The current state of 911 emergency communications services, operator and directory assistance is changing. Today, we use a variety of new technologies like wireless smartphones and smart watches. So, traditional telephone companies are curtailing these needed services. What we don’t hear as much about is how new alternatives are replacing them. That’s changing. Consider how Verizon is working with Viiz to provide these monitoring services to new technology like Apple Watch.
You may wonder, what kind of rapid deployment of emergency services, communications and assistance is available today when a loved one falls and needs immediate help?
That’s what both Verizon and Viiz are working on together over the last few months. And this is just one of many different direction’s communications companies are starting to use as they replace traditional services.
That’s why I now see this sector as being in the early stages of a revolution in growth.
Yesterday emergency services were simple, today they are complex
Yesterday, life was simple. We had a telephone, so it was easier to offer these services. If you needed help, you picked up the phone and dialed 911. The network knew exactly where the call was coming from in a landline world.
Today, things are very different. Today, there is an explosion of new devices and services we use to communicate using wireless, Internet and wire line service. And most of us use more than one of these devices every day.
That means providing these necessary services to users is much more complex and expensive for companies to provide on their own.
That’s where companies like Viiz enter the picture. They provide 911 emergency services, operator assistance and directory assistance services to communications service providers.
Viiz provides the emergency service behind Verizon Get Help
Verizon and Viiz work together in the background to offer a service called Verizon Get Help. In fact, at this early stage in this growing industry segment, this can give communications companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
To the customer, this is a Verizon service. In reality, while it is offered by Verizon, it is actually provided by Viiz.
That’s the beauty of this kind of service. It lets communications service providers offer these advanced services to their users, without having to operate their own division with the cost and complexity.
How Verizon Get Help service uses Viiz for 911 emergency assistance
When the Verizon Get Help service is activated, a user can easily contact the call center when assistance is needed by simply tapping the Get Help button on their paired Apple Watch.
Next, a Get Help agent contacts the Apple Watch wearer and remains on the line until the watch wearer feels safe. If needed, they can conference in a “Trust Circle” contact or call 911.
The Viiz professional monitoring technology platform uses a full range of enriched data to assist the Get Help agent’s support of the situation.
In addition, an alert from Verizon’s Care Smart app can directly notify those in the Apple Watch wearer’s Trust Circle and provide the watch’s location.
Just think about how large and complete today’s market really is. We use a growing number of products and services, both on the land line, Internet and wireless networks.
That means there is a fertile growing field for companies who provide these services. They give the ability for the actual service provider to offer these services quickly and simply without having to manage the continually changing space, operation and cost.
Several weeks ago, I gave a live television interview on this topic to Scripps News Service. This wasn’t an area I have spent much time thinking about in the past, but in the weeks since it planted a seed of curiosity and I have been delighted with what I am learning about this important sector.
We don’t think about 911 emergency services until we need them
Let’s face it, we don’t think we need these kind of emergency or convivence services, until we need them. At that point we immediately need help or assistance.
We always think traditional 911 emergency services, directory assistance or operator services are always there. However, increasingly they are not available the way they always have been.
Emergency 911, Operator, Directory Assistance growth is accelerating
This left a space for a growth industry to be born. And that’s exactly what is happening.
Let me ask you a question. How would you reach out for help using a wireless smartphone like an iPhone or Android? What about a tablet or smart watch? What about the Internet on your computer or the screen on your refrigerator, or on the TV you are watching?
Today, we have more ways to connect with the outside world than ever before. Yet, we have not paid as much attention regarding reaching out for help.
This sector needs more attention from the industry. Carriers need to educate users on this change.
Initially, these services will be a competitive advantage for companies who offer it. Then at some point down the road, they will simply become expected by the consumer. It will become a simple cost of doing business. That’s when competitors will all jump in just to keep up with the customer expectations and demands.
