Mass Notification and Alert Systems Experiencing Dramatic Growth in Public Sector

“Failing to prepare, preparing to fail…” In the real world of public safety, that approach can lead to loss of life, injury, and/or substantial property damage. Our headquarters is located in Austin, Texas, and the past few weeks served as dramatic, stark reminders that emergencies are often unforeseen and terrifyingly sudden when they do occur.

In our most recent industry-specific blog, we profiled NG911 systems and the growth in procurement of those solutions by government agencies. Within the same sphere, mass notification and alert systems are also an important component of a government or organization’s emergency or non-emergency communications game plan. Make note of the distinction: emergency or non-emergency.

MIR3 is a global, leading provider of emergency notification and response software, and other solutions. Maz Ghorban is MIR3’s VP of Corporate Development and has close to two decades in the high tech and communications industries. He’s a leading authority on the mass notification and alert industry. Not convinced on the need for modern, effective mass notification and alert systems? Mr. Ghorban explains, If my bank can text me and alert me to fraudulent charges on my credit card within seconds, why can’t my city text me about floods and tornadoes?”

He continued, “This was no more evident than after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, when many higher education administrators were telling students that they can’t alert 50k students at once on their phones, when the reality was that commercial vendors were using mass notification vendors for years to alert these same students on their phones.”

As with NG911, the evolution of mass notification and alert systems is being driven by the technology/methods in which organizations and people receive, send, use and share information.

Artist's rendition of a tornado destroying a structure.

Upon being asked, “Why the growth in this particular industry?”, Mr. Ghorban responded, “Modern notification systems were created in order to allow public sector organizations to leverage the ever expanding communication devices that citizens and students use today.  SMS, telephone, email and mobile applications are common communication methods. Particularly with emergency notification, it’s critical that you use multiple modalities to ensure you reach a recipient.”

He spoke to the reliance people have for getting timely, accurate information, “As citizens and students continue to get timely, targeted messages from commercial vendors on their devices for things such as delivery notices, appointment reminders and fraud alerts, it creates a higher standard of expectation for public sector organizations.”

So far, in 2015 and as illustrated on the following infographic, there have been 214 mass notification and alert requests from public sector entities. In April alone, there were 66 such solicitations! Of note, this number represents the most in any month for the past twelve months. Peruse below for a miniscule sample of the types of mass notification and alert requests, along with other details, from the past 365 days.

Sample Active Bids/RFPs

Mass Notification and Alert Systems

As you can see, the future for the mass notification and alert industry is off the chartsMarkets and Markets provided further evidence. On May 25th, 2015, they projected, “The Mass Notification Market is estimated to grow from $3.81 Billion in 2015 to $8.57 Billion in 2020. This represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.6% from 2015 to 2020. For more on their research, ‘Mass Notification Market Worth $8.57 Billion by 2020’.

We asked Mr. Ghorban what type(s) of growth he envisions in the industry over the next few years. He forecasts, “we expect the notification market to continue to expand.  Even now, you are probably only seeing, at best, 50% adoption of mass notification by public sector organizations. We expect this to continue to grow to as high as 95% within the next few years, as more funding becomes available and citizen expectations also rise.”

There’s that word again, “expectations”. Understanding that the need grows, the technology is readily available, governments/people in every city, town, and borough are at minimum demanding thoughtful evaluation and consideration of the security and safety these systems offer. How prepared are you?

For more on MIR3, visit their website.

Want more information on public sector use of mass notification and alert systems? Any other industry? Call us at 888.808.5356, or visit BidPrime.

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