IWCE: Public Safety Meets Managed, Cloud Services

Can public safety applications like 9-1-1 services move to managed and cloud services? That's one of the many topics I'm tracking today at IWCE (International Communications Expo) in Las Vegas. Companies such as Tiburon, Intrado and Ericcson North America are tackling those items in a session I'm moderating now. Here's a minute-by-minute recap.

First up: Tiburon

• Guest speakers included Rochelle Newsome, product manager, Tiburon Public Safety as a Service; and Joe Chizmas, software architect, Tiburon Public Safety as a Service.
• They walked attendees through the shift from client-server to public and shareable services.
• The company shifted from PC development stacks to a PSaaS (public safety as a service) approach. The move included a single sign-on solution (SSO) to make sure each development didn't have to worry about a security model.
• The next step was exploring a mobile iPad solution. Then Android and an HTML 5 focus has also become important.
• "Google Glass didn't exist when we started this a few years ago." But the new software approach allowed the company to quickly develop a Glass app.
• Key areas of continued focus include adhering to public safety standards, Big Data and more.
• The need to communicate between new data sources — including social media networks — has also popped up.
• The company needed to support multiple messaging scenarios across all types of devices — plus browsers and legacy products. The solution involves PSaaS Unite, which Chizmas is discussing offline with attendees. "We are supporting Big Data and the needs that arise from Big Data."
• "We can take an existing product from the field today, and quickly share it on a range of devices." The key learning curve involved APIs.

Second Up: Intrado — a 9-1-1 Call Expert

• The guest speaker is VP Michael Nelson.
• He pointed to all of the sensors on the network that will become integrated with 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers.
• "The point is to put intelligence around the data to get the right information to the people at the right time."
• So what does Cloud Computing mean to public safety? The big benefits involve standardization, specialization and repetition.
• Nelson walked attendees through legacy 9-1-1 processes that involve roughly 800 switches across the United States. Call transfers can often run into problems.
• Now, emergency service public safety grade IP networks (ESInet) are popping up. The location is now delivered to help route where the 9-1-1 call will go, based on a GIS database.
• As a natural first step, 9-1-1 systems are moving from legacy switches to IP infrastructure.
• Commercial networks, ESInets, and FirstNets increasingly are all working together.

And Finally: Ericcson

• Patrik Ringqvist, VP, Broadband Network Strategy, Ericcson North America, stepped up to the podium.
• He pointed to network-centric clouds that have specific compliance capabilities (for instance, adhering to HIPAA) as the big opportunity going forward.
• When you shift to public safety- or telecom-grade cloud, you need reliability, predictable performance, dependability and other foundational capabilities.
• The data centers themselves likely have to be purpose-built for public safety use.
• When to focus on each layer: If you're building data centers, that's IaaS; if you're focused on development, that's a PaaS opportunity and if you're focus on end-users, that's a SaaS opportunity.
• The future FirstNet environment will have three components. They are: Devices (policies, privay and security built in); Platforms (FirstNet broadband, LTE); and applications (ubiquity IP connectivity).

Stay tuned for more info.