As unwanted and unexpected as they are, crises do happen, and being unprepared only makes them worse. In a 2017 PwC survey, 65 percent of respondents reported experiencing at least one crisis in the past four years. Despite their prevalence, a 2013 study by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer found that more than 40% of respondents had no type of plan in place for dealing with a crisis.

Regardless of your customer’s current state of readiness, you can help them improve their security measures and crisis response even more with applications that run on their data network. And, if they have an on-premise IP PBX, they already have an arsenal of tools available in their existing system.

Epygi’s Schools and Workplace Security Solution is a standard feature of all Epygi IP PBXs, so if your customer has an Epygi-based system, this feature is already included and ready for use. The School and Workplace Security Solution unifies voice, data and multimedia endpoints to create a multidimensional security system. Just some of the ways this can be deployed are mentioned below.

Securing the premises

Epygi’s IP PBXs are compatible and easily configured with all modern IP door access controls, video cameras and paging devices.

• Video surveillance – IP surveillance uses digital cameras to record video footage, which is then distributed over an IP network. Digital footage is searchable and there is no degradation of the image quality over time. Digital systems also allow you to record and play simultaneously, as well as compress the content to maximize storage space.
  
  Because the endpoints reside on the IP network, you can access and control any camera remotely simply by dialing its extension. Similarly, you can view the content remotely, store it in any geographic location, share it easily with the police, insurance company and other parties, and connect it to other systems on the network for the purpose of communicating alerts or updates.
  
  Discover the range of IP surveillance products available through TeleDynamics.
  
  

•  Door access control – IP PBXs can control physical entry into your facilities through software-based door control. These systems can include access readers and intercoms outside each door, electric locks to control entry, as well as video cameras to see who is coming and going. If no one is on site to attend to a visitor, the device can call designated personnel who can remotely view and interact with the vistor and either grant or reject entry right from their smart phone. These components can be powered with PoE so no additional electrical wiring is necessary.
  
  View TeleDynamics’ range of IP door access solutions.
  
  

• Overhead or group paging – IP loudspeakers and paging systems allow you to broadcast emergency messages in different areas simultaneously. Simply speak into an IP handset, which then streams the message to the designated paging device.
  
  Browse IP paging systems on TeleDynamics’ website.
  
  

Below is a sample installation diagram for security endpoints connected to an Epygi IP PBX.

 
Automated communications

Pre-programming emergency calls and announcements can save precious time in the event of a crisis.

• Dial and Announce (D&A) – This feature on Epygi’s IP PBXs allows you to place calls to a specified set of numbers and play recorded messages, automating the mass notification of staff or students of specific situations (medical, weather, hostile, etc.).
  
  
• Panic buttons – These preconfigured buttons can make automated emergency calls to designated internal and external phone numbers, and can even interrupt internal calls based on the urgency of the message.
  
  
• E911 – Epygi IP PBXs allow advanced caller ID (CID) settings, so emergency response teams can determine the precise location of a caller; they will know from exactly which extension the call is made.
  
  
• Automated announcements and alarms – Rules can be configured for activating alarm bells or pre-recorded emergency response messages over the paging system.
  
  

Enhanced reachability

For people on the organization's crisis response team that need to be easily reachable in case of an emergency, call hunting or simultaneous ring can be used to either sequentially or simultaneously ring multiple extensions until the call is answered.

Likewise, Find me/Follow me will try several different contact numbers and extensions of the same person (such as their mobile phone, work extension and home phone) until the person is reached.

CONCLUSION

Unified Communications allows you to leverage IP networks to enhance the security and emergency response of organizations like companies, schools, or even residential complexes. Best of all, because the components all sit on a data network, they are both affordable and easy to set up. 

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