Re: [ED-SEC] Emergency Alert System

[Phil Benchoff <benchoff () VT EDU>]

Here are a few lessons learned from development of an emergency alert
system here at Virginia Tech:

* Use as many distribution channels as practical

The consensus seems to be that more channels are better.  That may
include
e-mail, SMS, automated telephone calls, updating web sites, PA systems,
sirens, signs, Twitter, etc.  Such a system will probably be a
combination
of a commercial offering and some home-grown components.

* Own your data

Make sure you have a clear understanding with any vendors about who owns
what data.  If you use their subscriber management system, make sure you
can get a copy of those data when you switch vendors.  Virginia Tech
built their own subscriber management system.  Vendors have access to
only the data they need, e.g. the SMS provider only gets a list of
numbers.

* Develop an integrated application to send alerts

People who send alerts will not want to deal with entering an alert in
several places,  having to contact several people to get an alert sent,
or learning a new interface every time a component of the system
changes.
You'll have to develop an integrated system for them to use and vendors
will have to provide some sort of API to their systems.

Phil