Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:53:21 AM: Amy Sebring: Welcome to the EIIP Tech Arena! Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:53:30 AM: Amy Sebring: For the benefit of any first-timers, if you see a blue web address, you can click on it and the referenced Web page should appear in a browser window. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:53:41 AM: Amy Sebring: After the first one, the browser window may not automatically come to the top, so you may need to bring it forward by clicking on a button at the status bar at the bottom of your screen. Then you will need to bring your chat window back to the top in the same way. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:53:54 AM: Amy Sebring: We will start with a presentation, and then follow with a Q&A session for your questions and comments. Right before we begin the Q&A portion we will review the procedure. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:54:05 AM: Amy Sebring: Please do NOT send direct messages to the speaker or moderator as it makes it difficult for us to follow the discussion. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:54:14 AM: Amy Sebring: Background information for today's session may be found at http://www.emforum.org/varena/000726.htm ... Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:54:29 AM: Amy Sebring: Our topic today is "OpsCenter: Virtual EOC Application," and Jim Cook, CEM is here to do the honors. Jim has been with Essential Technologies for a little over two years, and is currently a Senior Client Services Manager in the Contingency Management Business Unit. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:54:41 AM: Amy Sebring: (He tells us that that means he is not a sales person!) Prior to joining Essential, he was the Assistant Director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (AFCEMA), where he served for about 18 years, including the 1996 Olympics. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:54:51 AM: Amy Sebring: Welcome Jim, and thank you for taking the time to be with us as a presenter today. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:55:00 AM: Jim Cook: Thanks Amy. For those of you that are not familiar with Essential Technologies, let me take a minute to introduce the company. Essential Technologies, Inc., was founded in the 1997 merger of EIS International and Envirometrics Software, Inc., ... Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:55:24 AM: Jim Cook: the top providers of Environmental and Contingency Management software. Today, with more than 11,000 systems installed in 30 countries, Essential Technologies is dominating those markets. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:55:38 AM: Jim Cook: On May 1, 2000 Essential Technologies Inc., announced a major partnership with Alert Technologies Corporation, to bring together the market leader and the next generation technology leader for e-business Contingency Management. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:56:03 AM: Jim Cook: This major technological step began with a distributor agreement that makes Essential the primary reseller for OpsCenter Virtual EOC, by Alert Technologies, an Application Service Provider (ASP) in Pleasanton, Calif. According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the same time, Alert and Essential Technologies agreed to pursue a merger in the near future. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:56:31 AM: Jim Cook: Founded in 1996 as a private company, Alert Technologies Corporation is a leading Application Service Provider of emergency management solutions that provide effective management of resources and costs during natural disasters and other business-related emergencies. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:56:56 AM: Jim Cook: Alert Technologies solutions are designed for use in Fortune 500 corporations, mid-size companies and government agencies. For more information about Alert Technologies, visit http://www.alerttech.com. Now let's type/talk about the OpsCenter... Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:57:28 AM: Jim Cook: OpsCenter is an easy-to-use decision management tool that will help you manage the status and your responses to multiple concurrent incidents, monitor daily operations, track human and material resources and access your plans, procedures & checklists. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:58:01 AM: Jim Cook: OpsCenter is available as a self-hosted application or through a professional ASP host. The latter enables users in the commercial sector along with federal, state and local government agencies to avoid the expense and logistics of building and staffing an Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:58:32 AM: Jim Cook: For those that don't want to bear the expense of a dedicated Emergency Operations Center (EOC), OpsCenter makes the virtual EOC a reality. The ASP model is the future of software industry. Pretty soon everyone will subscribe to software at work and at home and pay for only what they use. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:59:02 AM: Jim Cook: The major benefits of OpsCenter are that the user only requires a Web-browser - no software to install or maintain. You can create a "Virtual EOC" and be able to access OpsCenter from any location via a browser. Security is role-based. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:59:20 AM: Jim Cook: OpsCenter allows controlled sharing of the information with others through user permissions. It is an effective exercise tool. OpsCenter can be used immediately without the need for data entry. It is easy to learn with minimal training needed. There is automatic audit/journal tracking of actions & activities. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:59:44 AM: Jim Cook: The major features of OpsCenter include the ability to track your personnel, resources, supplies, equipment for their available, allocated, deployed status. You can manage information about organizations, facilities, shelters, suppliers, contacts, and other agencies. Wed Jul 26, 2000 11:59:58 AM: Jim Cook: OpsCenter provides status Information tracking of all incidents. It easily links to plans, and other sites & data OpsCenter is configurable by you to focus on the functions and information you want and need. Jim Cook: A state emergency management organization could install and use all the functionally of OpsCenter while making only the Resource Request (personnel, equipment, funds) screen available to each local emergency management organization. Jim Cook: Now let's get into OpsCenter and show you how it works. You use your browser to connect to the OpsCenter Web server which can be ASP-hosted or self-hosted. Amy, slide 1 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide01.htm Jim Cook: Because you can connect to OpsCenter from anywhere, when you first login, your Personal Information page indicates who you are, what role or roles you are performing, and how to reach you. You may update this information to reflect your current location. You must authorized ahead of time to have access to the system. Jim Cook: "Roles" are key - they consist of the functions you will be performing & the information you will need. OpsCenter comes with a set of pre-defined roles but you can configure your own to suit your needs. This gives users one-click access to the specific information relating to their specific responsibilities. Jim Cook: This makes OpsCenter easy to learn and use. Amy, slide 2 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide02.htm Jim Cook: Because users can connect to OpsCenter from anywhere, the Staffing Report tells everyone who is logged on, in what role, and how long they have been working. This report also tells everyone, particularly the Incident Commander or EMA Director, who is authorized to fill empty positions and how to contact him or her. Jim Cook: This information is automatically refreshed by the system. Amy, slide 3 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide03.htm Jim Cook: Most every OpsCenter screen consists of three panels. They are the Shortcut Panel, the Status Board, and the Detail Area. The Shortcut Panel indicates your selected role(s) and the shortcuts to the specific functions that you've decided the role requires. Jim Cook: Contained within the Shortcut Panel there are hot buttons to bring up Status Boards, Reports, Checklists and Data Entry. The Status Board is a summary of the information for area of the database you are currently in. Jim Cook: The Detail Area shows all of the information concerning the particular data record you are viewing. Amy, slides 4 and 5 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide04.htm Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide05.htm Jim Cook: Let's talk a little about System Requirements and Architecture. The System Requirements for an OpsCenter server are really very simple, but not necessarily inexpensive. Of course if you are going to subscribe to an ASP your only requirement is to have access to the Internet and be running Internet Explorer 4.0. Jim Cook: If you are going to build or utilize your own server you will need the following. Amy, slide 6 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide06.htm Jim Cook: OpsCenter uses the industry-standard 3-tier architecture. This means that the Display Tier (what the user sees) only requires a browser. The Middle Tier is a set of components that transmits data through the web server to the Data Tier. Jim Cook: The Data Tier can be SQL Server or Oracle. All 3 Tiers can run on the same machine, all on separate machines, or any variation in between. Because OpsCenter runs in a true 3-tier architecture there are installation options available to provide you with everything from high security and high data availability to a low cost, entry level solution. Jim Cook: The following is an example of a self-hosted system. Amy, slide 7 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide07.htm Jim Cook: In the entry level category there is our standard ASP deployment. Amy, slide 8 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide08.htm Jim Cook: In the high-security / high data availability area there we can also do the following. Amy, slide 9 please Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide09.htm Jim Cook: As Emergency Managers I know you are all concerned about the 24 hour, 7 day a week, availability of your data. Like I mentioned earlier, the trend in the software industry is toward utilizing ASP's. Jim Cook: When considering a vendor to be your Application Service Provider, you should consider the following as MINIMUM requirements of your ASP. Amy, slide 10 please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/varena/opscentr/Slide10.htm Jim Cook: That raps up my presentation of OpsCenter, the next generation in Emergency Management software. If you would like a full demonstration on the software please call our sales staff at 1- 800-999-5009 and they arrange for a full demonstration right over the web. Jim Cook: You can also download a PowerPoint presentation on OpsCenter from our web site at www.essential-technologies.com Jim Cook: I see we are joined by Jim Paulson, CTO of Alert Technologies. I am sure he will step in to answer any questions I can not. Jim Cook: I will now entertain questions. Amy Sebring: Thank you for that overview Jim, and we can get into some more detail during Q&A... Amy Sebring: Audience please enter a question mark (?) to indicate you wish to be recognized, go ahead and compose your comment or question, but wait for recognition before hitting the enter key or clicking on Send. Amy Sebring: We now invite your questions/comments. David Crews: ? Rick Tobin: ? Amy Sebring: Welcome Jim, thanks for joining us ... Chris Post: ? Amy Sebring: David, when you are ready please. Scott E. Jones: ? David Crews: Is there more than one ASP site to insure redundancy and survival at the server location? Jim Cook: We can provide that service as needed. Amy Sebring: Rick Tobin next please. Rick Tobin: Two questions. First, why require only Internet Explorer and also only a certain version(4 is not the most recent)? You can't expect users to revert to an earlier browser when implementing a new system. Second, you say it refreshes automatically. Some firewalls don't allow this. How did you deal with that? Joe Boyer EQE: ? Kenny Shaw: ? Jim Cook: 4.0 is the minimum. There are some issues with Netscape we are working out. It works, it just does not look as good as we would like.... Jim Cook: firewall requirements vary. We have to look at each one we get to them. Jim P. do you have anything to add? Joe Boyer EQE: What is your proposal for entering the system during infrastructure failure? I.e. power, phone asp connection etc. Amy Sebring: Please wait until you are recognized by name. Jim Cook: You can build a system that is contained within your EOC... Jim Cook: Anytime you connect to the outside you have to plan for communication failure. There are many options available to you. Amy Sebring: Jim P. if you wish to add anything regarding firewalls please jump in ... Jim Paulson: Rick, I agree with Jim Cook's answer. The specifics of every firewall is different and we work with them on an individual basis. I do not believe we have allowed a firewall to prevent refresh from working yet. Amy Sebring: Chris Post is next please. Chris Post: Jim, are there any plans to integrate your OpsCenter with wireless mobile data MDT's and or wireless devices to allow users in the field or remote locations? Jim Cook: Because OpsCenter is browser based... Jim Cook: mobile communications is a lot easier. We have to look at the specific MDT you want to use. Jim Paulson: We have had some customer's use/test OpsCenter over wireless. It worked fine but was somewhat slow because of the limited bandwidth. Dennis Dura: ? Amy Sebring: Scott is next please. Scott E. Jones: Good Morning, Jim. What about mapping? What sort of data needs to be provided by the user? Jim Cook: We use map objects for mapping... Jim Cook: Jim P. is going to add some info on mapping Jim Paulson: Scott, we have fully integrated GOIS mapping available but you must install an application. (i.e. not just a browser is required) .... Jim Paulson: We are almost done with making the same functionality available through just the browser... Jim Paulson: It actually works now if you disable the security of your browser... Jim Paulson: but since we think this is not prudent, we do not mention mapping when selling/demonstrating the system. Scott E. Jones: ? Amy Sebring: Thanks Jim P. Joe Boyer was next. I believe his question regarding communications interruptions was at least partially answered. Jim you mentioned other options. Can you elaborate some on alternatives? Joe Boyer EQE: We have found several solutions to remote communications and internet access with data rates from 9.6 to 128 k per laptop. Glad to talk off line 910-270-3734 EQE International. We have also designed software that may complement your capability. Joe Boyer EQE: What is your proposal for entering the system during infrastructure failure? I.e. power, phone asp connection etc Jim Cook: You could dial directly into the server at the EOC if you needed to over a cell phone. Amy Sebring: Thanks, Kenny is next. Kenny Shaw: Hello from Arkansas. You said earlier that no software was required, then that you can "demo" the software...do we need software or not? I'm confused. Jim Cook: OpsCenter is browser based on the client end. Jim Cook: Did that answer your question Kenny? Amy Sebring: Jim, you would just need to set up access would you not for demo purposes? Kenny Shaw: yep Amy Sebring: Ok Kyle is next please. Jim Cook: For a demo. All that is needed it IE4 (or greater) on your end and a phone call to a Salesperson to set up the demo. dennis dura: ? Amy Sebring: Kyle's question was answered ... Amy Sebring: Dennis you are next please. Fred Baehl: ? dennis dura: What are the fees? Heather Guse: ? deena myers: deena myers: ? Jim Cook: As an example, a five (5) user license runs between $7,000 and $12,000 depending on whether you purchase the software, want a self-host subscription, or want an ASP hosted subscription. The most economical would be a self-hosted subscription for 5 licenses at about $7,000 a year. Jim Cook: You should note that with the annual subscriptions our standard 24/7 Technical Support is included. When you purchase the software out-right there is an annual Extended Service Plan available for 20% of the cost of the software. Jim Cook: Of course I would be remiss if I did not make sure you understand that volume = discount and we intent to be very competitive in the marketplace. Our sales staff would be glad to provide you with a quote based on your specific needs. Rick Tobin: ? Amy Sebring: Scott Jones is next please. Scott E. Jones: We were planning to use ArcView for mapping. That should be compatible with Map Objects if I'm not mistaken?!? Jim Cook: Jim P. can you answer that? Jim Paulson: Our mapping functionality, which is in production at several customer sites, can import shape files, which is the default file format for ARCView, ARCInfo and others. Jim Cook: Thanks Jim. Amy Sebring: Fred next please. Fred Baehl: My experience with Cells is that they are generally not available during an emergency. Would satellite phone work? Jim Cook: Absolutely. dennis dura: ? Jim Cook: I can't speak as to the speed of various systems. Amy Sebring: David Tran asked how long the demo would take Jim. David Crews: ? Jim Cook: We custom the demo just as we would any regular sales presentation. It should not take longer than a hour or so. george gardner: ? Amy Sebring: Heather is next please. Heather Guse: Is OpsCenter only geared toward Emergency Management Agencies or is there a market for private corporate use, such as in property management control centers? Jim Cook: OpsCenter is currently running is a LARGE corporate environment. Joe Boyer EQE: ! Jim Cook: We can do small corporate environments as well! Amy Sebring: Deena is next please. Jim Paulson: A quick note on performance over wireless: We have built in the ability to "throttle" the refresh rate of the system so that you will still get good performance over slow links. Of course, their is a limit to how slow it can go. deena myers: Can you elaborate more on pricing? 7K gets me 5 user licenses self-hosted? Do I buy a server?? Jim Cook: You have to provide the hardware... Jim Cook: as well as the NT and SQL licenses. Amy Sebring: Rick is next please. Rick Tobin: Have you discussed the need for extra staff support in situations that involve a number of clients simultaneously--say a large quake somewhere in the US and 5 or more clients want assistance immediately--say at 3:00 a.m. on a holiday weekend? Do you have a triage system for that kind of situation? Jim Cook: Great question. The check is in the mail.... Jim Cook: There is a built in system for allowing you unlimited access for a short period of time (30 days) during an emergency... Jim Cook: We understand your needs can change quite quickly. Jim Cook: Go ahead Amy. Amy Sebring: Jim, for those who might have come in later on, can you put up the info again where to get more specifics on pricing and demo? Jim Cook: There is a PowerPoint at www.essential-technologies.com and you can call us at 1-800-999-5009. Amy Sebring: Thanks. David Crews next please. Anthony S. Mangeri: ? Jim Cook: We can set up a remote demo at almost any time. David Crews: What is the estimated minimum amount of manning needed to effectively operate the software and make data entries in a large disaster? e.g., a large hurricane event? Anthony S. Mangeri: Jim, we would like to see the PowerPoint. However, we are not authorized to give all the data asked for to have access Jim Cook: Alert Technologies has made OpsCenter VERY easy to use. Because a person is assigned roles... Joseph Quaranta: This really could make life easier but as with any software product one needs to interact with it and develop a working relationship. Jim Cook: the person using the system only sees the few things on the shortcut (menu) bar they are supposed to. Amy Sebring: George is next please. george gardner: What information is contained in the supplier section? can one track vendor products & services ? Purchase on- line? Jim Cook: It is hard to say how many people it would take to operate the software. I have been in plenty of EOC's... Jim Cook: You have got to raise and lower the data entry people as needed. Amy Sebring: Joe had a further comment regarding communications? Joe? Joe Boyer EQE: QE International has remote communications capability that will allow Joe Boyer EQE: data communications from anywhere regardless of infrastructure to an ISP or Joe Boyer EQE: back to your local EOC. Amy Sebring: Ok, I have a question ... Amy Sebring: and then we will have time for one more .. Amy Sebring: Either Jim, do you have any plans to integrate instant messaging or chat? Jim Cook: We can/do that. That was easy. Amy Sebring: Anyone else, one last question? Jim Cook: We use COT software whenever possible. george gardner: What happened to george? Amy Sebring: Sorry, I thought we had George ... Amy Sebring: go ahead quickly please George. george gardner: what info is in the supplier section? Amy Sebring: Sorry, yes, you asked the question and it did not get answered ... Amy Sebring: George was asking about what information is contained in the resources section ... george gardner: specifically about suppliers Amy Sebring: products and services? ordering on-line? Jim Cook: Sorry George... Jim Paulson: We provide limited direct access to suppliers currently, but have work in progress that will provide substantial access... Jim Paulson: if you are willing to share your requirements in this area I would be very interested in hearing them... Jim Paulson: but we should probably take it off line. Jim Cook: In the resource area we look after people, hardware (cars, chainsaws, etc.), facilities and suppliers. Amy Sebring: Thank you very much for being with us today BOTH Jims. We very much appreciate your time and effort. Please stand by a moment while we take care of some business. Amy Sebring: First, I would like to mention that in follow up to our session on drought last week, we received a notice from the USGS that there was a briefing on "Water Management During Drought: Lessons Learned" in Washington, D.C. this morning presented by a number of agencies ... Amy Sebring: It was being taped, and if it becomes available via the Web, we will post the link to the background page for our drought session. Speaking of transcripts ... Amy Sebring: today's session will be accessible via the Transcripts link on our home page on Monday, including links to the slides. The text version will be up later today. Amy Sebring: Next week, we are planning a session around the continuing loss of life due to driving through flooded roadways. Our schedule for August will be out later this week, and our next issue of our monthly newsletter will also be out shortly ... Amy Sebring: If you are not on our mailing list, see http://www.speccomm.com:81/guest/RemoteListSummary/EIIP to subscribe. Amy Sebring: Thanks to all our participants today. We will adjourn the session for now, but you are welcome to remain for open discussion. You no longer need to use question marks. Please help us express our appreciation to Jim for today's presentation.