Historical communication between utilities and first responders has been by phone calls or two-way radios. Some of these are with first responders on the scene, and some with dispatch or other units of the first responder organization. When a member of the public sees an incident on the field, they usu- ally just call 911, which is routed to first respond- ers. Dispatch centers route the closest first responder to the field, who then call back to the center either on their radios or cell phones to let them know the actual status. The dispatch centers then call the inci- dent in to the appropriate utility, who then sends their own team to the field for further resolution. This also requires that the exact location be conveyed to the dispatch center from the field, and from the for- mer to utilityparticularly challenging if the incident location is not at a specific address (e.g., along a free- way, across open land, etc.). The utility also needs to let the dispatch center know the status of their own crew. This information must also be relayed to the first responders on the field. Much of this process relies on information being communicated orally and then forwarded to one or more recipients, with infor- mation also flowing back and forth along the same chain. All of this can result in garbled communication and/or incomplete messages, which can eat away precious minutes or even hours in emergencies. A major West Coast Utility, a leader in using technology to address traditional problems, deter- mined that many of these challenges can be addressed through better information sharing in a timelier manner using cloud-mobile technology. Their territory encompassed densely populated cit- ies to far-flung rural communities with intervening miles of desert, national parks, and more. Recognizing that most first responders have a smartphone or tablet, the utility selected Connixt's iMarqTM mobile suite to provide a simple-to-use mobile app that allows first responders to advise the utility of any incident in the field. The technol- ogy also keeps the first responders apprised of the utility's response status with respect to the incident. With a targeted base of over 20,000 first respond- ers spread across the entire territory, lowering barri- ers to adoption was an especially important factor. "Improving communication with groups that are outside your organization is historically difficult," says G. Satish, cofounder and CEO, Connixt. "For this deployment, the focus on simplicity is the key to its success." First responders are invited to download and self-register the app, and once the utility grants access rights, they can report incidents using their own tab- lets or smartphones. The first responder simply uses a drop-down menu to pick from a list of preconfigured incidents, taps an option to indicate if they will wait at the scene, and attach photographs with annotations all with a few touches on their device. The utility receives notification of the incident, reviews the time and geostamped information (no more mixed-up addresses), and updates their response. This response (which may be a truck roll) is sent to the first respond- ers and maintained in the app. The simplicity of the solution makes it easy for the first responders. They use their own phone or tablet, communicate in a way they are used to, and provide needed information simply and effectively. They can see the utility updates (such as the current status of the truck that was sent). Missed or garbled phone messages are minimized. Options such as recording voice memos, using speech-to-text and more, are also available. Cloud technology has been particularly use- ful in this casedeployment is faster without issues related to hardware procurement, installation, and appropriate backups. Connixt's cloud-based Mobile Extension Framework (MXFTM) is architected for rapid configuration and deploymentconfiguration is completed in the cloud, and, once configured, the apps are ready for download and deployment. More importantly, MXF enables easy modifications to forms and processesfor example, if the utility needs to add additional options to the incident drop- down, they simply add this once in MXF. Within minutes the option is now available on the field for all users. Figure 9.14 illustrates this architecture. There are further benefits from a system that leverages ubiquitous cloud and mobile technologies. Because all of the business logic and configurations are stored in the cloud, the solution itself can act as a stand-alone system for customers who have no back- end systemsvery important in the context of small and medium businesses (SMBs). And for those with back-end systems, the connectivity is seamless through Web services and the back-end system serves as the system of record. This additionally helps businesses adopt technology in a phased mannerstarting with a noninvasive, standalone system with minimal inter- nal IT impact while automating field operations, and then moving toward back-end system integration. On the other hand, the mobile apps are them- selves system agnosticthey communicate using standard Web services and the end device can be Android or iOS and smartphone or tablet. Thus, irrespective of the device used, all communication, business logic, and algorithms are standardized across platforms/devices. As native apps across all devices, iMarq leverages standard technology that is provided by the device manufacturers and the OS vendors. For example, using native maps appli- cations allows the apps to benefit from improve- ments made by the platform vendors; thus, as maps become more accurate, the end users of the mobile apps also benefit from these advances. Finally, for successful deployments, enterprise cloud-mobile technology has to be heavily user-centric. The look and feel must be geared to user-comfort, muchasusersexpectfromanymobileapptheyuse. Treating the business user as an app consumer meets their standard expectations of an intuitive app that immediately saves them time and effort. This approach is essential to ensuring successful adoption. The utility now has better information from first responders, as information is directly shared from the field (not through a dispatcher or other third party), pictures are available, and there is geo- and time stamping. Garbled phone messages are avoided. The two-way communication between util- ity and the first responder in the field is improved. Historical records of the incidents are kept. The utility and the first responders are now more unified in their quick and complete responses to incidents, improving service to the public. By tightening ties with first responders (police and fire department personnel), the public is served with a better coordinated and superior response for inci- dents that are discovered by first responders. 1. How does cloud technology impact enterprise software for small and mid-size businesses? 2. What are some of the areas where businesses can use mobile technology? 3.What are the advantages of cloud-based enterprise software instead of the traditional on-premise model? 4. What are the likely risks of cloud versus tradi- tional on-premise applications?