A location monitoring product company says its app helped users during the recent protests in Portland, Oregon, by guiding them to offices and hotels after people had activated the panic button on their app while on their way to or from their place of work.
Vismo CEO Craig Swallow, pictured, says: “Vismo is no stranger to being used to protect employees in potentially harmful situations, and in the past few months our app has proved invaluable to users who were at risk of being caught up in some of the hundreds of protests that have taken place in Portland, and elsewhere.”
The app – as used by FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies as a ‘duty of care’ precaution by their employers – alerted security teams by text, email and an automated phone call when users pressed its panic button. Vismo’s portal identified a place of safety. Security received an audio clip, sent automatically from the users’ smartphones.
Swallow adds: “In these instances, the safest places were hotels and offices unaffected, and likely to remain unaffected, by protests. Security teams were able to monitor users’ movements and their precise location – and stay in contact with them throughout, from the moment they gave them advice on where to go until they had reached a place of safety. Then, until they reached home or work.”
The app is used typically in the oil and gas, healthcare and retail sectors, NGOs, whose staff and volunteers can work in extreme at-risk places; and media companies, whose reporters and camera operators may find themselves at extreme risk. Information can be sent to app users to avoid areas or guide them to a safe destination, for example during an unfolding unstable situation in a specific geographic area. A mass notification can include a personalised message with response options to see if anyone requires assistance.
Notifications can be sent via text, email, in-app and an automated phone call, which can be set to loop until a response is received. Visit vismo.com.
