Adding and Editing Contacts
Contact data can easily and efficiently be uploaded into the DeltAlert system via our direct import tool. DeltAlert uses a universal delimited format that streamlines the process of importing your current database into the system. Any list in Excel or CSV format can be used. Additionally, clients can edit or delete contacts once they have been entered into the system. Clients also have the option of utilizing a public opt-in portal that will allow citizens and businesses to easily add their own contact information.
Setting Up the Alert
Generating the Message
Text and audio alerts can be sent to contacts. For audio alerts, a user can upload a custom audio file; or can use our state of the art text-to-speech engine to generate a realistic voice message.
Voice Samples
Selecting Contacts
The alert notification wizard provides a powerful set of tools for selecting and filtering contacts, including:
- Choosing one or more user-defined contact lists (Ex: 4th Grade Teachers, All Employees, Police Sergeants).
- Utilizing a powerful contact search tool.
- Map-based contact selection.
These selections can be further refined by defining a notification epicenter. If provided, DeltAlert® will notify contacts nearest the epicenter first, or vice versa.
Sending the Alert
Emergency Alerts
When seconds matter, DeltAlert® provides an "Emergency Alert" option. This allows an administrator to create and activate an emergency alert in a matter of seconds.
Modes of Delivery
DeltAlert can deliver messages in a variety of formats, including:
- Voice Call
- TDD/TTY Devices
- SMS
DeltAlert allows individuals to specify which contact mode they prefer. When delivery of the alert to this primary contact mode fails, the system will automatically fall back to other methods. With respect to phone notifications, if the system detects an answering machine, it will deliver the message to voicemail. If the phone is not answered and no answering machine is detected, the system will redial the number at a later time or fall back to another contact mode.
Routine Notifications
For less time critical situations, the full alert setup wizard provides complete control over the notification, including:
- The ability to use any previous alerts as templates
- Scheduling of alerts for automatic activation
- Full map-based contact selection
- Contact search and filtering
- Multi-modal (Ex. phone + email + SMS) notifications
- Support for recorded messages and text-to-speech
- Activation preview
Speed of Delivery
DeltAlert has the ability to notify up to hundreds of thousands of people per hour by phone, or millions by email and text via multiple channels provided to us by our communications service providers.
Alert Reports
The DeltAlert system records a wealth of information about the entire notification process. This data is available 24-7 for analysis, and includes:
- Alert type
- Alert message (the full audio and text that was actually used)
- Time and date of notification
- Time and date of contact mode delivery during the alert
- Result of individual contact modes (e.g. answered, not answered)
- Alert status and number of attempts
- Contact's keypad responses
- Where the alert was sent (home phone, office phone, cell phone, pager, email, etc.)
- And much more
Reliability and Data Security
Our data centers are geographically dispersed on different electrical grids and are fully redundant for system rollover and reliability. Situated within hardened Enterprise Data Centers, we deliver a highly-secure data environment complete with redundant power and connectivity, including:
- Enhanced physical data center security, including: keycard protocols, biometric scanning protocols, and around-the-clock surveillance.
- Fully redundant, enterprise-class routing equipment.
- Multiple generators, multiple fuel tanks, and multiple battery back-ups to ensure constant power availability.
DeltAlert® has service agreements with multiple telecommunications channel suppliers. Should one carrier go down, for whatever reason, DeltAlert® can seamlessly switch to another for uninterrupted service.