FRANKLIN, Tenn., March 22, 2010 – PlantCML®, an EADS North America company, today announced the release of a Self Registration Portal (SRP) for its GeoCast® Web™ emergency notification solution. This company-hosted gateway, which earned praise for its design, adaptability, and ease of use in pre-launch customer testing, will provide public and private organizations a proactive means for gathering contact information from local residents, augmenting communications during all types of contingencies.
PlantCML developed the SRP in response to a growing need for public safety operations to fill existing gaps within the contact data used to support their crisis communications strategies. It is designed to improve the quality and quantity of information employed by the GeoCast Web solution, which enables rapid notification inside highly targeted geographies such as flood plains and shelter-in-place communities. Through the SRP, residents can independently enlist to receive alerts and ultimately determine preferences for the type of communications provided, i.e., emergencies, non-emergencies, or both.
“The number of individuals with traditional wireline phones is declining and people are relying more and more on mobile phones and e-mail for communication,” said Mike Adams, Director of Product Line Management for PlantCML’s notification solutions and services business unit. “The SRP is an invaluable tool for organizations that need to augment contact data for use in keeping individuals safe and secure.”
Once implemented, the SRP’s URL or quick link appears on the organization’s home page, routing visitors to PlantCML’s hosted portal. Here, participants can fill out a short form with their contact information and address. Addresses are plotted using Microsoft® Bing™ maps, displaying a map point at the address’s precise latitude and longitude on the SRP’s digital, street-level display. If the positioning of the map point is incorrect, perhaps due to a typographical error, the individual can easily reposition the pin to the exact location of the address.
Participants may return to the SRP using a secure login and update their personal contact information as often as needed in order to ensure data accuracy. GeoCast Web seamlessly geo-codes this information and saves it to the application address database on a scheduled basis, further ensuring notification integrity. This also allows organizations to send future notifications through the application to individuals in the immediate area of an event.
The SRP for the GeoCast Web solution features highly robust administrative capabilities, allowing public and private organizations to establish system security parameters, as well as customize the interface. This includes defining the fields that can be viewed and/or completed by registrants, determining the location and zoom level of map displays, tailoring e-mail templates, and selecting fonts, colors, backgrounds, etc., to match their own website.
PlantCML customers, Pasadena Fire Department (Calif.) and Morris County (N.J.), field-tested the SRP for the GeoCast Web emergency notification solution prior to its
release. In both environments, the portal received excellent reviews. Numerous other PlantCML customers are now making preparations to implement the SRP during fiscal year 2010.
About PlantCML (www.plantcml-eads.com)
PlantCML, an EADS North America company, is the industry’s leading provider of crisis communications and response technologies. Today, PlantCML is pioneering the next generation of E9-1-1 and secure network communications through Voice over
IP-enabled applications, interoperable P25 radio systems and advanced emergency notification technologies. PlantCML’s solutions are resident in 14 of the top 20 most populous U.S. cities and largest first responder operations.
About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)
EADS North America is the North American operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $11 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 200,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.
Media Contact: Tami Timperio
VP, Marketing
PlantCML®, an EADS North America Company
Tel: 951.719.2423
Email: ttimperio@plantcml-eads.com
