In this featured piece by My TechDecisions, Paul Shain, president and CEO of Singlewire Software, outlines guidance for organizations selecting mass notification software given the vast and evolving marketplace of solutions. He recommends researching multiple vendors, involving departments beyond IT and security such as HR and facilities, and asking vendors to demonstrate specific features rather than taking claims at face value. Shain also emphasizes considering non-emergency use cases, such as scheduling school bells or automating hospital visitor-hour announcements, to keep people familiar with the tool. On the don’t side, he warns against patchwork solutions that create more silos, tools requiring costly new hardware, and software that can’t reach people across a wide range of on-site and mobile devices.
Key Takeaways
- Paul Shain, president and CEO of Singlewire Software, writes that organizations should research multiple mass notification vendors since capabilities like integration ability and incident management vary widely between tools.
- Shain recommends bringing together IT, security, HR, and facilities teams during vendor selection, since each department may have different needs and use cases.
- Solutions that support non-emergency uses, such as scheduling school bells or hospital visitor-hour announcements, help keep people familiar with the tool for daily operations.
- Shain warns against patchwork solutions that create more technology silos and against tools requiring costly, incompatible new hardware investments.
- The most valuable mass notification tools reach people through both text and audio delivered across a wide range of on-site and mobile devices, according to Shain.
Original Story
The marketplace for mass notification solutions is vast, and tools continue to evolve to meet user demands and reflect real-world scenarios.
As security concerns grow and the ability to easily reach people has become more challenging, organizations have been turning to mass notification software to get information out at the onset of an emergency. However, the marketplace for these solutions is vast, and tools continue to evolve to meet user demands and reflect real-world circumstances. To help find the right solution, there are four do’s and three don’ts to keep in mind when selecting mass notification software.