Kansas Army Installation Expands Use Of AtHoc Network-Centric Emergency Notification Systems
AtHoc Inc., provider of network-centric emergency notification systems, recently announced a deal with the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley, Kan. to expand its use of AtHoc IWSAlerts enterprise wide. The new deployment includes two additional major units -- the 1st Infantry Division and Irwin Army hospital -- as well as the Fort Riley Elementary Schools which are located on the installation. This rollout will double the number of protected people at Fort Riley from 5,000 to 10,000.
AtHoc IWSAlerts significantly increases the fort’s ability to contact personnel on and off site when an event occurs. Alerts are rapidly delivered through the IP network to all computer workstations using pop-up visual alerts, and the computer speakers broadcast the message. The system also delivers alerts as SMS text messages to cell phones and can send e-mails to computers and mobile devices (including BlackBerry devices).
By upgrading from AtHoc IWSAlerts Standard Edition to the Enterprise Edition, Fort Riley will also be able to take advantage of additional features available through the offering, among them tiered operator permissions, Active Directory integration and multi-unit support.
AtHoc IWSAlerts Enterprise Edition contains sophisticated operator permissions that will allow the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley to create tiers of operator permissions. Emergency operators at the installation will have the ability to alert all personnel on base, and each tenant unit will also have its own virtual private system it can use to send alerts exclusively to its members.
“Though the garrison at Fort Riley has been able to manage and disseminate alerts to the Army garrison personnel using the Army’s Local Area Network for several years, an innovative solution developed by AtHoc and Fort Riley personnel will now enable that same garrison operations center to also include the on-post Fort Riley Elementary Schools and on-post Irwin Army Hospital during severe weather notifications, like tornadoes, and other emergencies,” said (Ret.) Army Colonel David Brown, AtHoc’s Director of Army Operations. “It is an important capability, but the technical solution had to comply with strict Army network security rules. We are excited to partner with the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley in this ground-breaking endeavor.”
The expansion of Fort Riley’s net-centric mass notification system extends the reach of the system to its tenant units, enabling each tenant to reach its active duty and civilian workforce with an emergency message, activate recall and provide accountability information in times of emergency.