Thanks to the global economic recession, companies were forced to cut costs and expenses wherever possible to keep their operations lean and functioning. But certain areas that businesses didn’t consider scaling back are those that work to ensure the safety and well-being of employees and clients, such as Enhanced 911, or E911.

 

While the technology was considered a low priority five to 10 years ago, increased legislation and shifting responsibility to Multi Line Telephone Systems owners have contributed to the technology’s growth, the leader of an Everett, Wash.-based E911 hosted solutions provider, told TMCnet in an interview, printed in full below.

 

“The ease of implementing our automated and hosted (SaaS (News - Alert)) solution, and the fact that 911 ETC provides ongoing maintenance has enabled us to maintain a 98 percent-plus customer retention rate over the years and has allowed us to continue to see solid growth during this recession,” Larry Scott, president of 911 ETC, told TMCnet in an interview, printed in full below.

 

While the future is uncertain, Scott predicted that 911 ETC would continue to grow as more clients – schools and workplaces – adopt E911 safety.

 

Our exchange follows.

 

 

Larry Scott: We achieved company expectations and have continued positive growth. For two years running, the company was honored by the Business Journal as one of the fastest growing private companies in the state of Washington. We gained several key customers this year including Princeton University, Social Security Administration, Naval Postgraduate School and the county of San Bernadino.

 

 

LS:We rolled out RedConnect at the beginning of the year, providing the small business owner the ability to quickly and cost-effectively implement a solution for E911 even when VoIP is involved. The company continues to attract new business partners – most recently this year Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), Carousel Industries and AMTELCO. We currently have over 20 key partners that are becoming a major part of the foundation for the company’s continued growth during this economic recession.

 

 

LS: Surprisingly, the recession did not have an impact on our business, and instead we saw tremendous growth this year. This may be due in part to increasing legislation around the nation regarding E911, with the responsibility and liability shifting to MLTS owners. Five to 10 years ago, E911 was low on the priority list for the enterprise, with many not even aware that a problem existed. Now, not only large, multi-state corporations are choosing to employ a solution, but small business owners with only a handful of endpoints are also able to cost-effectively have 911 ETC both implement and manage an E911 solution.

 

From our company’s inception over a decade ago, the solution we’ve offered has been a hosted one, which enables our customers to not have to worry about upgrades to their phone systems, adding VoIP, maintaining onsite equipment, or the ongoing management of their phone location data. The ease of implementing our automated and hosted (SaaS) solution, and the fact that 911 ETC provides ongoing maintenance has enabled us to maintain a 98 percent-plus customer retention rate over the years and has allowed us to continue to see solid growth during this recession.

 

 

LS: With the U.S. dollar rapidly losing value on a worldwide scale and unemployment sitting at around 10 percent, it is difficult to predict what 2010 will hold for our economy. I’m confident that 911 ETC will continue to grow. The company was founded due to the realized need for E911 safety at both the workplace and our nation’s schools – the importance of having that safety net doesn’t change based on the economy. We’ll continue to strive to both educate regarding the problem that exists and to provide a solution that is customized to each one of our customers’ unique needs.

 

 

LS: As the public becomes increasingly aware of the need for enhanced 911 for the workplace, more states will pass regulations requiring that operators of Multi Line Telephone Systems provide the same safety for employees as they have in their own homes. The FCC (News - Alert) may also pass a mandate requiring the same. Most school districts and universities do not currently provide this safety for their students and will decide to do so. 911 ETC will continue to expand both technically and in client count as it has in previous years.