Due to a lack of knowledge among many Americans about mass notification programs, CDW-G announced this week that it has launched a new Web site dedicated to informing the public about mass notification solutions.
According to a recent study conducted by the company, "This is a Test – This is Only a Test: Updating America’s Emergency Alert Infrastructure," nearly one-third of U.S. residents had no knowledge or experience with local mass notification systems.
To help remedy this, CDW-G’s new online Mass Notification Toolkit, www.cdwg.com/massnotification, provides users with various information about mass notification solutions including:
- Who needs to be involved in system deployment
- What a mass notification system’s IT infrastructure looks like
- What features are available on these systems
- How to craft a mass notification message
- And, how to increase participation in a mass notification system
"CDW-G's 'This is a Test' report revealed a disconnect between the information citizens want and their awareness of how to get it, and between the advanced notification systems available today and the comparatively old-fashioned methods on which many local governments and schools still rely to transmit emergency information," said CDW-G Group Vice President Chris Rother in a prepared statement. "In response, many local governments, K-12 school districts and higher education institutions asked how they could reach their constituents more effectively. The Mass Notification Toolkit is designed to provide that guidance."