Singlewire Announces New Facebook Plugin for Use with InformaCast

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Brad Parkel

The new Singlewire Facebook plugin allows users of InformaCast to post notification to a Facebook wall or fan page.

Singlewire Software (http://www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced the release of the new Singlewire Facebook plugin for InformaCast 8.0.

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured, network-based mass notification, emergency communication, and overhead paging system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers, Cisco IP phones, overhead paging systems, computer desktops, digital signage, SMS text, social media sites, and more. When configured with the Facebook plugin, you can expand the reach of an InformaCast broadcast.

The InformaCast Facebook Plugin allows users to send text broadcasts from InformaCast to a Facebook account’s wall or the fan page(s) of an account you administer. Once you have created an account on Facebook, you can configure InformaCast to treat the destination Facebook account (and its fan pages, if applicable) as a new recipient that can be assigned to a recipient group just as you would a phone or speaker.

Possible uses for the Facebook plugin include: sending organizational-wide announcements like weather statements, emergency communications, and event updates to a Facebook wall or fan page where it can be viewed by individuals inside or outside the organization.

“In an emergency situation, officials may need to alert and update people quickly,” states Ken Bywaters, executive vice-president of product development at Singlewire Software. “With this plugin, you can send notification to Facebook at the same time you’re sending notification to your entire organization.” Click to watch a one-minute video on the Singlewire Facebook plugin at www.singlewire.com/plugins.

The Facebook plugin is available for no cost to any user of InformaCast 8.0 with a valid Singlewire maintenance contract. Additional plugins will be released from Singlewire on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

The InformaCast platform for mass notification and emergency communication was developed in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks to evacuate federal buildings within 15 minutes. Over 3,000 organizations in 45 countries have implemented InformaCast as their notification and overhead paging system. It can be purchased through registered partners of Singlewire. For more information, visit http://www.singlewire.com/informacast .

About Singlewire Software

Singlewire, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Our main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast SE, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.



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Singlewire Announces New Plugin for Sending InformaCast Notification to Twitter

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Brad Parkel

The new Singlewire InformaCast Twitter plugin allows users to automatically post to Twitter when sending notification to the organization.

Singlewire Software (http://www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced the release of the new Twitter plugin for InformaCast 8.0.

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured, network-based mass notification, emergency communication, and overhead paging system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers, Cisco IP phones, overhead paging systems, computer desktops, digital signage, SMS text, social media sites, and more. When configured with the InformaCast Twitter plugin, you can expand the reach of an InformaCast broadcast.

The InformaCast plugin for Twitter allows the text from an InformaCast broadcast message to automatically post to the organization’s Twitter account for others to see. When setting up a message group in InformaCast, you can see and choose your Twitter account from a list of all recipients.

The Twitter plugin’s possible uses include: posting emergency messages simultaneously to your organization and the general public, and posting status updates for an ongoing situation. Click to watch a one minute video on the Singlewire plugin for Twitter at: www.singlewire.com/twitter-plugin.

“Easily reaching Twitter with an emergency notification in a crisis is often part of an organization’s communication plan,” states Ken Bywaters, executive vice-president of product development at Singlewire Software. “With the introduction of this new plugin, Twitter comes up as one of the many options for sending an InformaCast notification.”

The plugin for Twitter is available for no cost to any user of InformaCast 8.0 with a valid Singlewire maintenance contract. Additional plugins will be released from Singlewire on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

The InformaCast platform for mass notification and emergency communication was developed in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks to evacuate federal buildings within 15 minutes. Over 3,000 organizations in 45 countries have implemented InformaCast as their notification and overhead paging system. It can be purchased through registered partners of Singlewire. For more information, visit www.singlewire.com/informacast.

About Singlewire Software

Singlewire, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Our main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast SE, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

 

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Singlewire Software Hosts Technical Users Group Gathering and Exchange

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Brad Parkel

STUGGE 2011 attracts InformaCast users and partners from across the country and around the world.

Madison, WI – Singlewire Software, LLC (www.singlewire.com) developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification and emergency communication today announced the date and location for STUGGE 2011, the Singlewire Technical Users Group Gathering and Exchange.

This year’s event is taking place at the MGM Signature in Las Vegas, from April 5 to April 7, and features a full day of information-packed discussions, training, networking, best practices, and creative uses of InformaCast. Topics for this year’s meeting include a review of the product road map of InformaCast through version 9.0, a review and preview of InformaCast plugins, customers’ best practices stories, and updates and presentations from Singlewire technology partners.

As an added incentive, all registrants will receive three complementary copies of Singlewire’s RemotePhoneControl, a $1305 dollar value, just for attending.

“STUGGE 2011 is an excellent opportunity for customers to interact with our developers and help shape the future of mass notification,” states Ken Bywaters, executive vice president for product development at Singlewire Software.

To register for this event, visit www.singlewire.com/stugge between now and April 1.

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured, network-based mass notification system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers, Cisco IP phones, overhead paging systems, computer desktops, digital signage, SMS text, social media sites, and more. InformaCast can be purchased through registered partners of Singlewire. For more information, including a one-minute video overview, and written documentation, visit www.singlewire.com/informacast to learn more.

About Singlewire Software
Singlewire, based in Madison, WI develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Singlewire InformaCast, InformaCast SE, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl, provide users unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com/learnmore.

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Singlewire Announces the Release of InformaCast 8.0

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Brad Parkel

InformaCast 8.0 makes it easier to send mass notification, emergency communication, and overhead paging to a growing number of systems and endpoint devices.

InformaCast 8

Singlewire Software (http://www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced the release of InformaCast 8.0, an upgrade to the popular InformaCast notification platform.

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured, network-based mass notification, emergency communication, and overhead paging system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers, Cisco IP phones, overhead paging systems, computer desktops, digital signage, SMS text, social media sites, and more. InformaCast can also be used to send bell tones for passing bells in K-12 schools and shift changes in manufacturing environments.

Highlighting the release is a new and improved user interface and the addition of plugins (www.singlewire.com/plugins) which further expand the number of people that can be reached with an InformaCast broadcast.

“InformaCast users will immediately notice the changes the first time they open the application,” states Ken Bywaters, executive vice-president of product development at Singlewire Software. “The new plugin architecture makes it easy for organizations to quickly connect to a growing universe of systems and endpoint devices. It’s just like installing an app on your mobile phone.”

Several no-cost plugins are available with the release of InformaCast 8.0, giving users the ability to send broadcasts to email accounts, Twitter, and Facebook, and initiate broadcasts when an email containing certain text is received. A plugin for sending broadcast jobs to the SchoolMessenger notification service is also available for a small fee. New plugins will be released on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

The InformaCast platform for mass notification and emergency communication was developed in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks to evacuate federal buildings within 15 minutes. Over 3,000 organizations in 45 countries have implemented InformaCast as their notification and overhead paging system. It can be purchased through registered partners of Singlewire. For more information, including a one-minute video overview, and written documentation, visit www.singlewire.com/informacast.

About Singlewire Software

Singlewire, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Our main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast SE, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

 

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Christopher Columbus High School Employs Singlewire InformaCast for Managing Bells, Clocks, Overhead Paging and a Classroom Emergency Call Button

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Singlewire InformaCast used for sending school-wide public address announcements, bell tones for class passing time, management of the school’s clock system, and for calling for assistance in the classroom.

Singlewire Software, LLC, ( www.singlewire.com ), developer of network-based applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, announces the deployment and use of InformaCast, at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Florida.

Christopher Columbus High School utilizes InformaCast to address the need for a unified mass communication system that allows for simple but effective communication to all corners of the school for public address announcements, bell tones for passing bells and as an emergency call button for staff to call for help. The system seamlessly integrates the school’s Cisco IP phone and data networks, allowing staff to send text and/or audio messages to public address systems via their Cisco IP phones.

InformaCast provides administrative staff the ability to log into a secure web portal to set the passing bell schedules and clock times for their entire facility. For sending an overhead page to the public address system, staff logs into their IP phone, enters a PIN number to access the paging system and speaks into the phone in the same way they would leave a voice mail.

Christopher Columbus High School also utilizes Singlewire’s DORA, Direct Observation and Real time Alerting application (www.singlewire.com/dora) to enable an emergency “call for help” button in each classroom. If there’s a problem, staff simply pushes a button and an InformaCast message is immediately sent to administrative staff.

“InformaCast provided us with a unified system with ease of management that allows us to even communicate with the baseball field and the weightlifting room wirelessly,” states Elena Alvarez, Technology Director at Christopher Columbus High School. “Also, having the same time (displayed on the clocks) throughout the whole school has been beneficial.”

Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, FL, is a private, college preparatory high school. Conducted by the Marist brothers, CCHS has been providing educational excellence since 1958 and currently has an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students.

About Singlewire Software:

Singlewire, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA, which allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination – IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc. – all with the peerless capacity for customization to customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

Related Links – ARTICLE – Christopher Columbus School Extends Overhead Paging with InformaCast | CASE STUDY – Christopher Columbus School Extends Overhead Paging with InformaCast

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Singlewire InformaCast® Used by Ouachita Baptist University to Send Emergency Notification to Students, Staff and Faculty

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Local Armed Robbery Suspect Approaching Campus Prompts University Officials to Lockdown Campus

Singlewire Software (www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative software for mass notification, emergency communication, paging, and regional notification, today announced the use of InformaCast by Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) for sending a campus emergency notification to students, staff, and faculty, alerting them about an emergency situation threatening the campus.

The incident, which occurred on August 24th, 2010, during class registration, involved a local armed robbery suspect that was eluding police and thought to be approaching campus. After police notified campus officials, the Vice President for Student Services at OBU activated the emergency communications system, sending the campus into lockdown.

“Once [the Vice President for Student Services] understood the situation at hand, he was able to send the alert from his computer,” remarks Rob Crockett, Network Administrator at OBU. “He was able to send an audible message with InformaCast, he was able to send text messaging, he was able to change our webpage, and send emails to all students, faculty and staff.”

OBU currently only relies on InformaCast in emergency situations. They have pre-defined scripts that can send out pre-recorded emergency messages for events like tornadoes or a fire. “During the emergency the other day, we have a pre-recorded one for a possible violent situation, that’s what was sent out. We then followed it up with ad-hoc messages to tell people that they need to go indoors. And we continued to remind people during the crisis that they need to stay indoors.”

The result was a successful and efficient emergency communication to the entire campus. “It worked very successfully,” says Crockett of the emergency notification system. “We were able to do a complete lockdown on our whole campus within about five minutes of initiating the alert to people.”

The InformaCast mass notification platform enables organizations to send a live, ad-hoc, or pre-recorded, pre-written audio and/or text message to any number of on-network and off-network systems and devices including IP phones, overhead paging systems, digital media displays, desktops, cell phones, social media sites and more. When federated with InformaCast Director, it can be used as part of a regional notification system by public safety management agencies. It is typically deployed as part of an organization’s data and voice IT infrastructure.

Read more about this story.

About Singlewire Software

Singlewire Software, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Its main application offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, InformaCast Director, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl.

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Singlewire Announces the Release of InformaCast Director for Regional Notification

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Brad Parkel

New application enables organizations to federate multiple InformaCast and InformaCast CK servers across disparate networks to send regional notification.

Madison, WI, 1 September, 2010 – Singlewire Software (http://www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced the release of InformaCast Director, a new product designed to connect and federate multiple instances of InformaCast and InformaCast CK to send regional notification. InformaCast Director extends the functionality of the full-featured, network-based InformaCast and InformaCast CK products that provide mass notification, emergency communication, overhead paging, and physical security to businesses, healthcare facilities, government agencies, universities, colleges, K-12 schools, and more.

“InformaCast Director is an immediate and cost effective way for an entire county or state to establish a true, on-network regional notification system via the InformaCast platform,” states Paul Shain, CEO of Singlewire Software. “It leverages existing networks and systems already in place to send notification.”

InformaCast Director utilizes the security and redundancy of the region’s IP data/computer networks to send notification to remote locations, triggering an on-network InformaCast notification to any combination of Cisco IP phones, IP speakers, computer desktops, analog paging systems, email systems, media display monitors, and other network devices. In addition, notification can also be passed to off-network notification systems including SMS text messaging and external email systems.

“This has the potential to be revolutionary in the way notification is done,” states Ken Bywaters, Executive Vice President of Product Development at Singlewire Software. “If there’s an emergency—like a weather warning, chemical spill, or a severe accident—that threatens the entire region, a public safety official can log into InformaCast Director and initiate a broadcast message that will cascade through all federated notification networks, systems, and endpoints.”

InformaCast Director is a software solution, and can be deployed as part of an organization’s data and voice IT infrastructure. It can be ordered through registered partners of Singlewire. For more information, including a one-minute video overview, nine-minute audio podcast, written documentation, and instructions, visit http://www.singlewire.com/director.

About Singlewire Software:

Singlewire Software, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Its main application offerings: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and RemotePhoneControl allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

Media Contacts:
Brad Parkel
Director of Marketing
Singlewire Software, LLC
608.661.1154
media@singlewire.com
###

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Ouachita Baptist University Uses InformaCast for Emergency on Campus

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Ouachita Baptist Alerts Students and Staff About an Emergency Situation Involving an Armed Robbery with InformaCast

Excerpt from the Ouachita Baptist Website

“The alert system operated effectively and we were able to clear the outside areas of campus very quickly.” – Dr. Keldon Henley, vice president for student services at Ouachita Baptist University

August 24, 2010

Ouachita Baptist University officials activated the university’s emergency notification system in response to a police search for a possible armed robbery suspect near campus.

An initial alert was issued at 10:29 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, with an all-clear message issued at 12:18 p.m.

The initial alert notified students, faculty and staff that “police are searching for a possible armed robbery suspect in the area behind OC Bailey and Anthony Halls” and instructed individuals to “go inside until further notice.” Follow-up alerts instructed recipients to “please go inside the nearest building until further notice.”

Following notification by Arkadelphia police that the suspect had been apprehended, university officials issued a message noting that “the emergency situation has now ended. You may continue normal activities.”

Ouachita’s extensive campus emergency notification system, launched in 2007, includes e-mail, text messages, outdoor loudspeakers, campus phone messages and computer pop-up alerts.

According to Ouachita President Rex Horne, “An emergency situation in Arkadelphia this morning resulted in our securing the campus and bringing all students and employees indoors.  A bank robbery was reported and Arkadelphia police advised us to issue an alert. We did so promptly.” He added that everyone on campus was safe and “taking every precaution” throughout the emergency alert.

Dr. Keldon Henley, vice president for student services, noted, “We were tremendously pleased by the response of our students and others on campus when the alert was announced. The alert system operated effectively and we were able to clear the outside areas of campus very quickly.”

Read More – Excerpt from the Ouachita Baptist Website

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Colgate Uses InformaCast for Campus Emergency Notification

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Colgate University uses Singlewire InformaCast to alert faculty, staff and students about an incident on campus.

Excerpt from the Colgate University News Blog – Click to Read Full Story

We would like to provide you with more information about the emergency situation that occurred on campus earlier today. An individual inside a car near the Oak Drive entrance to campus attempted to harm himself, which made it necessary for local law enforcement officials to surround the car in order to contain the situation. The individual was not a member of the Colgate community, and the situation was resolved peacefully.

Though law enforcement officials expected the emergency to be contained to Oak Drive, as a precaution we advised faculty, staff, and students to remain in their buildings until the situation was resolved. In addition, all entrances to campus were closed.

The university’s emergency response plan includes a number of communications tools to inform the campus community quickly and effectively prior to, during, and following an emergency. Today, we utilized the Campus Alert email system, as well as the Informacast recorded message system over campus telephones.

Click to read full article

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Colgate Installs New Outdoor Emergency Address System

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Appearing in the Colgate University Blog

Colgate has installed a new campus emergency public address system, which is part of the university’s comprehensive emergency notification plan. The new public address system is intended to provide timely warnings to the campus community in the event of a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate and widespread notification. It is important to note that it is highly unlikely the public address system will ever have to be used.

INFORMACAST is a component of the campus VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) telephone system installed in 2009. INFORMACAST allows prerecorded and live voice messages to be distributed to campus VOIP telephones, which include those in staff and faculty offices. While Colgate Alert is the primary tool for notifying the campus community in the event of a major emergency, INFORMACAST provides an additional layer of communication.

Read the full story on the Colgate University Blog at – http://blogs.colgate.edu/2010/08/colgate-installs-new-outdoor-e.html

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Singlewire Announces Release of InformaCast 7.1

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Brad Parkel

InformaCast 7.1 release

New features in InformaCast are designed to further enhance the capabilities of mass notification, paging, and physical security for the Cisco Unified Communications Platform.

New features in this release include:

The following features have been added to InformaCast v7.1 to enhance functionality and improve user experience:

• Phone Updates for CallManager Express. You can now rebuild the phone cache (on the Phone Updates page) as frequently as once per minute. Previously, you could only rebuild the phone cache every hour when using CallManager Express.

• InformaCast Session Timeouts. It is now possible to control InformaCast’s session timeouts from its user interface instead of modifying the web.xml file. The Session Timeouts link in the Edit Configuration menu allows you to control not only the length of active sessions between InformaCast and your web browser, but also the length of active sessions between InformaCast and your phones, which was not possible before InformaCast v7.1.

• Skip Broadcast Initiator Logic Reworked. InformaCast v7.1’s logic has been modified so that if the audio source of a live message (which is either a phone, speaker, or Desktop Notification System machine) is initially contained in the list of recipient devices, it will be removed. For example, if a live broadcast is sourced from a phone and sent to the All Devices recipient group, that phone will not receive the message, even though it is a member of the All Devices recipient group.

• SLP Parameters. It is now possible to control InformaCast’s SLP parameters from its user interface instead of modifying the web.xml file. The SLP Parameters link in the Edit Configuration menu allows you to control how InformaCast responds when a speaker requests the location of a configuration file server during its boot process, how InformaCast responds to a device or application’s request for the location of an InformaCast SOAP service, and the location of your Configuration File Server.2

• LDAP Improvements. Several improvements have been made to the LDAP environment in InformaCast v7.1:

Different Kinds of LDAP Directories Are Now Supported—Previously, only Microsoft Active Directory and OpenDS could be integrated with InformaCast. Now, user authentication in InformaCast can be done via OpenLDAP, Sun Java System Directory Server, Apache Directory Server, and any other kind of LDAP v3-compliant server. To allow this change, a number of new fields were added to the LDAP Integration page of InformaCast.
An Additional Authentication Method is Now Supported—Earlier versions of InformaCast only allowed using simple LDAP authentication. This authentication method might pose a security risk if used over an unencrypted communication channel. InformaCast v7.1 now also supports user authentication via Kerberos v5, which is more secure, and can be used with SSL for better protection. Another advantage of Kerberos is that the configuration of LDAP integration in InformaCast can be done using the LDAP administrator’s regular login name instead of the distinguished name that consists of a number of components. With the addition of Kerberos authentication, several new fields were added to the LDAP Integration page.
• New User Role. There is a new role called messageSenderDNsRestricted. This role is very similar to the messageSender role, except that when a user specifies directory numbers (DNs) in the IP Phone Extension (DN) field on the Send Message page, those DNs are analyzed. If a given DN is not contained in a recipient group to which the user has been granted access (through the use of user or group filters), that DN will be removed from the list of recipients.

• SOAP Interface Changes. The SOAP interface has been rewritten, using Apache CXF as the new underlying infrastructure. This change allows developers to initiate live and ad-hoc messages programatically and provide dynamic audio within the SOAP request (u-law or HQ format is required for audio). Backward compatibility in the SOAP interface has been preserved, meaning that applications using the old interface, such as DORA, don’t need any updates. To deal with the changes made to the SOAP interface, a Programmer’s SOAP Guide is being developed.

• Section 508 Compliance. Section 508, an amendment to the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is a federal law mandating that all electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. In compliance with Section 508, InformaCast v7.1 has a number of improvements:

Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables—Data tables have the column and row headers appropriately identified (using the tag). Tables used strictly for layout purposes do not have header rows or columns.
Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers—Table cells are associated with the appropriate headers (e.g. with the ID, headers, scope, and/or axis HTML attributes).
Electronic forms comply with assistive technology—When electronic forms are designed to be completed online, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. All form controls should have text labels adjacent to them. Form elements should have labels associated with them in the markup. Dynamic HTML scripting of the form should not interfere with assistive technologies.
A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links—Skip navigation allows assistive technology to jump over repetitive information on a page. The value of this can be understood by noting how many times a webpage refreshes when simple actions are taken. This ability allows the user to save a lot of time.
• Cisco Communications Manager v8. Support has been added for Cisco Communications Manager v8. Please Note: InformaCast v7.1 has been fully tested as integrating with Cisco’s most recent release of CUCM v8.0. However, please note that Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x is not a supported environment for InformaCast v7.1. Prior versions of InformaCast will continue to be supported with 4.x. Click to view the Dates of Service

• Intercom Functionality. Intercom functionality between two phones, or a phone and a speaker now provided through PushToTalk v2.3, a separate application offering from Singlewire.

• Newly Supported Phones. InformaCast now supports new Cisco IP phones: 6921, 6941, 6961, 7937, 7971, 8961, 9951, and 9971.

• Key Pair Regeneration. For any users experiencing browser problems with importing InformaCast SSL certificates, there is a new section in the Troubleshooting chapter dealing with regenerating a key pair.

To learn more and download a 30-day free trial of InformaCast, visit us at www.singlewire.com/talkwithus.

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Comstor to Distribute Singlewire’s Mass Notification, Paging and Physical Security Applications for Cisco Unified Communications Platform

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Global Agreement Enables Comstor Resellers to Deliver Best-in-Class Voice Applications, Including InformaCast Notification System

Tarrytown, NY and Madison, WI, 22 April, 2010 – Westcon Group, Inc., the leading specialty distributor in networking, convergence, security and mobility, announces a distribution agreement with Singlewire Software, LLC, developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification. The agreement enables Westcon Group’s Comstor business unit to distribute the entire suite of Singlewire’s best in class voice applications, including the InformaCast notification system, to its global network of Cisco-oriented resellers.

Andy Banks, vice president North America, Cisco Sales, commented: “One area that distinguishes Comstor from other distributors is that we have expertise across all of Cisco’s technologies, including the Cisco Unified Communications platform. We are pleased to be adding Singlewire’s innovative voice applications to our linecard.”

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured network-based mass notification system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers and overhead paging systems.

“Comstor is second to none in its competence and overall understanding of Cisco technology. This brings us tremendous value as we look to expand the depth of our Cisco-oriented customer base,” states Mike Koehn, Director of Channels for Singlewire Software. “We are pleased to be able to leverage Comstor’s logistics capabilities, sales expertise as well as its dedicated programs.”

Partners can purchase Singlewire InformaCast via the partner login portal located at http://www.comstor.com. To learn more about InformaCast, visit http://www.singlewire.com/one or view InformaCast Demonstrations at http://www.singlewire.com/demo.

About Westcon Group
Westcon Group, Inc. is the leading specialty distributor in networking, security, mobility and convergence for leading technology vendors, including Cisco, Avaya and Polycom. Through its Westcon and Comstor practices, Westcon Group sells products and services to resellers, systems integrators and service providers. Westcon Group has particular expertise in the convergence of voice, data and video applications and technologies, including voice-over Internet protocol, or VoIP, security for networking and communications systems, remote access, Internet and e-business, virtual private networks, videoconferencing and wireless connectivity. For more information, visit www.westcongroup.com.

About Singlewire Software
Singlewire, based in Madison, WI develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA, and allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to our customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

Contact:
Jeffrey Touzeau
Hummingbird Media, Inc. for Westcon Group
Tel: (914) 602-2913
jeff@hummingbirdmedia.com

Brad Parkel
Director of Marketing
Singlewire Software
media@singlewire.com
608.661.1154

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Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Named Laureate by Computerworld Honors Program for Creating a Statewide Emergency Notification System

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Brad Parkel

SNAP System Combines SchoolMessenger and Singlewire InformaCast to Deliver Mass Notifications Across 68 Campus Locations, Reaching 100,000 Students and 10,000 Employees With the Push of a Button

Santa Cruz, CA and Madison, WI – April 16, 2010 – The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), the largest provider of postsecondary education and workforce training in Kentucky, was recognized as a Laureate by the Computerworld Honors Program for creating a statewide emergency notification system. Known as SNAP, or Safety Notification Alert Process, the system combines technology from SchoolMessenger and Singlewire Software, LLC that reaches across its 16 technical colleges and 68 campus locations to alert more than 100,000 students and employees to emergency conditions with the push of a button.

Each year the Computerworld Honors Program recognizes the most outstanding user achievements in technology. Honorees from around the globe are nominated for visionary applications of information technology that promote positive social and economic progress. This year’s honorees will be commemorated during an Awards Evening in Washington DC in June.

“Each Laureate selected for this honor understands the importance of using one’s resources and technical prowess to benefit one’s fellow man,” said Bob Carrigan, Chairman of the Computerworld Honors Program Chairmen’s Committee and CEO of IDG Communications Worldwide.

The KCTCS system consists of two parts. Singlewire InformaCast provides on-campus and intra-campus messaging that allows administrators to direct notifications to a specific college, campus, or building. If needed, audio and text messages can be sent, interrupting calls and turning IP phones into loudspeakers to broadcast critical news and updates. At the same time, bright-colored bars can be run across color computer terminals to deliver a clear message with detailed directions.

With no dorms on campus, communicating directly to students who commute up to an hour daily is equally important. SchoolMessenger’s massive communications capabilities enable thousands of personalized and timely voice calls, text messages, and emails to be sent instantly in any language.

“We applaud KCTCS for the honor that has been bestowed on it and the vision it has shown in creating a statewide crisis communications system that is unmatched,” said Sanford Kenyon, president of SchoolMessenger. “With just a push of the button students, parents, faculty, and staff anywhere in the state can be alerted to threatening conditions, and then kept up-to-date as the situation unfolds.”

“KCTCS has done something truly extraordinary with their emergency notification system in Kentucky and deserve the notoriety and accolades it has received,” said Brad Parkel, director of marketing at Singlewire Software. “They have created a powerfully informed system of campuses that can communicate directly with each other, through a variety of devices, to ensure that safety remains the number one priority at all times.”

A congratulatory video produced by SchoolMessenger and Singlewire.

About KCTCS
Since its formation in 1998, KCTCS has become the largest provider of postsecondary education and workforce training in Kentucky serving more than 500,000 citizens. The statewide system of 16 colleges and 68 campuses has a current enrollment of more than 100,000 students, with more than 10,000 faculty and staff. KCTCS also houses the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services and the Kentucky Fire Commission. kctcs.edu

About Singlewire
Singlewire Software LLC, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA, and allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to our customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

About SchoolMessenger
SchoolMessenger is a leading provider of notification solutions for education. Thousands of school districts, public schools, colleges, universities, private schools and other educational facilities in all 50 states depend on the company’s innovative solutions to connect and effectively communicate with millions of parents, students and staff every day. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. For information, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com or call 888.527.5225.

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Media Contacts:

Brad Parkel 
Director of Marketing
Singlewire Software, LLC
608.661.1154
media@singlewire.com

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Singlewire Software Announces the Publication of a Video Case Study with KCTCS Highlighting Implementation of a State-wide Campus Emergency Notification System

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Madison, WI (March 29, 2010) – Singlewire Software, LLC, (www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced the release and publication of an online video and written case study highlighting the recent implementation of InformaCast as the network-based paging and emergency mass notification system for KCTCS. The case study is located at http://www.singlewire.com/kctcs

Singlewire’s InformaCast is a full-featured notification system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers and overhead paging systems. It is implemented by more than 2,000 organizations in 35 countries worldwide.

For sending emergency notifications, KCTCS developed the SNAP system—or Safety Notification Alert Process—its own, branded emergency notification system. InformaCast stands as the backbone of the SNAP system, allowing KCTCS to set up messages, create recipient groups, and select the devices that will receive those messages.

Through InformaCast’s group functionality, KCTCS can send notifications to a particular building on campus, to a campus, or to a college. “We can hit one button, and it does it all,” said Derrel Cone, Technology Solutions Project Coordinator at KCTCS.

InformaCast can reach Cisco IP phones and countless computer desktops, and it’s integrated with KCTCS’s text messaging system, meaning that it can reach thousands of phones in minutes. “We can actually take over all of our phones and turn [them] into loudspeakers….We control the volume-we can interrupt phone calls-to give the message and get that message out,” said Bob Hammonds, System Director – Crisis Management, Environmental Health, and Safety at KCTCS. “The same situation is possible with InformaCast combined with the Desktop Notification System. Our computer screens turn a bright color. We kind of take over the computer screen and put a bright message, and then there’s a bar that goes across and gives them the message with directions.”

“KCTCS has done something truly extraordinary with their emergency notification system in Kentucky,” states Brad Parkel, Director of Marketing at Singlewire Software. “KCTCS has managed to tie together all of their policies, networks, and endpoints into a single button that can be pushed to send notification to students, staff, parents, and the community. Any organization faced with protecting the public and initiating emergency notification should take a few minutes and watch this video.”

In addition to the written and video case study, additional video footage covers topic ranging from discussions on ROI to details on policy integration, technical integration, and the challenges to implementing a project of this size across a dispersed, state-wide organization. The case study is located at http://www.singlewire.com/kctcs.

About KCTCS: Since its formation in 1998, KCTCS has become the largest provider of postsecondary education and workforce training in Kentucky serving more than 500,000 citizens.  The statewide system of 16 colleges and 68 campuses has a current enrollment of more than 100,000 students, with more than 10,000 faculty and staff. KCTCS also houses the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services and the Kentucky Fire Commission. kctcs.edu

About Singlewire Software: Singlewire, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Its main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA. These applications allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, e-mail, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to its customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

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Cisco enhances routers and switches for collaboration – including Singlewire InformaCast

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Cisco RoutersCisco says that applications from Singlewire Software now run on the ISR’s Application Extension Platform (AXP) services module. Singlewire’s InformaCast package simultaneously sends an audio stream or text message to multiple IP phones, IP speakers, desktop notification systems and overhead paging systems.

Cisco is extending its branch routers and LAN switches in an effort to improve the collaboration capabilities of enterprise customers and enhancing its Integrated Services Routers (ISR) and Catalyst 4500 and 6500 switches with new models, line cards and software to address mobility, sustainability and unified communications (UC) requirements.

Cisco is also now supporting High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) on the ISR’s 3G Wireless Wide Area Network module. HSPA boosts bandwidth and performance for the module in backup or disaster-recovery applications.

Read more about InformaCast and Cisco AXP

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Emergency Notification Systems Get the Word Out

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Brad Parkel

School districts deploy IP-based products that support everything from voice to texting and even social media.

Excerpt from Ed Tech Magazine E-Newsletter by Dan Tynan

There’s a security threat at an elementary school. A water main has broken, flooding the high school’s basement. A tornado is speeding toward the main administration building. A suspicious package just arrived in the mail room of a middle school. The police have cordoned off the vocational school’s neighborhood, and traffic is backed up for miles.

No matter what the emergency, you need to notify a lot of people in a hurry. How do you do it?

As the April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech tragically proved, yesterday’s technologies — sirens, calling trees and the emergency broadcast network — are no longer sufficient.

That’s why school districts large and small are adopting IP-based systems that integrate a wide range of communications technologies, from voice to texting to Twitter.

When San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) began modernizing its facilities a few years ago, it cast aside its aging phone and retooled its public address system and its outdated Emergency Notification System (ENS) and tied nine of its 31 schools together with a single IP-based system.

Using Singlewire Software’s InformaCast, the Northern California district connected its loudspeakers, bells and ENS to an IP-based phone system from Cisco. The reason? More bang for the buck, says Jon Threshie, former director of technology for SRVUSD.

“We captured substantial construction cost savings by going with a single solution,” Threshie says. “By eliminating conduit and cable infrastructure, for the same money we could end up not only with a significantly superior telephone system for the school, but also a districtwide system as well.”

Because the public address speakers can be accessed individually, administrators can make specific announcements to, say, all first-grade classrooms or students on the playground, as well as issue campuswide alerts, by choosing from prefab templates.

Click to read full story

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NASA HQ Using Singlewire InformaCast for Emergency Notification

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Emergency Notification Systems Get the Word Out

Federal agencies deploy IP-based products that support everything from voice to texting and even social media.

Excerpt from Ed Tech Magazine E-Newsletter by Dan Tynan

After a hostage crisis at Johnson Space Center in April 2007, NASA knew it needed a better way to inform its people during an emergency.

This fall the space agency implemented Singlewire Software’s InformaCast at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, integrating the ENS with the agency’s Cisco IP phone and data networks.

“If we’re in a hostage situation, we don’t want the floor where the hostage taker is to know what’s going on, but we still need to inform the rest of the building,” says Mike Barrett, telecommunications manager at NASA headquarters.

“With InformaCast, we can selectively send messages to all floors, specific floors or all floors but one. We can also send on-screen pop ups to specific PCs and Macs.”

InformaCast’s versatility is what sold them on the system, adds Danny Gear, IT support contract telecommunications supervisor. It lets them send text or audio to random individuals scattered throughout a building.

Click to read full story

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Singlewire Software and Valcom partner to offer InformaCast®-compliant IP speaker endpoints and solutions for emergency and mass notification and overhead paging

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Brad Parkel

MADISON, WI – January 22, 2010 – Singlewire Software, LLC, (www.singlewire.com), developer of innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification, today announced a partnership with Valcom (www.valcom.com), manufacturer of loudspeaker, telecommunications, and intercom paging systems, for producing InformaCast-compliant speaker endpoints.

Singlewire InformaCast is a full-featured notification system that allows users to simultaneously send an audio and/or text message to a variety of endpoints including IP speakers and overhead paging systems. It is implemented by over 2000 organizations in 35 countries worldwide.

Valcom, the largest provider of telephone-integrated paging systems, will be manufacturing an extensive line of IP-based, PoE (Powered over Ethernet) speakers utilizing Singlewire’s InformaCast-compliant protocols for delivering emergency notification, mass notification, and overhead paging. InformaCast-compliant IP speakers from Valcom will enable customers to take full advantage of the many notification products offered by Singlewire’s network-centric solutions, facilitating the transition from an analog-only paging environment to an IP-based paging solution.

“Valcom has a great reputation in the industry for manufacturing and delivering high-quality speakers and paging systems,” states Paul Shain, CEO of Singlewire Software. “By making these systems compliant with Singlewire InformaCast, Valcom customers will gain the value of industry-leading software tools to manage and deliver a host of next generation notification solutions.”

“This partnership is a big win for building managers as well as public safety officials,” states Ken Bywaters, Executive Vice President of Product Development at Singlewire. “Valcom worked closely with us in the development of their speaker firmware to ensure compliance with our InformaCast protocols. Schools, government agencies, healthcare facilities, and any organization deployed with Valcom paging can now easily extend notification to new endpoints and systems on their IP network.”

“We are excited to offer an array of 24 InformaCast compatible audio endpoints including IP speakers with features such as built-in clocks and talkback capability, IP Paging Horns and InformaCast compatible paging gateways.  The InformaCast endpoints are PoE and made in the USA,” states John Mason, President of Valcom, Inc.

Valcom’s endpoint products are available through major communication distributors or through Valcom directly. Singlewire InformaCast can be ordered through registered partners or ordered direct.

About Valcom:  Since 1977, Valcom has been providing the highest quality loudspeaker paging and telecommunication system enhancement intercom products.  For nearly 15 years, Valcom has supported IP loudspeaker paging to thousands of customers including large corporations, universities, State and Local governments, the military and smaller companies that have widely spread operations.   Valcom IP Solution provides highly reliable IP communications, IP Intercom Systems and IP based Multimodal Mass Notification Systems. Valcom’s products are manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities in Roanoke, Virginia USA and include an extensive line of IP and analog page control interfaces, gateways, ceiling/wall speakers, paging horns, clocks, background music, power supplies and door entry systems.  To learn more, please visit www.valcom.com

About Singlewire: Singlewire, based in Madison, WI develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA, and allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to our customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

Media Contacts:

Brad Parkel
Director of Marketing
Singlewire Software, LLC

608.661.1154

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Watch Video – Emergency Notification with Singlewire InformaCast and SchoolMessenger – Kentucky ICE Quake 2009

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Brad Parkel

In January 2009, Kentucky was hit with a severe ice storm that affected large areas of the state. The storm caused damage to systems and infrastructure that was so dramatic that it was comparable to damage sustained in an earthquake of 6.2 in magnitude.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which has 16 campus locations located throughout Kentucky, had several schools that were severely impacted by the storm. Through the KCTCS “SNAP” emergency notification system, which includes Singlewire InformaCast and SchoolMessenger, officials were able to send notification to students and staff alerting them that school locations were closed and the dangers associated with the storm.

Click to Learn More

Watch this short video to learn more about how this event unfolded at KCTCS and how they used their emergency campus notification system to send the alert. Visit http://www.singlewire.com/kctcs.

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University Enhances Physical Safety with InformaCast from Singlewire

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Brad Parkel

Cisco Case Study – Elon University uses mass notification and ip paging functionality of InformaCast as part of their campus security strategy.

Located in North Carolina, Elon University is a private university with 5400 students and 1150 faculty and staff. The university’s 100 buildings are situated on a beautiful and historic 575-acre campus, away from urban centers. “Students feel very safe here, and that’s part of the university’s appeal,” says Christopher Waters, the university’s assistant chief information officer and director of information systems. “At the parent orientation in 2008, one of the most popular question from parents was whether the campus had video surveillance.”

Elon’s campus security department can now view real-time and archived video surveillance footage on demand, thanks to the Cisco® Video Surveillance Operations Manager. The system operates over Elon University’s existing Cisco network, which is also used for Cisco Unified Communications; a Cisco digital signage solution; and for intercom, using Singlewire Informacast software and the built-in speakers of Cisco Unified IP Phones.

Click to read full case study featured on www.cisco.com – PDF

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