Iwatsu Voice Networks, a unified communications solution provider, announced that its Enhanced Messaging Application (EMA (News - Alert)) is being used by Wilkes University to enhance the school’s emergency broadcast system.

 

EMA is a hosted interactive communication and notification system used by school districts and institutions of higher education for emergency notification or to communicate daily activities to parents, guardians, teachers and administrative staff. The idea is to ensure that students and faculty members are protected from safety issues.

 

Iwatsu’s system offers robust communications capabilities by enabling emergency information to be pulled and/or pushed with the help of ordinary telephones.

 

David Carissimi, president at Iwatsu, said that EMA is a key addition to Wilkes University’s safety and security protocols.

 

“The beauty of our hosted and secure solution, beyond its power and simplicity, is that it does not require any expensive hardware, software, staff support/maintenance, nor the hundreds of phone lines required by other solutions,” Carissimi said in a statement to the press.

 

Using EMA, Wilkes University’s faculty and staff will be alerted of emergency situations via instant messages sent to their mobile or landline phones. By adding EMA, the University enhanced its current emergency communication system, which includes mass e-mails/SMS, phone hotlines, and a Web-based news delivery system and more than 40 emergency phones in campus buildings with direct dialing capability to the public safety office.

 

Message recipients will be automatically connected to a live operator when a preset number is pressed on the phone keypad. Message data is confidentially stored on hosted servers in secure facilities with access limited only to authorized personnel. By receiving timely information, parents can rest assured that their loved ones will be cared for in an emergency and also during their daily routines.

 

EMA offers a number of advantages, including:

 

Improved dependability and consistency of messages. By sending the messages to multiple contact numbers and parents, the likelihood of the message being delivered will increase. Recorded voice messages of the authority will be sent consistently to all recipients.

 

Cost and staff time savings. The messaging system eliminates the need to make calls from booths or manually send dialed messages, thereby saving a lot of precious time. Contact lists can be created beforehand, centrally stored and secured, ensuring immediate response when needed.

 

Enhanced safety and parental involvement. By sending timely information to parents, emergency personnel and staff, University officials can concentrate on the event management and resolution.

 

To learn more about Iwatsu’s messaging solution and its other unified communications offerings, please visit the company’s TMCnet.com channel, Unified Communications.