Connecting People in New Ways, Anytime, AnywherePartner Solution Brief

AtHoc provides network-centric emergency mass notification systems to military, government, and commercial organizations.

AtHoc IWSAlerts is an enterprisewide network-centric notification system that supports the emergency alerting needs of large, distributed organizations and helps facilitate a safe and effective response.

Business Needs

During emergencies, it is critical to be able to quickly and accurately assess the real-time status of all personnel, notify them of threats, and provide them with instructions. To effectively and instantly reach a mass audience and targeted individuals and groups, many governmental and private organizations as well as military facilities now rely on one of their most pervasive assets—their IP network.

SolutionAtHoc IWSAlerts is a cost-effective solution for transforming an existing IP network into a comprehensive, enterprise-class mass notification system for rapid communication with boundless reach. It integrates with multiple alerting channels, such as those available

with Microsoft Lync Server 2010, to provide a single, unified web-based console for managing the emergency notification process. With this solution, facilities can quickly and efficiently communicate a consistent alert to personnel, first responders, senior management, security managers, and surrounding communities. The information is sent via multiple and redundant means, including computers, VoIP phones, cell phones, PDAs, BlackBerry devices, landline phones, digital display boards, TV, radio, PA systems and sirens, and more. 

Partner: AtHoc, Inc. Website: www.athoc.com Partner Size: 60 employeesCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Professional services—System integration services

Partner ProfileMicrosoft Gold Certified Partner AtHoc is a pioneer and recognized leader in providing enterprise-class, network-centric emergency notification systems to military, government, and commercial organizations.

For more information about AtHoc products and services, call (650) 685-3000) or visit the website at: www.athoc.com

The AtHoc IWSAlerts system provides bidirectional communications capabilities to capture end-user responses and generate real-time reports, providing senior leadership and security operators with an Enterprise Personnel Accountability Picture.

AtHoc IWSAlerts takes advantage of a unified approach to streamline processes and fully utilize available network resources, thereby significantly reducing costs typically required in a non-unified approach. The solution also:

Provides enterprise capabilities for multitenancy, with centralized deployment that supports an entire user population while providing each remote site its own “private” alerting system.

Monitors video feeds, physical sensors, and external data sources to automatically trigger notification scenarios.

Ensures continuous accuracy of personnel contact information by integrating with enterprise directories, providing operator user management tools and end-user self-service.

Includes deployment options such as secure private cloud, secure public cloud, and hybrid architecture.

BenefitsBy taking advantage of the AtHoc IWSAlerts solution, organizations

can:

Convert the entire communications infrastructure to an emergency alerting system. It manages the emergency notification process across the enterprise by providing predefined scenarios, access policies, multilocation support, and alert activation flow.

Speed comprehensive notification of personnel during times of emergency. The U.S. Air Force Reserve Command calls IWSAlerts “a great improvement over our former manual notifications. Prior to IWSAlerts, it could take us hours or even days to accomplish 100 percent notification. Now we can achieve positive contact in mere minutes.”

Use Microsoft Lync Server 2010 conferencing capabilities to alert first responders and provides instantaneous conferencing and collaboration capabilities to key personnel with Lync IM and Lync-connected VoIP phones. Integration with Lync Server 2010 ensures that all resources are used, providing a low cost of entry for “notification applications.”

Make possible the centralized control and administration of “mass notification” on a real-time basis with immediate feedback of user status.

Streamline processes and policies while enabling virtual geographic, group, division, or sector targeting based on emergency conditions.

This solution brief is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published November 2010