Many businesses are adopting a Unified Communication strategy to increase communication, but what other areas can we use this to our advantage? Recent school safety initiatives have been a huge priority for many states and school districts, but Unified Communication (UC) is an unexpected solution that is only recently being looked into.
Patrick Jones, the technology director at a Missouri school district, has noted that programs that businesses use for emergency situations can also be used to keep our schools safer. Coordination and communication are essential in a scenario like a shooting. Statistics have shown that an average school shooting lasts somewhere around 13 minutes, but an emergency responder takes about 10 minutes to get to the site. Any increase in communication can help first responders mitigate the situation will help decrease the shooter’s event.
Unified Communication services also give the opportunity to track staff and personnel. Imagine having a map of where teachers and classes are when trying to moderate an emergency situation. Not only would this help in a catastrophic event like an earthquake, tornado or shooting, but if a child is having a seizure or other traumatic event. Being able to find the personnel who is with the student in an instant could save lives.
Schools (and businesses) can also make their UC strategy and implementation even more effective by taking it to the cloud. Cloud unified communication allows for anywhere-access by incorporating mobility, presence, and voice with the Cloud- keeping this system going regardless of your underlying infrastructure. With the integration of multiple communication methods into one interface that is available from almost anywhere via an internet connection, UC is an obvious choice for schools, hospitals, businesses, and government facilities.
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