Rave Mobile Safety has been a presence in the world of emergency notification technology since 2004, with a suite of technology geared toward emergency preparation and notification. One of its products, Rave Alert, provides an emergency alert service through several modes of communication - a need that is becoming increasingly more apparent in these days of uncertainty. However, some companies are looking for a mass notification solution that offers users more than the ability to provide the public with mass alerts.
SimplyCast has developed its own answer to this need with its emergency communications platform, EmergHub, which includes its own emergency alert service in the form of its aptly named Alerts application.
How do their emergency notification setups compare?
Offering features similar to those of Rave Alert, SimplyCast's Alerts provides a comprehensive mass notification tool that uses multiple communication methods to get the word out to recipients as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Like Rave Alert, the Alerts application is able to send out messages through traditional channels like email, SMS and voice – though while Rave Alert includes the ability to send notifications via RSS feeds and social media, Alerts lets its users send notifications using fax, a boon to those especially in the medical field.
When setting up alert notifications with Alerts and Rave Alert, both systems boast intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces. Messages can be created on-screen and sent out to contacts with minimal steps. For voice notifications, audio files can be uploaded to each system and sent, or they can be created using text-to-speech functionality SimplyCast Alerts has the added functionality of creating a voice alert message using Call-to-Record. Call-to-Record allows Alerts users to enter a phone number the system will call for the user to record a new alert on the fly to send to contacts.
What about contact selection?
Contacts can be selected via geographic region with either system. While Rave Alert uses information collected with opt-in data, SimplyCast Alerts users can use the available Mapping interface to easily create circle regions or custom polygon regions to send alerts to all contacts therein, or users can select a previously-created region for added simplicity.
SimplyCast Alerts and Rave Alert both allow for notifications to be sent out via contacts' preferred communication method as well as a blast alert to all available communication channels in an effort expedite the receipt of the message. SimplyCast Alerts has the added functionality of asking recipients to confirm receipt of the message, which is added to the report for the alert message, so administrators can determine who hasn't received the message, thus identifying which contacts may need to be sent a follow-up notification.
What can I see in my alert reports?
Rave Alert reports can be broken down by recipient, detailing message sends, successes and fails, the phone number/email the alert was sent to, the date and time of the send, and more. SimplyCast also provides robust alert reporting that includes all the same information contained in the Rave Alert report, along with a copy of the alert message that was sent, whether the alert was sent using the contact's preferred contact method, and which recipients provided confirmation of the alert's receipt.
Report filtering is also simple with SimplyCast's Alerts. In the Reports Dashboard, users are able to filter their various alert reports by the date and time and time they were sent, and they can use the search bar above any of the report sections to filter by a specific recipient name. Users can also filter the report by contact method, giving them the ability to view all the successful and failed alerts sent via the chosen means.
What other benefits are there to SimplyCast Alerts?
Alerts belongs to an entire suite of communication tools developed 100 percent in-house by the SimplyCast team that can allow small and large companies to communicate efficiently during any emergency event through multiple communication methods. The SimplyCast EmergHub suite also includes a native scheduling tool that can be used to create shifts of on-call staff, a teleconference application that dials out to participants instead of having them dial in, a live-updating polling system that helps gather important information from on the ground, and more!
Alerts and the other applications in this suite of emergency communication software were designed with ease-of-use in mind. These tools can easily be used during everyday operations within a business and not just during a crisis. With regular use, this means that a business and its staff become familiar with the product and are likely to feel more confident during an actual emergency that they will work as intended.
Are you looking for a new emergency alert service?
Efficient and timely notification is essential during any emergency event. You and your business need to be sure that whatever system you choose for the creation and sending of these alerts provides you with everything you need in terms of an emergency alert service. If you are interested in learning more about SimplyCast Alerts and how it can meet your needs, contact us today!
