E911 Featured Article

The Great e911 Debate Highlights RedSky Technologies' Role in Catering to the Large Enterprise

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

The implementation of a national 9-1-1 emergency calling system helped to bring life-saving help to individuals regardless of their location. With advancements in technologies today, including the use of smartphones, cell phones and even Skype (News - Alert), it has become increasingly difficult to pinpoint caller location with a simple 9-1-1 call. Even the individual calling from a multi-building location can be difficult to find when the address doesn’t exactly match the phone number.

This challenge has created a demand for Enhanced 9-1-1, or E911. At the recent IAUG Eastern Connect in Newport, RI, “The Great E911 Debate” took place. Hosted by Mark Fletcher, product manager for Emergency Services for Avaya (News - Alert), the debate provided an opportunity to bring together major E911 solutions providers to discuss the key issues associated with the implementation of E911 in the enterprise.

“I’m very pleased with the content that was delivered by this panel of experts. Each individual brought to the table a slightly different view of E911 that will allow customers to investigate further what particular option is right from their company,” said Fletcher. “From the discussions around the questions that were presented, it was clear that customer education is key to any E911 solution remediation effort.”

E911 provider, RedSky (News - Alert) Technologies was on hand for the debate and demonstrated its position as the only E911 provider offering a true end-to-end solution to cater to the needs of the large enterprise. RedSky offerings meet the needs of large universities, the military and government, to name a few, that manage on-site public safety answering points (PSAP).

According to Jerry Eisner, ENP, RedSky's group director of Public Safety, the company’s end-to-end solution approach enables the migration into Next Generation 9-1-1, without waiting for new hardware or technical developments. Eisner stressed that when NG9-1-1 is available, the RedSky-supported enterprise will need only to add an IP path to the ESInet, without adding hardware or upgrading the network.

When asked about the event, Fletcher highlighted that the clear winner of the GreatE911 Debate was the customer. This is the first time that various solutions and architectures have been vetted and discussed in a common and open form. Removed from the hype, the technology available to telecom managers was effectively promoted.

“I’m very pleased with the content that was delivered by this panel of experts,” said Fletcher. “Each individual brought to the table a slightly different view of E911 that will allow customers to investigate further what particular option is right from their company. From the discussions around the questions that were presented, it was clear that customer education is key to any E911 solution remediation effort.”

The IAUG Eastern Connect is an annual regional event created to enable Avaya, its customers and partners from the Eastern United States and Canada to network, participate in educational events and share best practices. The Great E911 Debate was an industry-first and included vendors such as 911 Enable (News - Alert), 911 ETC, Conveyant Systems and RedSky Technologies.

The debate was designed to bring out the E911 information that is important for users to understand and evaluate, and to separate the wheat from the chaff in an environment that was open and structured, leaving all the hype and drama at the door.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi

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