Another clear case for multimodality.
Here’s a topic that can be uncomfortable for some to address, yet is too important to ignore:
Technology will fail.
Networks have outages.
Storms knock down phone lines.
Mobile carriers get overloaded.
Email gets delayed.
Power outages occur.
Cell towers get compromised.
ISPs have routing issues.
Every single technology has the inevitability of failure. That reality must be acknowledged, but can also be dealt with.
Vendors can market a financial guarantee that backs a 100% up-time SLA. That sounds great, but, during emergencies, refunds don’t matter--lives do. It is simply impossible to guarantee the actual performance of any single technology.
That’s why deploying a multimodal, or multi-channel, approach that is initiated from one central interface is the best way to communicate urgent information in critical situations. You can easily build in the highest level of redundancy by sending emergency messages via multiple independent technologies and endpoints. If one method fails (or the user just doesn’t happen to see it), you have plenty of other ways to get the message through.
Given our origins in emergency notification, we offer and recommend a wide range of endpoint options that are easy to configure and use, including:
- Text messages (SMS)
- Voice calls
- Desktop alerts
- Web widgets
- Digital signs
- PA systems and beacons
- RSS
- Outbound conference calls
- Inbound hotlines
Your urgent communications plan should never rely on a single technology. In emergencies, one thing IS guaranteed - the more communication methods you have and are able to use immediately, the better. By assuming any one technology will fail, you will succeed in keeping your people safe and informed.
So, how multimodal are you?
