Emergency notification systems can play a key role in the event of a crisis, where there is no scope for human error. Having an effective emergency response system in place can help reduce the magnitude of damage caused during a crisis to a significant extent. It is important for such a system to be easy to use and manage, and equipped with smart automation features. With industry-leading organizations relying on emergency notification systems to spread messages across to a wide audience, such systems are becoming the need of the hour for businesses the world over.
The first step to choosing an emergency notification system is to clearly outline the requirements of your company as per your business needs. Some of the key requirements that you need to consider include:
The purpose that the system will serve for your organization. This could include saving money, avoiding regulatory action, incident management, emergency use, operational use, supply chain issues, etc.
Whether you need to take international considerations into account.
Whether the system you are opting for is likely to fulfill your company’s needs in the future.
The priorities of the users who will use the system and any restrictions that need to be imposed.
The devices that will be used by the recipients, and how they shall respond to alerts.
The level of expertise of the personnel that will be administering the system.
Once you are clear about the requirements you need to meet with your emergency notification system, the next step is deciding on the list of features the system will have. These include:
Consistency in messages sent out to multiple devices in a single alert
Another major decision you need to make while choosing an emergency notification system for your company is whether to opt for a hosted system or an on-premise one. A vast majority of companies are opting for hosted notification systems, owing to the multiple benefits that these systems offer. These benefits include resiliency, internal disaster recovery requirements, and reduced hardware/administration costs.
