emergency communication capabilities. ”
About Biola University
Biola University, founded in 1908, is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “National University,” which they consider the “major leagues” of higher education. Biola offers 145 academic programs through its six schools, ranging from the B.A. to the Ph.D. As a theologically conservative, Protestant university, Biola provides Evangelical students with biblically centered education, equipping them in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ in any professional setting. In 2003, Biola launched a new vision to be a global center for Christian thought and spiritual renewal, addressing the crucial cultural issues of our day. For more information, visit www.biola.edu.
Amcom Software Adds New Answering Service™ Module
Message-taking and call management application can transform a call center from cost center to profit center
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – August 6, 2007 – Amcom Software, a provider of mission critical communication software for hospitals, today announced the release and general availability of its Answering Service™ module – an add-on to its Smart Console intelligent workstation and on-call scheduling system. The optional Answering Service module provides full-featured case management, message-taking and reporting and can be used for managing outsourced answering services by linking into an optional billing application.
“Many customers are choosing to extend their call centers to handle call management and after hours answering services for other organizations,” said Chris Heim, CEO of Amcom Software. “It makes great sense to leverage both existing infrastructure and personnel to transform a cost center into a profit center. With this new product, customers can easily automate message taking, track cases and manage billing processes.”
The Answering Service product integrates with the central Amcom Software database and automates message storage, record keeping and answering service functions. As a result, customers can eliminate errors, reduce training time, improve customer satisfaction and more efficiently monitor and track case management.
Mollie Burrows, Call Center Director for Emory Healthcare and a beta user of the product said, “We had 26 call center operators manually handling answering services for 800 physicians.
Reliant largely upon paper-based processes, it’s no wonder our message tracking and reporting capabilities were disjointed and inefficient. With the Answering Service in place, we are leaps ahead in terms of quality control and process improvement.”
Amcom Software’s Answering Service enables the following functions:
- Group messages, pages, call activity and services provided into a unified service case file that can be opened, closed, tracked and centrally stored
- Facilitate answering services and screen initiation (i.e. screen pop) for multiple clients, and track all contact attempts for each case
- View flexible reporting, monitoring, measuring and reporting calls by type
- Assign cases to individually responsible operators and agents
- Enable entry of caller information, remarks and notes for each case event along with rule entry, call handling parameters and exception handling procedures
- Track, manage, report and bill clients for services based on real-time case files
- Automate paging, messaging and communication with specific contacts
- “Ultimately, we’re in the business of listening to our customers and creating mission critical communications solutions that automate processes and improve efficiencies,” said Chris Heim, CEO for Amcom Software. “Answering Service is a great example of what can be achieved through partnership and collaboration with our customers.”
- The Answering Service product is available now. For more information, including pricing, contact sales@amcomsoft.com or call 888-337-9274.
Middlebury College Selects MessageOne For Emergency Notification System
Austin, TX --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- August 6, 2007 – MessageOne today announced that Middlebury College administrators have selected MessageOne’s AlertFind to provide an automated emergency notification system that can be used to send simultaneous alerts to thousands of students, faculty and staff within minutes. Middlebury is planning to implement the system during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Emergency communications is a key challenge facing college and university leaders. Operating numerous buildings populated by hundreds of faculty, staff, and students makes running a college akin to overseeing a small town. Located in Vermont, Middlebury also operates the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad at 28 sites in 12 countries. With students, faculty and staff in Middlebury and spread around the world, it would be very difficult to deliver emergency instructions or account for college community members in the event of a crisis or disaster.
Once the new system is implemented, Middlebury will be able to rapidly and automatically communicate with faculty, staff and students in the event of any crisis or disaster. Administrators will no longer have to distribute critical messages manually through a broadcast e-mail or voice mail. When an incident occurs, Middlebury crisis managers will be able to quickly and automatically send important notifications to affected community members. As long as the recipient has access to a landline, text messaging device, cell phone or email, they can receive an emergency notification anywhere around the world. The system, which can differentiate between a real person and voice mail, is able to deliver a spoken electronic or recorded message and even ask questions such as “Are you okay?” in the event of a crisis. These responses will be available to crisis managers in real-time.
AlertFind will allow Middlebury administrators to make all users or a select group of users immediately aware of public safety warnings, provide up-to-date inclement weather advisories, or disseminate information on issues in foreign countries potentially affecting students or faculty abroad.
Dedicated System for Emergency Broadcasts Needed
Unlike free text message systems backed by advertising dollars, AlertFind is a dedicated, robust solution for text and voice-based emergency communication. Since the system is only used in emergencies, AlertFind prevents the “message fatigue” associated with ad-based systems where users may ignore important notifications, assuming they are spam.
“We want to be proactive in ensuring the safety of the college community and this system provides one step we can take towards that goal,” said Middlebury College Dean of Planning John Emerson, who is a co-chair of the college’s emergency planning steering committee.
GSS and 3n Announce Groundbreaking Emergency Communication Partnership
Companies to integrate GSS's FM broadcasting capabilities with 3n's multi-channel notification system
Jackson, Miss. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- Aug. 2, 2007 – Global Security Systems (GSS) and 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider, announced today a partnership to integrate 3n's mass notification solution with GSS's pioneering ALERT FM, an FM-based digital alert and messaging system. The combination of these two technologies will, for the first time, provide state and local government agencies with a one-stop solution for their community emergency notification needs.
“Our partnership with 3n is a win-win for those managing the dissemination of critical information,” said Bobby Adams, GSS president and CEO. “ALERT FM’s personal alert and messaging brings Radio Data System (RDS) technology to the table along with the reliability and redundancy that comes with the use of a pre-existing network of FM towers. By partnering with 3n, ALERT FM adds a robust communication channel to the mix while being able to operate on a much broader scale.”
ALERT FM incorporates Radio Data System (RDS) technology to send digital information using conventional FM radio infrastructure. Targeted alerts and messages are delivered by satellite to FM transmission towers and can be received on ALERT FM receivers and other mobile devices, including PDAs, cell phones and other specialized receivers equipped with FM chips.
Customers of the joint GSS and 3n solution will also be able to receive timely weather alerts and updates through a direct feed from the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), providing valuable weather- and emergency-related information necessary to deal with any natural disaster.
About Global Security Systems, LLC and ALERT FM
Global Security Systems (GSS) is a systems integrator, service provider and manufacturer of homeland security and natural disaster ALERT FM systems. The company has its headquarters in Jackson, Miss. with offices in Louisiana, Florida, and Washington, D.C. ALERT FM is a personal alert and messaging system that enables state and local government and private sector officials to create and send digital alerts and messages. Potential messages include tornado warnings, homeland security notices, hurricane evacuation instructions, utility notices, plant or school closings, employee notifications and traffic alerts. First responders, school officials and citizens can receive these alerts and messages based on geographic or organizational groupings through specially designed ALERT FM receivers or any device equipped with a standard FM chip. For more information log on to www.alertfm.com.