RapidReach Service
RapidReach Service FAQ
Frequently Asked Service Questions
- Where is the data stored?
- What happens if the Service is not available?
- What is your Security Statement for the Service?
- What are Enera’s failsafe and redundancy plans?
- What kind of Internet connection is required?
- Besides phone, are fax, e-mail and paging supported?
- Can a call-out be activated using a touch tone telephone?
- Can I record a new message when activating a call-out remotely from a touch tone telephone?
- Can you create Scenarios and activate them remotely?
- How are Contact numbers organized?
- Do you support calling Alternate people? Can you assign one individual to multiple groups?
- Can I import information from another database?
- Can multiple organizations use the same account? How can I make sure one of the users doesn’t access another user’s data?
- Is it possible to define my own responses?
- Is it possible to customize my own system messages (greeting messages and instructions)?
- Can I receive automatic audit trail reports of call-outs by fax or e-mail?
- We have a call out consisting of XX people. How long will it take the RapidReach Service to call all of them?
- Should I be concerned about call out delays with Silver or Bronze Priority Levels?
- How is payment constructed?
- Is there any limit or any additional costs based on the number of people or groups I include?
- What are call units?
- Can I upgrade my call unit package if I discover that I’m running out of call units?
- What happens if I reach the limit of my call unit package?
- Do I lose unused call units or can I have them roll over to the next subscription period?
- What exactly does "Gold" mean? How does Enera calculate the capacity that is needed for their customers (servers, phone lines)? Any guarantees for a certain level of service?
Where is the data stored?
It’s your choice. Depending on your requirements, data can be stored on your network or remotely on our Service sites.
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What happens if the Service is not available?
The Service is built around redundant servers placed in different locations and countries to secure operations. If one server is down the call-outs will be done by other servers. If your Internet connection is not available you may remotely call in and start scenarios using touch tone phone. As a service provider we are taking all measures to ensure that this Service is available for you 24/7. However our commitment to you does rely on several components outside of our control, and therefore there is a possibility for error.
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What is your Security Statement for the Service?
Enera is fully committed to keeping your contact information private. All data is securely encrypted, and protected by multiple passwords. The Servers are installed behind Firewalls, with constant monitoring, both for network intrusions or incursions and for performance. RapidReach ENS WEB Servers operate in a highly automated environment, in part to minimize the risk of human error. This also minimizes the possibility that Server maintenance personnel will have unauthorized access to any customer data.
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What are Enera's failsafe and redundancy plans?
We maintain Redundant Servers on Separate, Geographically disparate Switches. There is automatic failover in place for inbound Data traffic, and phone lines are live on both the primary and backup site. These phone lines are wholly owned by us, and not used for any other purpose than Emergency Notification.
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What kind of Internet connection is required?
You may use whatever Internet connection you want. It could be cable connection, DSL, ordinary modem or GPRS connection. The performance of updates will of course depend on the speed of connection.
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Besides phone, are fax, e-mail and paging supported?
Fax, E-mail and Paging are fully supported (advanced version).
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Can a call-out be activated using a touch tone telephone?
Yes.
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Can I record a new message when activating a call-out remotely from a touch tone telephone?
Yes.
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Can I create Scenarios and activate them remotely?
Call outs can be saved as a Scenario, and started by dialing into the Service. You will get the opportunity to rerecord the call out message over the phone, before initiating the call out, if desired. There is no limit to the number of scenarios you can store on the website.
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How are Contact numbers organized?
You have complete freedom to define whatever types of contact numbers you want and whatever contact types, depending on your requirements: You can enter Preferred Phone, Second Phone, or the more common: Cell Phone, Home Phone, Work Phone, etc. You can chose different orderings, or not include different categories in a call out if desired.
Please note, that because different device types (pagers, email vs. phones) can have very different behavior and timing for message delivery, discrepancy within a group as to which class of device to be contacted first will lead to wide differences in the times different people in a response group get their message in an emergency, and also differences in who records responses. For relatively small groups(less than 500) contacting phones before text devices will usually be faster, and achieve higher response rates; for very large groups (5,000 or more) text messages will usually be distributed much faster.
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Do you support calling Alternate People? Can you assign one individual to multiple lists?
Yes, ENS WEB supports Primaries and Alternates, and one individual can be entered in multiple lists if you chose the Comprehensive Option.
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Can I import information from another database?
RapidReach ENS WEB comes with a manual import tool that can take information from a Comma Delimited text source. There are several different options for this import, including importing by Name or by a Unique PIN based identifier. Techniques used with our RapidReach Professional can also be applied to RapidReach ENS WEB to automate this import process according to a user defined schedule. The automatic import using Data Connection Platform requires purchase of an option.
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Can multiple organizations use the same account? How can I make sure one of the users doesn’t access another user’s data?
RapidReach ENS WEB supports Departments, which allow you to segment the database into multiple sections and assign users different responsibilities (System Administrator, Operator, Data Manager, etc.) within these different departments. Additional Departments and allowing multiple simultaneous users on the service does involve some extra costs.
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Is it possible to define my own responses?
Yes.
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Is it possible to customize my own system messages (greeting messages and instructions)?
Yes.
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Can I receive automatic audit trail reports of call-outs by fax or e-mail?
This is possible if you have a RapidReach advanced subscription (the advanced subscription supports phone, fax, alpha paging, SMS and email, the basic subscription only supports phone).
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We have a call out consisting of XX people. How long will it take the RapidReach Service to call all of them?
You can generate thousands of calls in 10-20 minutes, but it is important to understand that the main reason for purchasing an automated notification solution is that there is no ideal call out. Calls will encounter answering machines, voice mail, busy signals, no answer, all of the normal things that happen when you are trying to reach someone. Furthermore, an emergency can damage the telecom network in the area that your organization operates, or the emergency could generate its own local phone traffic. The most important question in these situations is not necessarily how many calls you can place, but how many alternatives you have for reaching people, including alternate numbers, cell phones, Blackberries, pagers and PDA’s.
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Should I be concerned about call out delays with Silver or Bronze Priority Levels?
Gold typically start within a minute of hitting our server. This is the core of our Service guarantee. For lower priority accounts, there is a risk of delay, though historically it has been small. We provide all of our sales people in the US with Bronze Accounts for demonstrating call outs. This has not led to delays in sales presentations because of ongoing higher priority activity on the system.
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How is payment constructed?
Payment is made in advance. Purchase orders from approved customers are also accepted. The subscription package consists of type of subscription, options, priority level (Gold, Silver and Bronze) and a call unit package based on expected usage.
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Is there any limit or any additional costs based on the number of people or groups I include?
There is no limit to the number of people or groups you want to include in your call out database, and no additional costs per group or individual.
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What are call units?
Call units pay for calls, emails and faxes. Unsuccessful calls do not use call units.
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Can I upgrade my call unit package if I discover that I’m running out of call units?
Yes.
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What happens if I reach the limit of my call unit package?
If you don’t have enough call units left the call-out request will be rejected (no calls will be made). To avoid this you could add an overdraft option to your subscription.
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Do I lose unused call units or can I have them roll over to the next subscription period?
Remaining call units roll over to the next period when you renew your subscription.
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What exactly does "Gold" mean? How does Enera calculate the capacity that is needed for their customers (servers, phone lines)? Any guarantees for a certain level of service?
Gold, Silver and Bronze are priority levels. Gold calls will always be made before Silver calls and Silver calls will always be made before Bronze calls. There are no guarantees of certain completion times. To have guaranteed resource we also provide the Platinum level with dedicated phone lines.
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Copyright © 2003 Cascade International Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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