Contact Information: Contact: Jane Bryant Spire Communications (703) 406-8626
United States Coast Guard Deploys AtHoc IWSAlerts for Its Enterprise-Wide Emergency Mass Notification Solution
AtHoc 3rd Generation Network-Centric Mass Notification System to Alert USCG Personnel, Maritime Industry Partners and Other Government Agencies During Emergency
| Source: AtHoc
SAN MATEO, CA--(Marketwire - January 11, 2010) - AtHoc, Inc., the pioneer and leader in
network-centric mass notification systems, today announced the U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG) has deployed AtHoc IWSAlerts™ for its nationwide emergency notification solution. More than 100 USCG
facilities, ranging from headquarters, to districts, down to every sector
and local station, will use the system which has the capability to reach
50,000 USCG personnel and maritime industry members.
The USCG's Alert and Warning System (AWS) was initially developed to
transmit maritime security notifications and receive confirmations from
maritime security partners and stakeholders as required by the Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002. AWS is undergoing significant changes
to provide greater usability and functionality and to support additional
USCG missions -- hurricane preparedness, natural disasters, personnel
recalls, search and rescue operations, and waterway closure. The AtHoc
solution will support the next generation of AWS for all Coast Guard
missions and provide additional capabilities and services to the USCG and
maritime partners to enhance maritime safety and security.
AtHoc's enterprise-wide architecture allows deployment in a centralized
data center to support the 100 different USCG locations. Each location can
have its own local account and maintain information securely on an internal
network. The unified approach of the AtHoc system provides centralized
alert activation, control and management from a Web-based console.
AtHoc IWSAlerts will deliver emergency alerts over multiple channels, such
as voice (via public switched telephone network), landlines, cellular and
satellite phone, e-mail, SMS and fax to recipients in dispersed
geographical areas or individual units throughout the USCG. Personnel
accountability will be accomplished by tracking and managing user responses
to alert notifications in real time.
The AtHoc solution is integrated with "Homeport," the Coast Guard's
Internet portal. Homeport supports the secure information-sharing
requirements established by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of
2002. Complete, seamless and continuous integration will occur between the
AtHoc solution and the USCG's user directories through the application of
open standards such as the Local Directory Access Protocol and Active
Directory.
"The U.S. Coast Guard's deployment of AtHoc's network-centric mass
notification solution as its enterprise standard reaffirms the power and
flexibility of the AtHoc IWSAlerts platform, as was proven by AtHoc's
extensive DoD deployment," said Guy Miasnik, president and CEO of AtHoc.
"The Coast Guard sought a reliable, enterprise-wide solution that could
disseminate sensitive but unclassified alerts to its personnel, maritime
industry partners and other government agencies, rapidly and with high
confidence. Given the USCG's leading role in national security and homeland
defense, AtHoc is honored to be selected as the mass notification solution
partner to provide these critical capabilities that are needed to carry out
USCG's important mission."
About AtHoc
AtHoc is the pioneer and recognized leader in providing enterprise-class,
network-centric emergency notification systems to military, government and
commercial organizations. AtHoc's products are used for physical security,
force protection, personnel accountability, recall and regulatory
compliance. Millions of end users worldwide, in organizations such as the
U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
NASA, Microsoft, Boeing and PricewaterhouseCoopers rely on AtHoc's unified
management systems for their emergency alerting and critical communication
needs. AtHoc has partnered with market leaders including Microsoft, Cisco,
Dell, Harris, Siemens, MIR3, Avaya, Lockheed Martin and others to bring
these notification solutions to the public and commercial markets.
For more information on AtHoc, please visit http://www.athoc.com.