As you know, I am always looking for cool security products to talk to you about. About a week ago, I started a conversation with Josh Sookman via LinkedIn about his mobile application called Guardly. According to the company's web site, Guardly is "a platform for emergency communication that changes the way mobile personal safety is delivered. Smartphone users that find themselves in an emergency situation can alert, connect and collaborate with local authorities as well as their own personal safety networks in a single tap. Guardly is committed to dramatically decreasing the amount of time it takes responders to arrive at an emergency." The company was founded in August 2010 and its mobile application is available for download on Windows, Android, Blackberry, and iTunes.
So how does Guardly separate itself from competitors that in my opinion, failed miserably. It stands out on the information it provides to dispatchers and emergency contacts. Most companies who attempt to do what Guardly has done will at a bare minimum only provide maybe a GPS location and will often limit how many people you can notify. According to Mr. Sookman, "Within 5 seconds, Guardly can provide information like who is involved, what is going on (type of emergency) and where the emergency is." if you've ever been in an emergency dispatch center or an actual emergency situation, you know how critical timing is with getting this type of information. As they say, "The sooner the better." On college campuses who used the application they noticed an overall reduction in response time by 44%, according to a case study published by the company. Vicki Brown, Director, Campus Services Security at OCAD University says, "Our partnership with Guardly enables the University to extend the reach of its emergency phones on campus by putting a virtual emergency phone onto smartphones carried by students. It also enables us to track changes to the location of an emergency in real-time and communicate with the victim and his/her responding safety network throughout the incident until resolved."
Guardly can also provide information like alert history which according to Mr. Sookman, is useful in situations like harassment or domestic abuse. This is information other jurisdictions may not have, particularly if the original agency is in the private sector. Guardly enables the original agency to forward the intel it has on a particular emergency via its Enterprise platform. Of course, as a personal download choice on your mobile phone, there won't be an alert history to share.
A few days ago, I wrote a piece on duress situations and how important it was to have duress switches in areas where the interaction between suspect and victim take place. Guardly does this as well. Once you tap the Guardly icon, it counts down from a preset number while vibrating each second and automatically sends out an alert. Depending on your preference, it can be set to automatically call 911 and your emergency contacts or just your contacts. Guardly also used what Sookman termed "geofences" which in essence are geographical boundaries. Guardly enterprise customers set up "geofences" around their respective properties on a map and when alerts come through in their fence they receive a "status update". If the institution is sending first responders like security or in-house medical and the caller escalates the emergency to a 911 call center that sends an outside agency to respond, the customer is alerted and can send the caller's alert history and profile data to the 911 dispatcher.
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| Initial screen you see when you tap the Guardly app |
What is unique, on both its personal and enterprise platforms, are its emergency contact groups. In my opinion, this is where Guardly makes its most notable departure from its rivals. You can create groups depending on the types of emergencies you expect to encounter like food allergies, stalking, abuse, etc. I have one set for work emergencies. Once an alert has been sent out, your contacts can then join a conference call about your emergency with you and the dispatcher using the infrastructure from your cellular provider through Guardly.
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| Typical Guardly collaboration screen |
Did I mention you can even send a photo to the dispatcher or your emergency contacts? It will allow you to send an instant message from your phone to the dispatcher. This, of course, is available only on its Enterprise platforms. Mr. Sookman informed me they have customers ranging from campus police, corporate security elements, real estate agencies, and private security firms. A visit to their web site is a testimony to the success they've had with these entities. LeFrancis Arnold, President, California Association of Realtors says, "With criminal attacks against realtors on the rise and the prevalent usage of smartphones by realtors,it was a natural fit to equip our members with Guardly as a tool to stay safe...We encourage members to take advantage of this technology and to share it with family, friends, and clients." Mr. Sookman told me there has been "some expressed interest" by municipalities in the United States and Canada.
Given my experiences with this application, I would HIGHLY recommend any agency who deals with emergency situations to take a serious look into Guardly.
Given my experiences with this application, I would HIGHLY recommend any agency who deals with emergency situations to take a serious look into Guardly.
To learn more about Guardly and how it can benefit you or your organization, click on the link below:
