Archive for November, 2009

On November 11, Singlewire released InformaCast^® v6.1.1 on Cisco’s Application eXtenstion Platform (AXP). Cisco’s Integrated Services Router (ISR) combined with its Application eXtension Platform (AXP) allows businesses to cost-effectively meet their office communications and application integration needs by delivering data, voice, security, wireless LAN, switching, and video services on a single converged network and enabling hosting and integration of custom applications and network services. Cisco’s ISR and AXP have been instrumental in integrating networking infrastructure and reducing operational costs.

Singlewire’s InformaCast revolutionizes organization-wide communication. You can simultaneously send an audio stream and text messages to any combination of Cisco IP phones, InformaCast-compliant IP speakers, legacy paging systems, and PCs. With the push of a single button on the phone or a single click from a PC, a user can send a live, recorded, or scheduled broadcast to one or more paging groups.

InformaCast’s messaging and notification capabilities are numerous and constantly growing:

• Create live, ad-hoc, or pre-recorded audio broadcasts and/or text broadcasts
• Create paging groups using a variety of flexible means
• Filter access to message types and recipient groups by user
• Schedule messages to be sent at a preset time or on a recurring basis
• Administer broadcasts from a secure web interface or IP phone
• Broadcast multiple messages simultaneously to different paging groups
• Use the Bell Scheduler’s calendar format for complex ringing environments such as schools, and schedule passing bells for an entire school district, modifying the bells as needed
• Use the Talk and Listen feature and allow all recipients of a broadcast to take turns talking within the group by pressing a Talk softkey

With the release of InformaCast v6.1.1, Singlewire improved functionality:

• Message priorities. You can now assign a priority level to messages, allowing you to control how messages will be played by recipient devices. For example, a principal’s message about a tornado in the area (with a priority setting of 1) would override the students’ daily announcements (with a priority level of 3).
• Bulk IP speaker volume adjustment. This feature allows you to increase or decrease the volume of registered IP speakers. You can apply the volume adjustment to all registered speakers or to a subset of registered speakers.
• Scripting. InformaCast can be configured to run a scripts after a broadcast has been sent or after it backs up its configuration.
• SchoolMessenger/SOAP interaction. If you use the SchoolMessenger application, you can now create a message script that is attached to an InformaCast message. When the InformaCast message is broadcast, it will prompt SchoolMessenger’s application to execute a specific job. The SchoolMessenger application normally performs message delivery through phone calls, emails, and SMS.

Singlewire’s Legacy Paging Interface (LPI) allows you to incorporate your existing, analog paging system with our InformaCast^® application:

• Create live, ad-hoc, or pre-recorded audio and/or text broadcasts
• Play those broadcasts over speakers and IP phones
• Filter access to message types and recipient groups by user
• Schedule messages to be sent at a preset time or on a recurring basis
• Administer broadcasts from a secure web interface or IP phone
• Broadcast multiple messages simultaneously to different paging groups

You save money and time by leaving your existing paging system in place, and you gain functionality and versatility in your paging abilities.

The LPI works as a liaison between your existing paging system and our InformaCast solution. When you configure your speakers with the LPI, they can be integrated with InformaCast, and you can add them to recipient groups, create paging zones modeled after your existing zones, and send audio broadcasts out to any combination of speakers/zones.

With the LPI, you create a definition of your existing paging system, which is stored in the LPI’s database. Each definition may have one or more paging zones (i.e. group of speakers) associated with it, and each paging zone can be accessed via a single or multiple dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones.

Once your definition is complete, the LPI creates a software “model” of your speaker for each defined paging zone and assigns to it a specified MAC address within the LPI. The speakers register with the InformaCast server and play the broadcasts it sends out.

Because the LPI allows you to incorporate your external paging system with InformaCast, you save time and money by continuing to invest in your existing architecture. Since you are able to use the existing zones you have already configured for your organization, you cut down on confusion and effort in creating new zones. By incorporating InformaCast into your organization, you gain the increased functionality of either application, giving you more flexibility in your paging options and control over your paging environment.

The LPI supports the Grandstream HT502 and the following Valcom devices:

• VIP-821
• V2000A
• V2001A
• V2003A
• VIP-812
• V2904
• V2924A
• V9970
• MultiPath Valcom

Singlewire Software has been named a partner in the expanded and updated Cisco Developer Network. The program currently consists of more than 14,000 developers. Through this program Cisco offers developers assistance in the form of application programming interfaces (APIs) software development kits (SDKs) and technical documents for Cisco’s Access Routing, Network Management, Unified Communications, Unified Computing, WebEx, and Wireless Networking technologies.

There are three levels of the Cisco Developer Network: Registered Developers, Solution Developers, and Preferred Solution Developer. As a preferred solution developer, Singlewire “receives extensive technical, marketing, and sales resources from across Cisco.” And is known as a developer “with proven customer satisfaction, tested interoperability with Cisco products in Cisco labs, and strong business processes to engage with Cisco industry leading channel partners”.

Singlewire’s InformaCast IP broadcasting solution is built on the Cisco network platform. The InformaCast solution allows users to:

• Create live, ad-hoc, or pre-recorded audio and/or text broadcasts
• Play those broadcasts over speakers and IP phones
• Filter access to message types and recipient groups by user
• Schedule messages to be sent at a preset time or on a recurring basis
• Administer broadcasts from a secure web interface or IP phone
• Broadcast multiple messages simultaneously to different paging groups

To read the full press release from Cisco please click here.

Squaw Valley, USA – March 10-11, 2010

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER

Singlewire Software is excited to announce our return to Squaw Valley for a better than ever 2010 event. This year’s event offers attendees an affordable conference that will allow you to gather answers and resources that will assist in the day-to-day decisions your business faces regarding your existing and potential technology solutions.

To Register, visit – http://www.singlewire.com/keyword/squawvalley2010.

Singlewire’s InformaCast has been highlighted as a part of Cisco’s Notifi-Ed Solution for School Safety and Security Application Deployment Guide. The guide is written for school districts, and their assisting sales engineers, who are interested in using Cisco Unified Communications for both everyday and emergency notifications.

The Notifi-Ed solution addresses a number of challenges facing school districts today including school safety and security and maximizing network and communication investments. It also addresses challenges in infrastructure by offering integration with the newest technologies available and also integrating with a school district’s existing  technology when possible. Cisco’s Notifi-Ed guide offers solutions to these challenges by using Singlewire and SchoolMessenger software.

With Singlewire’s InformaCast you can simultaneously send an audio stream and text messages to any combination of Cisco IP phones, InformaCast-compliant IP speakers, and PCs anywhere in your school district. InformaCast allows you to send a live, recorded, or scheduled broadcasts to all the devices in your district or only a select few. You can also control your school’s bells using the Bell Scheduler’s calendar.

To learn more about InformaCast please visit http://www.singlewire.com/informacast.html. To learn more about Notifi-Ed or other Cisco Validated Designs please click here.