What types of modes are used for communication?

Notifications can be sent to all phone devices, including standard /traditional, mobile, satellite, IP, etc., and any device/address capable of receiving a live text message, such as email, alpha pagers via WCTP, BlackBerry, satellite pager, etc. Fax is not secure, recipient verified, real-time, two-way communication; therefore, it does not have much value for alerting/response but can be configured if desired.

How are system notifications activated for each use?

• Web
• Phone 24/7 (live operator assistance)
• Email, including wireless Dedicated wireless handheld client (Palm, BlackBerry)
• Web Services API (directly from customer software)

Can messages be sent in voice and converted to text and sent in text and converted to voice?

Yes. The conversion takes place automatically. In addition, the administrator can select from pre-defined message templates (ensuring speed, simplicity, and accuracy), or the sender can compose new content immediately. Voice alerts can be recorded by natural voice or initiators can use BroadBlast’s SWN Text To Speech conversion engine. Once the message is recorded, it is available for use immediately. Recorded messages and ad hoc messages can be saved in a template for future use. This is all standard functionality and included in the service.

Does the system allow users to respond immediately on any two-way devices as well as provide a call back response number for one-way devices like fax machines and one way pagers?

Yes. Get Word Back (two-way polling and response) feature is available for all eligible receipt points (phones, two-way pagers, BlackBerry handhelds, etc.). At the time of message creation, the message sender can require the user to acknowledge receipt of the notification. The sender can also customize up to five responses from which recipients can choose to confirm receipt and/or provide other status information.

Get Word Back responses can be entered through the telephone (DTMF Tones) and via email / SMS replies and also from the inbound feature 

How many different addresses can each user have in the system?

Currently, up to a total of ten (10) device addresses per recipient: five (5) voice-based and five (5) text-based.

Can reports be generated from the system?

The reporting tool allows the administrator to generate (same formats) reports summarizing all recipient contact information, profiles of individual broadcast groups, and any report based on data or field in the system. Additional views and reports are added to the library of available reports from time to time as customers request them. Reports are versatile and can be as extensive as the user needs based on the information gathered. Both real time reports and after incident reports can be generated and are often preformatted in template form.

How many administrators can have access to the system?

The system allows for a primary super administrator(s) who can then assign as many sub administrators as preferred. The super administrator grants access levels to each administrator as is deemed necessary.

Can users authenticate their information?

Yes. Through self recipient updates users can authenticate their information and change the information in the fields. The administrator can view any changes before it is committed to the system. The administrator grants permission for the change. In addition, the system maintains a record of all changes to each individual user for potential future reporting, if necessary.

Does the solution allow for integration with existing enterprise systems of records, such as Microsoft Exchange, PeopleSoft HR, and Jenzabar’s Student Data System?

Our system is based on an open services platform that supports easy integration with existing customer applications, without the need to change existing business processes. Customers can use the XML standards-based Web Services to link enterprise applications or databases easily, such as scheduling applications, BCP software, and databases. Users activate BroadBlast’s SWN Web Services to initiate alerts, receive responses, manage contact data, as well as to perform other important tasks. BroadBlast’s SWN Web Services provides the benefits of seamless integration without the typical overhead.

Does the system allow for data to be imported from multiple data sources?

The service presently accepts data in manual, semi-automated, and fully automated modes. Methods include:

• On-demand entry: customers can use  BroadBlast’s SWN UI at any time to enter, modify, or delete contact (recipient) or group information
• Traditional import: the customer provides an extract that BroadBlast’s SWN staff examine for data issues and then upload
• MS Excel: the customer uploads a data extract to BroadBlast’s SWN via a secure post from an MS Excel plug-in
• Web import: the customer uploads a data extract to BroadBlast’s SWN using a Web-based utility
• Recipient Self-Update: the customer administrator provides secure, one-time-use web links via email that recipients can use to confirm/update their contact information and preferences
• Palm Treo transfer: the customer transmits new contacts live to the service from the Palm Treo
• Secure FTP: the customer posts an encrypted flat-file (semi-automated) or XML submission to the service to update the customer’s account
• Web Services API: the customer has fully automated synchronization between the customer’s primary ODS (operational data store) and BroadBlast's SWN

Can notifications be created that are used to poll/survey the recipients with a question and a number of possible response options?

Yes. Get Word Back (two-way polling and response) feature is available for all eligible receipt points (phones, two-way pagers, BlackBerry handhelds, etc.). At the time of message creation, the message sender can require the user to acknowledge receipt of the notification. The sender can also customize up to five responses from which recipients can choose to confirm receipt and/or provide other status information. Get Word Back responses can be entered through the telephone (DTMF Tones) and via email / SMS replies and from the inbound feature.

Can the system distinguish between reaching a live recipient and reaching an answering machine or voice mail?

The system employs Call Progress Analysis, which distinguishes a live recipient from an automated answering service. (The distinction is either made by recognizing recipient speech at the start of the call, through recipient interaction, or through recognition of an answering service beep.) The service also recognizes all Special Information Tones (such as busy signals). All such statuses are noted in real time (with time stamps) in the message detail (while a message is in progress), and final statuses are retained indefinitely in message history.

Does the system allow administrators to view results of notifications in real-time via the web without manual page refreshes?

While an alert is in progress, BroadBlast’s SWN platform provides comprehensive real-time reporting through the same web interface the alert was initiated from through a feature called Alert Tracer. The latest, time-stamped status of every contact point for every recipient, including attempts made, errors, any response(s) selected, etc., are displayed and refreshed automatically at the user’s preferred interval. This message detail page also includes a high-level (executive) summary of the message documenting all the message’s elements (sender, subject, message, available responses, optional features employed, etc.) and the overall response rate. The Alert Tracer feature tracks more than 90 real-time statuses for voice and text alerts including Recipient Hung Up, Busy, Delivered, etc. with time-stamped information provided. Results for every alert are retained indefinitely for customer historical/auditing purposes.

Can a customer request capacity be added to solution? In what timeframe does this happen?

BroadBlast’s SWN delivery platform is flexible and extensible. Our capacity grows in a planned fashion as our customer base grows. Even when multiple customers are using the service, the platform maintains a high delivery rate for voice and text. Adding appropriate capacity when the service is ready is typically a matter of days or weeks. Customer only need to contact their Customer Relationship Manager to request a capacity increase.