AtHoc, a division of Blackberry recently released an updated version of their crisis communications platform. This new version brings additional capabilities with it allowing customers, including the Pentagon, more pre-planning resources and automated processing of activities related to crisis communication.
These tools will make it easier to resolve incidents that arise in automated processes, while it also helps individuals prepare for more types of emergencies, faster – bringing completely automated response, outreach, and business rules.
Joseph Ng, the Sr. Dir. Of Marketing and Strategy at AtHoc, said, “Critical events are inherently complex, and our customers have been asking for faster and more efficient ways to manage their crisis communications. They want to be able to customize their workflow so that users understand the nature of threats sooner, and alerts are escalated faster. It’s all about business continuity and resilience, and we are proud to address those needs directly with this new release from AtHoc.”
This newest version specifically addresses some of the core crisis communication trends currently. Some enhancements include:
Real Time Alert Rules
- allow users to create their own rules applicable to their business as to when and why alerts are received.
Automated Staff Mustering
- automatically contacts all staff members with the appropriate skills and understanding to deal with a specific crisis.
Management Alerting
- alerts supervisors whenever the staff members cannot be reached or for any reason, are not able to accept the assignment when contacted. This one means leaders can step in immediately if needed, or implement protocols to keep progress happening.
Severity-Coded Notifications
- provides templates allowing staff to determine the severity of a crisis. When templates are used for notification purposes, they may be coded to show a RED ALERT header at the beginning of the email, or other needed information, so staff members don’t have to remember or think of all the needed details.
Because of the automation added to the features, crises can be dealt with faster, and the new systems have already been added to some extent to maritime ports, at some of the world’s largest healthcare facilities, large refinery operation centers, and major North American airports.
At the beginning of the cell phone race, Blackberry owned the market, in recent years, they’ve become almost obscure, but with the direction they are headed in their AtHoc division, Blackberry may soon find themselves at the cutting-edge and market leaders at yet another level of tech.
David Firester is an intelligence expert and founder of TRAC Intelligence.