Emergency Notification
FEMA & Partners Release 2013 National Preparedness Report
May 30, 2013 11:59 am | by FEMA | News | CommentsFEMA and its partners have released the 2013 National Preparedness Report (NPR). The NPR is an annual status report on the nation's progress toward reaching the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation. The report also identified areas for national improvement in enhancing the resilience of infrastructure systems and maturing the role of public private partnerships.
Residents Tweeted As 5.2-Magnitude Earthquake Hit Ontario
May 20, 2013 11:43 am | News | CommentsIt was felt as far west as Toronto, Canada's largest city, but no damage was immediately reported. Twitter erupted with reports of buildings shaking in Ottawa for several seconds. Ontario's premier, who lives in Toronto, tweeted that her house was shaking.
Warnings About Sandy Led To Confusion
May 20, 2013 11:35 am | by SETH BORENSTEIN,AP Science Writer | News | CommentsFederal weather forecasts for Superstorm Sandy were exceptionally accurate last fall, but the warnings themselves were confusing, an internal review found. The gigantic October storm lost tropical characteristics hours before landfall in New Jersey, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stopped calling it a hurricane.
Mutare Vital Link™ Smart Notification Platform Tackles $8 Billion Healthcare Communication Problem
May 20, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsMutare has announced the General Availability of Vital Link 2.0, the game-changing smart notification system that supports 2-way secure communication, mass/group notification and patient engagement messaging in a single closed loop platform.
Plan, Lead, Adapt: Best Practices For Crisis Managers
May 20, 2013 10:31 am | by By Tony Schmitz, president & CEO, Send Word Now | Articles | CommentsWhile having a simple software tool to operationalize your continuity plan is paramount to a quick and efficient response, you need human energy to back it up. For all business leaders, the ability to think and react quickly during a crisis situation can save money, energy, reputation and lives.
Taking Care Of Business
May 8, 2013 11:29 am | by Daniel Hahn, MA, CEM, FPEM, Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Plans Chief | Articles | CommentsGovernment has predefined duties at every level — federal, state and local. One of the major duties of government (other than collection of revenues), is public safety. Since the turn of the century, we have seen several paradigm shifts in the relationship between government and the private sector.
P2: Shots Fired — 2013 Continuity Insights Management Conference
April 29, 2013 10:02 am | by Jonna Mayberry, Editor | Events | CommentsShots Fired: Managing the Operational Risk of an Active Shooter Incident. A plenary session presented by Steven Crimando at the 2013 Continuity Insights Management Conference.
Understanding The Phases Of Emergency Communication
April 19, 2013 10:37 am | by Hannah Snyder, Business Continuity Planner, xMatters | Articles | CommentsThe ability to send emergency notifications over any device or platform enables targeted messages to successfully reach and warn large numbers of people about imminent or existing danger, potentially taming an incident or emergency from turning into a crisis or catastrophe. However, every situation is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Two Killed As Two Bombs Explode At Boston Marathon
April 15, 2013 5:37 pm | by JIMMY GOLEN,Associated Press | News | CommentsTwo bombs exploded near the crowded finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people and injuring more than 50 others in a terrifying scene of broken glass, smoke and severed limbs, authorities said. A third blast rocked the John F. Kennedy Library a few miles away and more than an hour later.
Motive Unclear In VA Community College Shooting
April 14, 2013 4:46 pm | News | CommentsInvestigators said Friday that they don't know what motivated the shootings. Authorities have not said what type of weapon was used or how it was obtained. A student who hid Friday afternoon as the gunfire rang out said the shooter attempted to lure more students out of hiding by pretending he was a police officer.
xMatters™ Enhances Smartphone Access To Its BC & IT Notification Technologies
March 22, 2013 12:18 pm | News | CommentsxMatters, Inc. has announced enhancements to its mobile capabilities for business continuity and IT management communications. The company’s new Android and enhanced iOS applications build on the recent acquisition of the Bamboo mobile incident management application.
xMatters™ Announces Acquisition Of Deloitte Australia’s Bamboo™ Product Line
February 14, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsBamboo publishes incident management plans, procedures and actions to an individual’s smartphone in a practical and friendly way. When a plan or procedure is added or changed, Bamboo automatically updates only the affected users based on their role and other criteria.
AtHoc Completes Acquisition Of Alerting Solutions
January 22, 2013 9:58 am | News | CommentsThe ASI acquisition extends AtHoc's product offerings, which combine the latest advances in mobile, cloud, multi-media and social networks to enable enterprise-class unified emergency communications for the defense, homeland security, government, healthcare and industrial markets.
xMatters Takes Silver Honors For The 2012 Davey Awards
December 27, 2012 10:34 am | News | CommentsxMatters won Silver honors for their integrated marketing campaign that focuses on a new approach to connect with current and future clients. With innovative and creative mailers, emails and webinars, xMatters is investing in their markets, educating participants on a new view into enterprise communications.
2013 Crisis Communications Survey Dives Deep Into Social Media Strategies
December 17, 2012 4:57 pm | by Luke Simpson, Editor | News | CommentsEarlier this year we published Continuity Insights’ first report into the use of social media as a crisis communications tool. In 2013 we will dig a little deeper in an effort to learn more about the industry’s social media goals and strategies, how respondents view the risks associated with social media, and whether sentiment towards social media’s effectiveness has changed.
When To Utilize SMS & Email To Cellular Phones For Notification Applications
October 30, 2012 1:23 pm | News | CommentsIf your application requires several hundred text messages be sent at one time, the enterprise should consider using “true” SMS messages as part of the notification system strategy. When transmitting to smaller groups, it is feasible to utilize no cost SMTP messaging to cellular devices.
Openwave Messaging Announces New Executive Team Members
October 23, 2012 11:35 am | News | CommentsOpenwave Messaging, Inc., the leading global provider of innovative messaging software solutions, today announced the addition of two executives: Tracy Allard as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Farooq Ali as Senior Vice President of Products.
Virginia Tech Massacre At Center Of 2 Court Appeals
October 15, 2012 10:54 pm | by STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe state moved Thursday to reverse a wrongful death verdict in the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech while the parents of two students killed want the university's president to stand trial for failing to alert the campus when the first gunshots rang out.
Everbridge Announces Expansion Of International Presence & Product Capabilities With New UK-Based Office Serving the EMEA Region
October 15, 2012 10:43 pm | News | CommentsEverbridge today announced the expansion of its international presence with a London, UK-based office serving the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regions of the globe. The Everbridge solutions suite with Globally Local technology provides industry-leading interactive communication and mass notification solutions to organizations while meeting the specific needs of multinational users.
Notification Industry Leader Send Word Now Shortlisted For 2 BCI Middle East Awards
October 12, 2012 10:38 am | News | CommentsSend Word Now announced that the company has been shortlisted for two Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Middle East Awards under the category of Business Continuity Innovation of the Year and Business Continuity Provider of the Year.
Notification System Selection: A Case Study
September 24, 2012 4:40 pm | by Luke Simpson, Editor | Articles | CommentsNotification systems are vital for crisis communications and a big investment for business continuity departments. Editorial board member Mike Keating, Vice President of Business Continuity Management at Reinsurance Group of America, recently upgraded his organization’s notification system and learnt a lot about the latest features in the process.
Visual Notification System
September 20, 2012 4:57 pm | News | CommentsThe EScreenz internal communication solution uses desktops, laptops and digital displays to communicate to everyone in your organization. Effectively and securely communicate throughout the enterprise or by departments. Messages can relate to emergencies, evacuations, safety, HR policies, compliance protocols, departmental procedures, training reinforcement, for example.
University Of Texas Defends Bomb Threat Response
September 17, 2012 4:50 pm | by JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe caller claimed bombs placed throughout campus would go off in 90 minutes, but administrators waited more than an hour before blaring sirens on the campus of 50,000 students and telling them to immediately "get as far away as possible" in emergency text messages.
Louisiana State Evacuates Following Bomb Threat
September 17, 2012 4:37 pm | by SHEILA V KUMAR, Associated Press | News | CommentsLouisiana State University issued a statement on its website announcing the evacuation, then distributed the information through text messages, emails and social media. The university sent a follow-up message to students at 1:36 p.m. telling them not to return.
New Everbridge System Harnesses The Power Of The Social Universe to Help Organizations Save Lives & Manage Mass Communication
September 11, 2012 9:40 am | News | CommentsThe new solution provides organizations with a single, interactive communications console to not only monitor a situation and gather external intelligence using real-time social media, data feeds and updates from the field, but also effectively take action by sending notifications and fostering interaction
