E911 has been of prominent discussion at Cisco (News - Alert) Live this week in San Diego as the unified communications world begins to learn how it is able to incorporate E911 technologies to provide better emergency response to customers. Whereas 9-1-1 calls have been made using local trunks and databases for years, the movement towards cloud-based services ups the ante for those UC providers looking to include E911 services on their list of offerings.

Enterprise communications platforms such as the Cisco Unified Communications (News - Alert) Manager bring new meaning to the proliferation of E911 services. Cisco customers are now able to take advantage of the Cisco Emergency Responder as it has been combined with RedSky’s (News - Alert) E911 Anywhere solution.

The Cisco Emergency Responder and the E911 Anywhere solution bring several items to market that are only possible with the unique combination of advanced 9-1-1 services and UC platforms. Emergency responders are able to validate Automatic Location Information records against Master Street Address Guides, 9-1-1 call routing becomes possible to deliver the call to the public safety answering point, and the progress and location of the caller can now be relayed to on-site responders and personnel.

With cloud possibilities, 9-1-1 calls can be made to more than 6,000 public safety answering points in the US. With detailed location information, the responder can receive information more quickly about the party in need. 9-1-1 calls can also be routed to the nearest responders should a mobile worker be in need of assistance.

The Cisco Emergency Responder has previously been able to track the location of SIP and H.323 phones, according to the provider, as they shifted around the enterprise, but it was then able to provide automated location tracking, and support for Layer 3 and Layer 2 network discovery with integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. The inclusion of RedSky’s E911 Anywhere solution enhances these already-advanced services for improved 9-1-1 call notifications and completions.