U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center to Deploy AtHoc IWSAlerts for organization-wide emergency notification capabilities for personnel across the nation.

AtHoc announces the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will deploy AtHoc IWSAlerts(TM) to provide emergency mass notification to its entire population of roughly 2,500 personnel across the United States.

The deployment of AtHoc IWSAlerts IP-based mass notification system will enable the command's emergency planners to rapidly deliver emergency alerts via multiple devices such as computers, cell and landline phones, and ERDC's existing public address system through a single, unified Web console.

ERDC's adoption of a unified, network-centric alerting system represents another step in the Department of Defense's rollout of third-generation mass notification technology.

Leveraging existing IP networks and integrating existing mass notification capabilities results in an effective enterprise-wide system that is able to alert all personnel and receive feedback on their status.

As the Army's top research lab, ERDC provides science, technology and expertise in engineering and environmental science in support of the U.S. Armed Forces and the nation.

ERDC is part of the Corps of Engineers and provides research and development in the areas of warfighter support, environmental quality, water resources and civil works, and information technology.

In support of this work, ERDC has seven laboratories located in Vicksburg, Miss., Champaign, Ill., Hanover, N.H., and Alexandria, Va.

ERDC will deploy AtHoc's network-centric emergency notification solution to leverage its IP network to quickly reach personnel through any network-connected device in case of an emergency.

By using the IP network, organizations can send information about the evolving emergency, provide detailed instructions for action based on the recipient's role within the organization and receive recipient responses via a feedback mechanism.

AtHoc IWSAlerts will be deployed centrally at ERDC headquarters in Vicksburg with a secondary failover site in Champaign. Each lab will be able to access AtHoc IWSAlerts through the Web to notify local personnel, and commanders and emergency operators at Vicksburg will also have the ability to alert all personnel at all locations as necessary.

In order to ensure accurate and up-to-date personnel contact information, AtHoc IWSAlerts will integrate with ERDC's Active Directory system. Using the AtHoc IWSAlerts self-service module, ERDC personnel can also update their own contact information directly through an easy-to-use portal.

"ERDC is responsible for mission-critical projects ranging from measuring Arctic temperatures to testing vehicle mobility in sand," says Colonel David W. Brown (Ret.), director of U.S. Army operations for AtHoc.

"We are delighted to be able to help support the ERDC in its mission by keeping the research center informed and safe in times of emergency."

For more information visit www.athoc.com