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Mass Notification System Selection Tips – 6 Key Considerations for Selecting an Appropriate Notification System

Mass notification system provider, National Notification Network (3n), shares the 6 key considerations to focus on when selecting a mass notification system for emergency and non-emergency communications.

June 15, 2004 -- http://www.3nonline.com - National Notification Network (3n), developer and provider of the 3n Mass Notification System, shares with organizations worldwide the 6 key considerations to focus on when selecting a mass notification system for organizations emergency and non-emergency communications.

Through years of expertise and client consultation 3n has derived the following 6 key considerations to help narrow the notification system choices to products that are appropriate to an organization seeking a mass notification system:
1. Who operates the system, the purchaser or the vendor?
2. Is the system designed to contact the people you need to reach?
3. Is the system scaled to your current needs and scalable to your future needs?
4. Is the system completely reliable?
5. How flexible is the system?
6. What is the pricing structure?

Who Operates the System
Some mass notification systems are operated by the organizations that use them, while others are operated by vendors. When choosing between in-house and vendor-operated systems, technical expertise, cost efficiency, risk of unavailability, ability to integrate with other systems, and control over the system are extremely important factors to keep in mind.

Contacting the Right People
In some situations, specific people need to be contacted – employees, customers, suppliers – while in other situations everyone who lives in a targeted geographic area need to be contacted. The mass notification system selected should be designed to contact individuals, geographic areas, or both depending upon requirements.

Adequate Scale
A critical consideration is whether the system, including communications facilities, is scaled to current and future needs. Scale is particularly important for organizations with lengthy contact lists and short notification timeframes. But some issues, such as whether the system supports multiple simultaneous users, can be relevant even to smaller organizations.

Reliability
Mass notification systems prove their worth during catastrophic events. Whether responding to a homeland security alert, evacuating those in danger, or simply trying to keep a business operating, mass notification systems can save valuable time and allow crisis managers to focus on high-priority tasks.

Flexibility
Adapting to multiple industries and scenarios, as well as serving both emergency and routine use are also important factors to consider in a mass notification system.

Pricing Structure
Pricing for an in-house system includes licensing fees paid to the mass notification system vendor in addition to fees for telecom, system administration, backup electrical power, and so forth. With a vendor-operated system, all costs are included in the vendor’s fee. Vendor-operated mass notification systems use a variety of fee structures such as usage-based pricing, administrator-based pricing, and subscription-based pricing.

Once a mass notification system and/or vendor has been evaluated using the 6 considerations mentioned above, all that remains is the actual selection of the mass notification system.

About National Notification Network
National Notification Network (3n) is a privately-held company based in the Los Angeles area in Glendale, California. Recognized as an effective tool in both emergency and non-emergency situations alike, 3n's innovative and powerful proprietary automated mass notification system is the most advanced, efficient and easy-to-use mass notification system on the market today. For more information about 3n, log on to: www.3nonline.com or call toll-free (888) 366-4911.