Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Re: [ED-SEC] Emergency Alert System
From: Phil Benchoff <benchoff () VT EDU>
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:59:01 -0400
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
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- Re: [ED-SEC] Emergency Alert System Phil Benchoff (Sep 16)