AtHoc Introduces Industry's First Unified Personnel Data Integration Module for Emergency Notification

IWSAlerts Module Integrates With Leading Commercial and Military Data Repositories to Ensure Accurate and Up-to-Date User Contact Information


BURLINGAME, CA--(Marketwire - December 19, 2007) - AtHoc, Inc., the leading provider of network-centric emergency notification systems, today announced the general availability of the AtHoc IWSAlerts™ Personnel Data Integration Module. This new module allows for the retrieval and synchronization of user contact information from multiple enterprise data sources, and combined with the core user management capabilities of IWSAlerts, ensures contact lists and groups are accurate and up to date during emergency notification situations.

The ongoing management of user contact data is a critical requirement of any large-scale emergency notification system. This function ensures organizations accurately target individuals or groups of users in times of emergency and reach them via multiple means of personal communication including desktop, desk phone, mobile phone, pager, BlackBerry and email.

Most large organizations with thousands of users have multiple enterprise repositories that house this data, including human resource management systems (HRMS), LDAP/Active Directory, DoD Military Personnel Data Systems (MilPDS), DoD Civilian Personnel Data Systems (CivPDS) and others. The AtHoc IWSAlerts Personnel Data Integration Module integrates and synchronizes with these disparate data repositories and uses the most up-to-date information for reliable and effective emergency notifications.

The new module concurrently connects to multiple user repositories to import and synchronize:

--  User Data: Provides correct contact information for users, the groups
    they belong to, their work location and more.
--  Organizational Structure: Includes the groups users belong to and how
    they are interrelated.
--  Distribution Lists: Help organizations determine who belongs on which
    distribution lists based on criteria such as job function, organizational
    rank and location.
    

Using configured business rules, the module defines how this information is managed, synchronized and stored. The module creates a "parent-child" relationship among the data sources and builds organizational hierarchies for different groups using specified business rules. The framework is based on a unique user identity, which is common to all data sources, and includes a set of configuration settings that allow the flexible mapping of incoming data items to target user attributes and contact details.

The Personnel Data Integration Module has been successfully deployed at numerous Air Force installations within the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). Within AFRC alone, any emergency notification system would be ineffective if it could not help manage the complexity of end-user contact information for the tens of thousands of highly-mobile personnel under the command. With numerous internal and secure user repositories for active duty personnel, reservists and contractors, it is an enormous challenge to stay on top of this for emergency notification purposes. The AtHoc IWSAlerts Personnel Data Integration Module is able to integrate and synchronize with all of these repositories concurrently, which ensures that alerts will reach the right people at the right time during emergency situations.

To help ensure the ongoing accuracy of user contact information, the Personnel Data Integration Module also provides a tiered approach to user management from the enterprise level, to a regional level, down to the end-user level. In addition to integration with enterprise data sources, local operators with appropriate authorization can manage user information and create groups for local notification purposes. Finally, with a self-service capability, end users can also create or modify their own personal contact information.

"We consistently hear from customers that one of their biggest challenges in fielding a large-scale emergency notification system is in the management and maintenance of their personnel contact information. Just consider the additional challenges for military organizations where personnel are changing jobs and locations regularly," said Simon Berman, vice president of product marketing for AtHoc. "We removed this complexity through the introduction of the AtHoc IWSAlerts Personnel Data Integration Module. By allowing customers to tap directly into the data repositories that keep the most current information about personnel status, contact information and location, they know that their emergency alerting system is using accurate and up-to-date information."

The Personnel Data Integration Module is available today as part of AtHoc IWSAlerts.

About AtHoc

AtHoc is a recognized leader in providing enterprise-class, network-centric emergency notification systems to military, government and commercial organizations for physical security, force protection and personnel accountability. Millions of end users worldwide, in organizations such as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Hawaii State Civil Defense, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Boeing, PricewaterhouseCoopers and eBay rely on AtHoc's unified management systems for their emergency alerting and critical communication needs. AtHoc has partnered with market leaders including Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Siemens, Avaya, Unisys and others to bring these notification solutions to the public and commercial markets.

For more information on AtHoc, please visit http://www.athoc.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Ivy Eckerman Spire Communications (540) 373-2963