When it comes emergencies, the priority is to ensure that first responders can get where they are needed, and quickly. Enhanced 911 services, or E911, is a location-based technology that supports this priority in an environment where mobile devices and multi-building locations are the norm. To streamline information delivery and support, E911 hosted solutions are gaining in adoption.

As captured in this Avaya (News - Alert) blog, businesses in particular are finding E911 services to be an excellent way to maintain the safety of their workers. E911 hosted solutions help businesses get top-notch services without straining the budget.

E911 hosted solutions are based on SaaS (News - Alert) (Software-as-a-Service), which not only improves the accurate responsiveness of emergency workers, but offers a more economic solution as well. A traditional multi-line telephone system PBX (News - Alert) will often send out 911 calls that list the billing number associated with outgoing calls.

This approach doesn't do much for emergency responders who need to reach a victim immediately who may be in a separate building. Wasted seconds in responding to calls can cost lives. A E911 hosted solution can remedy that problem in simple terms that won't be too costly, or too complex.

The problem with emergencies in large business offices is that first responders have a difficult time getting to the people they are there to help. Alarm zones are a decent place to start when trying to establish an emergency response location system. This might be considered the alarm zone level granularity. Having many levels of granularity can help create something akin to a map for first responders who have never been in the building.

While this map can help improve location logistics, building security personnel should also be trained to escort first responders to the location of any emergency occurring in the building, whenever possible.

For instance, in a traditional fire alarm panel situation, a first responder will attempt to locate where the alarm was pulled. This gives them an idea of where they'll need to deploy hoses or if any toxic materials are located in that area. With an E911 system, displays will show responders exactly where they need to go, eliminating the guess work and saving precious seconds.

The call going out to the emergency personnel on an E911 system will give them a fix on the location of the call. Helpful maps, however, which could be displayed on a flat screen television within the building, takes it a step further and gives a pinpoint location of the office or cubicle of the afflicted.

An E911 hosted solution can get rid of expensive maintenance at the user level and make quick work of establishing reliable emergency response location practices. Supplying the right information to emergency workers in real-time is driving the demand for E911 solutions. And, ensuring rapid and accurate response in any emergency is critical to saving lives.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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