RapidDeploy - Experts & Thought Leaders

Nedbank has made an equity investment into an industry-leading technology led emergency response platform, RapidDeploy. The bank is the first South African firm to invest in RapidDeploy, which was established in South Africa, after its Founders - Steven Raucher and Brett Meyerowitz experienced the antiquated, legacy technology that was available within the country’s public safety sector. Nedbank invests in RapidDeploy Steven Raucher experienced a personal tragedy, when his brother drowned at sea and to honor him, he volunteered for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) of South Africa. This is where he came to realize that the emergency tools available could not achieve what was needed, in order to respond to people and ultimately, save lives in an urgent and efficient manner. Brett Meyerowitz came to the same conclusion, as a Volunteer Paramedic, around the same time and RapidDeploy was born, with the primary purpose of saving lives through reduced response times. Innovation-led business model At Nedbank, we recognize that there’s far more to technology than just enabling customer engagement" According to Johann Van Zyl, Head Principal and Alternative Investment at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, the bank’s decision to invest in RapidDeploy was based on the strong alignment of the company’s innovation-led business model with Nedbank’s policy of investing in world-leading businesses and technologies that can deliver sustainable positive impact. “At Nedbank, we recognize that there’s far more to technology than just enabling customer engagement or helping to build a business,” explains Johann Van Zyl, adding “And the fact that RapidDeploy technology is literally saving lives, means this venture capital technology investment gives good effect to our Nedbank purpose of applying our financial expertise to do good.” Bringing modern technology to public safety Since moving their headquarters and primary focus to Austin, Texas, in the United States of America (USA), RapidDeploy has partnered with nine states and numerous local Emergency Communications Centers, in order to bring modern technology to public safety, across the country. Save stories are regularly received from customers, in which they share the impact of the technology via specific examples of incidents, in which it has helped to save lives. Like in Kansas, where a caller had a stroke and couldn’t talk, and in Navajo County, Arizona, where a kidnapping victim was rescued, or in Sarasota County, Florida, where a caller was located during a hurricane, and many other compelling customer stories. Developing revolutionary techologies While headquartered in the USA, RapidDeploy sticks to its roots with part of their engineering and product teams based in South Africa. The investment from Nedbank shows continued focus on these teams bringing revolutionary technology to public safety. RapidDeploy is currently focused on public safety in the United States of America RapidDeploy is currently focused on public safety in the United States of America, but getting additional investment from global firms opens up possibilities to take the technology to other parts of the world. “We are honored that Nedbank has chosen to invest in RapidDeploy,” said Steven Raucher, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RapidDeploy, adding “As our first South African institutional investor, Nedbank ensures our continued investment in our teams in South Africa and enables us to expand and grow.” Partnering with category-defining technology companies Johann Van Zyl points out that the investment in RapidDeploy is in keeping with Nedbank’s venture capital mandate to invest in and partner with disruptive, category-defining technology companies. “As an on-balance-sheet investor, our venture capital approach is highly strategic, and we prefer to work closely with our investee companies,” said Johann Van Zyl, adding “So we are looking forward to supporting RapidDeploy’s future growth and expansion as the opportunities present, particularly given that their success and growth will ultimately translate into even more lives saved.” The investment by Nedbank and other venture capitalists ensure RapidDeploy can continue to develop the modern technology needed, in order to complete its mission to save lives, with reduced response times and make a difference in communities around the world.

RapidDeploy, the cloud-native emergency response platform, announced a statewide implementation of Radius Mapping, a best-in-class tactical map, and Eclipse Analytics, a flexible reporting and analytics solution, to reduce emergency response times and increase operational efficiency for 9-1-1 across Minnesota.  In a first for local 9-1-1 call centers, every Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) will be equipped with the same map and GIS data, along with network, mobile device, and other supplemental location data. This improves location accuracy and situational awareness throughout the state, providing more relevant information about callers and finding them faster. Driving operational efficiency It also enables PSAPs to quickly assess if a call has been misrouted, speeding up the time it takes to transfer a call to the correct PSAP, which is especially critical for the Twin Cities metro area, where there are multiple PSAPs in a single county. It also gives outstate Minnesota access to the same modern technology. Minnesota’s PSAPs will have access to new ways to communicate to callers through two-way SMS chat Additionally, Minnesota’s PSAPs will have access to new ways to communicate to callers through two-way SMS chat to contact callers who hang up or become disconnected. SMS chat has language detection and translation for over 70 different languages. This can have incredible outcomes for domestic violence situations where the caller cannot talk or in situations where English is not the caller’s primary language. As part of the statewide rollout, the Twin Cities will also have access to Eclipse Analytics, an easy-to-use analytics solution providing the standard and on-demand reports that will drive operational efficiency of the 9-1-1 system. Quicker response times “We are honored to bring Minnesota onto our platform as our eighth statewide deployment,” said RapidDeploy Co-Founder and CEO Steve Raucher. “With RapidDeploy Radius Mapping and Eclipse Analytics, PSAPs in Minnesota will see dramatic and immediate changes in their ability to get help to those who need it most more quickly and efficiently.” Radius Mapping will help more than 1,200 9-1-1 Telecommunicators to get a more accurate location of an emergency caller and aid in quicker response times. Its best-in-class mapping will enhance in being able to locate Minnesota citizens and visitors who are not able to communicate their location, which will result in a more immediate response. Including this new deployment, RapidDeploy serves over 25% of the Telecommunicators in the US, in over 800 9-1-1 centers nationwide, including statewide deployments in California, Kansas, and Arizona.

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave), the critical communication and collaboration platform that customers count on when it matters the most, has announced new and expanded strategic partnerships to increase data sharing, critical communications, and situational awareness for emergency and critical incidents. Strategic Partnerships  RapidDeploy, ESO, and Tenefit add to Rave Mobile Safety’s growing suite of integrated and interoperable solutions, along with an expanded relationship with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), to deliver vital information quickly and seamlessly to 9-1-1 dispatch officers, first responders, emergency management, campus security, corporate security, and communities. “In terms of safety and security for communities and organizations, timing is everything,” said Todd Piett, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rave Mobile Safety, adding “Our suite of solutions is designed to get the right information into the right hands as quickly as possible, with as few steps as possible. Expanding our ecosystem to include these strategic integration partners brings us that much closer to the reality of a fully connected safety communication and collaboration platform.” 9-1-1 integration partners Rave’s solutions provide critical additional information and communication tools to inform emergency response When 9-1-1 answers a call, seconds count. Rave’s solutions provide critical additional information and communication tools to inform emergency response and get help on-site more quickly, from more accurate location data to additional context on household members and pre-existing medical conditions. The following partnership integrates Rave’s data into 9-1-1 call centers even more seamlessly, putting life-saving information directly in front of dispatchers. RapidDeploy, the industry’s only truly open and integrated emergency response platform, directly integrates supplemental emergency data from some of the largest and most influential companies in technology and public safety. Rave’s Smart911 emergency profiles As part of RapidDeploy’s Unified Critical Response ecosystem, Rave’s Smart911 emergency profiles, facility information, building floor plans, and real-time emergency event details provide the industry’s largest set of emergency response data to connect communities with their citizens and protect schools, soft targets and critical infrastructure. “We share Rave’s mission to create a data-driven public safety ecosystem that gives telecommunicators and first responders the real-time data and information they need to ensure best response in a crisis,” said Steven Raucher, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), RapidDeploy. Steven Raucher adds, “By seamlessly integrating Rave data into our cloud-native platform, we will be able to reduce overall response times and save more lives.” Data integration partners The sharing of critical information and intelligence enables public safety and commercial enterprises to better protect their communities and businesses. Fire preplans, facility data, severe weather warnings, and intelligence on natural and man-made hazards increase situational awareness and allow responsible parties to create safer environments. ESO Fire RMS provides a fire Records Management System (RMS) for fire pre-plan and inspection data. Accurate and up-to-date pre-plans are the key for ensuring responder safety and situational awareness during an incident. ESO Fire RMS and Rave platform integration The exclusive integration of ESO Fire RMS with the Rave platform allows fire pre-plan data The exclusive integration of ESO Fire RMS with the Rave platform allows fire pre-plan data, as well as additional facility information, such as access points, AED locations and hazardous materials, to be delivered to 9-1-1 dispatchers, first responders and incident managers. “ESO Fire RMS plays an essential role in helping fire departments save valuable time, operate more efficiently, and ensure safety compliance with property inspections and incident reporting,” said Allen Johnson, Chief Product Officer (CPO) at ESO Fire RMS. Allen Johnson adds, “We’re excited to announce our exclusive partnership with Rave and our first joint development to deliver ESO Fire RMS data directly to 9-1-1 and first responders who can use it to improve the health and safety of our communities.” DisasterAWARE Enterprise solution Tenefit’s DisasterAWARE Enterprise solution is a global risk intelligence platform used by enterprises to prepare and protect their businesses and employees worldwide. This proven early warning and multi-hazard monitoring platform provide intelligence on natural and man-made hazards, such as severe weather, social unrest, and supply chain disruptions. The integration of DisasterAWARE Enterprise with the Rave Alert mass notification system enables accurate and actionable communications, improved asset tracking, and enhanced situational awareness. “The best time to start planning an incident response is before that incident happens, which is why Global 1000 enterprises rely on us to assess and alert them of emerging risks,” said Bob Miller, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tenefit. Risk intelligence coupled with mass notification Bob Miller adds, “Our risk intelligence coupled with Rave’s mass notification system enables our customers to quickly and accurately communicate what their employees and communities need, to know to keep themselves safe and minimize damage to their physical assets and personnel.” Integration of ALE’s Rainbow cloud communications platform with the Rave platform enhances safety for customers Rave and ALE are collaborating to build and bring to market a range of solutions that will expand mass notification capabilities for Rave’s customers by incorporating a wide spectrum of communication and IoT technologies. The integration of ALE’s Rainbow cloud communications platform with the Rave platform enhances safety for customers, by significantly expanding the range of communication capabilities and devices, including desktops, PBX systems, IP and digital phones, SIP devices, and IP-enabled intelligent devices and sensors, they can use to manage emergencies. ALE Rainbow cloud technology “ALE and Rave are utilizing the ALE Rainbow cloud technology to connect IoT devices, such as the Rave Panic Button, over traditional and hybrid cloud communications systems. This capability enhances safety for customers by broadening the channels and reach of emergency notification and response,” said Moussa Zaghdoud, EVP, Cloud Communications Business Division, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. Moussa Zaghdoud adds, “Our two companies are working together to bring innovative solutions to market with great agility. This partnership is truly a win not only for ALE and Rave, but more importantly for the customer.”