Amcom Software News

Amcom Software provides enterprise-wide systems for organizations needing to automate, centralize and standardize mission critical communications. The company’s technology solutions support both day-to-day business operations and emergency or event-driven communications with speed, accuracy, and productivity.

Amcom was founded in 1984. They were acquired by 2ndWave Software in March 2007. They then acquired XTEND Communications in November, 2007 and the Telident E911 products of Teltronics, Inc. in 2008.

For more information about Amcom Software call 800-852-8935.

Amcom Software Acquires CommtechWireless (Dec 08)

Amcom Software has acquired CommtechWireless, a provider of technology that connects critical data sources, such as nurse call alarms and patient monitors, to people via their preferred communication devices.  The addition of CommtechWireless will enable Amcom to meet the growing demand from customers – especially in the healthcare, government, and hospitality industries – to further streamline communications, improve response time, and enhance effectiveness. 

Said Amcom Software CEO Chris Heim, “For 40 years, our customers have relied on Amcom as their mission-critical communication backbone.  Today, we have extended this backbone to integrate data from devices and instantly connect these islands of critical information to the people that need to know about it and act on it.”

CommtechWireless has operations in the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and Europe.  Its employees and operations will remain in their current locations, forming a new division of Amcom Software.  CommtechWireless CEO Nathan Buzza and President Zane Lewis will join Amcom Software to lead the division.  “We are thrilled about this acquisition and how it will benefit our customers and employees,” said Buzza.  “It’s a perfect match in terms of products, industries, and company culture.”

For more information, call 800-852-8935. 

Amcom Software and Altura Announce Partnership (Dec 08)

Amcom Software and Altura Communication Solutions have established a partnership under which Altura will distribute Amcom’s communications software products.  The primary focus will be on Altura’s extensive customer base of Fujitsu and Avaya customers, as well as on their existing procurement channels for government agencies.  Amcom will provide mission-critical solutions for enhanced 911, emergency notification, and call center management to Altura’s voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) customers.

According to Amcom CEO Chris Heim, “Altura’s strong reputation as a nationwide provider of end-to-end communications solutions makes them a great partner for Amcom.  We’ve had great results working with Altura and with this agreement; we’re making it even easier for their broad customer base to benefit from our full communications and emergency management suites of solutions.”

“We’ve enjoyed a good relationship with Amcom over the years and are impressed with their momentum in call center and emergency communications solutions,” said Bob Blazek, president and CEO of Altura.  “Together, we will continue to help our customers enable mission-critical communications with Amcom’s broad footprint of solutions.”

Call Altura at 800-654-0715; Amcom can be reached at 800-852-8935.

Amcom Launches Next-Generation "Mass Notification 2.0" Solution (Oct 08)

 Amcom Software has released Amcom e.Notify 4.5, a next-generation advance in mass notification and emergency management technology.  This release continues and expands on the company's platform of solutions for managing safety and health issues.  As mass notification has matured, organizations are finding that they need to surpass simple blast notifications and want new capabilities.

"Customers are telling us they want to do more than simply ‘ring the bell' to tell their employees, guests, patients, students, or response teams that there is a problem," said Amcom CEO Chris Heim.  "They need to know if the victim or caller is safe or in trouble.  They need a focused dialog with emergency teams to ensure situational awareness, coordinated response, and risk management.  They need to escalate and communicate in many different ways in order to make sure teams are handling assigned tasks via standardized procedures and are aware of dependencies.  This release of e.Notify takes the next step into ‘Mass Notification 2.0' to help connect everybody involved in managing an emergency so they can work quickly, with better information and coordination, to solve the problem at-hand."

Amcom Software Introduces New WebXchange Platform (Oct 08)

Amcom Software introduced Amcom WebXchange 7.0, the latest version of its platform for directory, paging, and on-call scheduling.  The new version of WebXchange features a completely redesigned user interface that takes all the functionality of earlier versions of WebXchange to new levels, making it easier for individuals across entire organizations to perform directory searches, send email and pager messages, and manage staff schedules.

Organizations with large staff scheduling challenges, such as those in the healthcare and hospitality industries, are quickly finding that a browser-based, self-service scheduling platform is the preferred alternative to sending "scratchpad scheduling" updates to already overloaded call centers.  "When customers try the online, calendar-format scheduling tools in WebXchange, we don't think they'll want to return to their old ways of handling things," said Amcom Product Manager Gerard Shallo.  "It's so much easier to manage schedules; they'll have a hard time believing they ever got along without it."

Amcom Software Receives Department of Defense Security Approval (Oct 08)

Amcom Software received approval from the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) of the U.S. Department of Defense for their communications software suite.  By achieving JITC approval, Amcom's Smart Center, Smart Console, Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI), Smart Web, Smart Speech, and e.Notify applications have been shown to provide the highest levels of Information Assurance (IA) security as required by the U.S. government and military.

"This is great news for Amcom and for all our customers," said Greg Stinson, Amcom vice president of development.  "No other provider can match our extensive range of applications with government-approved security and interoperability."  To qualify for JITC and IA approval, Amcom Software completed rigorous federal government testing and compliance processes under real-life conditions.

"We're thrilled to have again achieved this high level approval." said Chris Heim, Amcom CEO.  "We view JITC and IA approval as a key way to prove our capabilities to all our customers, both inside and outside the government."

Greenwich Hospital Adds E911 to Its Amcom Suite (Aug 08)

Greenwich Hospital has selected Amcom Software's Site Alert E911 emergency call identification software to automatically provide information about 911 caller locations for their multi-facility, multi-community organization.  The new addition to the hospital's suite of Amcom call center capabilities will enable responding agencies to quickly send emergency medical system (EMS) teams to the caller's location.  "If someone in our facilities has a problem, we need to get them help as quickly as we can," explained Mirela Weeks, telecommunications manager for Greenwich Hospital.  "Our phone system automatically transfers 911 calls to the Greenwich public safety answering point."  Since the hospital's PBX system could only identify the call center as the source of a 911 call, the PBX vendor recommended Amcom Software.

Amcom will enable Greenwich to use their in-house database to update the Connecticut public automatic location information (ALI) database.  The system will also continuously update the information for each of the hospital's 3,800 phone numbers, connected through their PBXs.  Now 911 calls, with accurate caller's location information, will automatically be routed to the correct public safety answering point for response.

Amcom Acquires Telident 911 Solutions from Teltronics (Apr 08)

Amcom Software acquired Telident 911 Solutions™ from Teltronics, Inc. to integrate with and complement their suite of emergency communications and management products.  Chris Heim, Amcom Software CEO said, "The addition of the Telident solutions to our product suite will expand our E911 capabilities and help an even broader range of customers protect people by pinpointing the source of 911 calls within their facilities with greater speed and accuracy."

At one time, organizational emergency response was thought to involve simple, mass notifications.  Today, however, organizations realize increasingly that effective emergency management requires quick action and mass notifications via numerous channels, as well as ongoing direction of and communications with diverse action-teams.

"We are proud to add the impressive Telident brand to our company, said Dan Mayleben, Amcom Software CFO.  "Not only does this software help protect people, but it allows organizations to ensure compliance with national, state, and local emergency communications requirements."

Amcom Software and Xtend Communications Announce Merger (Feb 08)

Amcom Software and Xtend Communications have reached an agreement to combine the two companies.  "The combination of Amcom and Xtend will provide the broadest suite of mission critical communications solutions for organizations in healthcare, government, education, hospitality, public safety, and corporate markets," said Chris Heim, Amcom Software CEO. 

The company will offer an expanded product suite to a broader market while focusing on serving the needs of all current customers.  Going forward, Amcom will support and enhance both companies' product lines.

"The merging of our forces will essentially give both product development teams a wider audience from which to draw the challenges, ideas, and direction for the next generation of our business," said Bill Schwartz, founder and CEO of Xtend Communications.  

The combined company will operate under the corporate name of Amcom Software and will maintain the complete Xtend product suite.  Minneapolis will become the headquarters for the combined organization; the former Xtend Communications headquarters in New York will retain a sizeable staff devoted to support, development, implementation, and sales.

Amcom Rolls Updates Smart Web 4.5 (Dec 07)

Amcom Software announced the availability of Smart Web™ 4.5, a Web-based self-service portal for on-call scheduling, directory look-up, and messaging.  Medical staff can access and manage their own calendars from any Web browser, connect with others with the click of a button, and avoid administration headaches and delays.  Smart Web provides secure access to Web-enabled directory features, including messaging and paging, on-call status and exceptions, personal profiles, and call assistance.

Smart Web 4.5 features productivity enhancements, including a redesigned graphical user interface.  Also, scalability and user configurability are improved through new system architecture.

"Today, information access is critical," said Chris Heim, Amcom's chief executive officer.  "We're committed to continually developing better solutions for mission-critical communications.  For organizations dependent upon timely information, tools like Smart Web can not only improve productivity and reduce costs; it can potentially improve patient safety and save lives."

Smart Web 4.5 is available immediately as an optional module for the Smart Center V4.0.6+ suite of applications.  

Amcom and Partners Kick Off "Don't Miss A Beat" Seminar (Apr 07)

Amcom Software announced a series of regional seminars for leaders in healthcare and communications.  The first invite-only event was held in Houston, Texas on March 22; it will be followed by seminars in Anaheim on May 3 and Chicago on June 28.  A morning seminar format features high-level healthcare industry speakers, customer presentations, and panel sessions.  Amcom is working with USA Mobility and HigherGround to co-sponsor the event.

"We know that healthcare leaders are in the hot seat," said Sean Collins, Amcom's VP of Sales.  "Lawsuits, liabilities, and the safety of patients are often directly linked to communication.  Yet, many hospitals still have disconnected technology systems and outdated processes as opposed to an enterprise-wide communication system.  The goal of this event is to shed some light on the problems and to facilitate discussion around recommended solutions."  The format is designed to be interactive to facilitate discussion and collaboration around these key issues. 

Cambridge Health Alliance Selects Emergency Notification System (Dec 06)

Cambridge Health Alliance announced that it selected e.Notify™ emergency notification software from Amcom Software to automate its emergency communications procedures for managing disasters across its multi-hospital network.  The new system is HICS-compliant (Hospital Incident Command Center-compliant) and supports emergency planning processes for this multi-hospital healthcare system, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

"We needed an automated process to help us manage our organizational communications," said Bob Lewis, Director of Networks and Telecommunications for Cambridge Health Alliance.  "With e.Notify, we will have the tools for training and drilling, which will prepare us for various types of critical events, such as weather-related emergencies, bomb threats, or a health-related crisis.  In the event of a disaster, we'll be ready to communicate quickly and effectively to a mass audience and monitor and measure response."

Cambridge Health Alliance will install e.Notify in all three of its hospitals and will roll out emergency communications procedures across its entire organization. 

Eight of 16 Top Hospitals Use Amcom Solutions (Aug 06)

Half of the hospitals ranked in the annual "Best Hospitals Report" published by U.S. News & World Report use Amcom software.  Eight out of the top 16 "America's Best Hospitals" have installed Smart Center, Smart Web, Smart Speech, Smart Console, and/or Amcom's e.Notify automated event notification system.

"The most highly respected hospitals in the world depend upon Amcom software," said Jack Collins, CEOof Amcom Software.  "These organizations have eliminated manual processes by automating call-center functions with Web-based applications, speech technologies, and automated event notifications.  Our software enables the consolidation of facilities, processes, and personnel, proving to save hospitals millions of dollars in operating costs and efficiencies."