ATLANTA, Ga. – ESi®, the global crisis information management solutions provider, today announced the opening of its new training facility, ESi University. Located in Atlanta, GA, ESi University is led by Jim Cook, emergency management veteran and former Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency director. The events surrounding the opening of this new facility will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. EDT. ESi is expecting nearly 150 WebEOC® customers, including William Smith, the deputy director of operations for the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. Smith is scheduled to speak about how his organization has used WebEOC in recent disasters including the destructive tornadoes that damaged downtown Atlanta and how useful the new training center will be for emergency management agencies. ESi University is a facility for emergency management training specializing in ESi’s WebEOC, the first Web-enabled collaborative crisis information system, which provides real-time information sharing to facilitate decision-making in emergency situations. WebEOC links together local, state, federal, volunteer, private and even worldwide sources and provides users with a common operation picture, giving responders and managers access to the critical operational data they need to make sound decisions quickly.   "The goal of ESi University is to provide the best, most comprehensive training and certification on ESi products available in the world,” said Cook. "I am confident that with this program we will be able to create a better-educated pool of talent for emergency management agencies."   At ESi University, emergency management professionals have the opportunity to become WebEOC administrators and participate in other courses such as WebEOC Resource Manager, Advanced Board Building, How to Implement Process Flow, Conducting Exercises with WebEOC, and EOC/Command Center Operations.   Over the past 12 years, ESi has grown to serve nearly 500 customers around the world. As a leader in emergency management solutions, ESi recognizes that the technology used by emergency operation centers is continuously evolving and changing. Therefore, with the opening of ESi University, the company will offer WebEOC certification in four specific areas: WebEOC Administrator, “Advanced” Board Builder, Instructor, and Associate.   "The purpose of the certification program is to educate and empower emergency operation center administrators to do end-user training for their organizations,” said Don Drinkwater, certification administrator of ESi University. “The ESi University training and certification program will offer WebEOC users skills that they can not receive at any other facility.”   ESi University is one of only a few world- emergency management training centers in the country and the only one approved to conduct training on WebEOC. With its mock EOC and state-of-the-art technology, ESi University is expected to attract emergency management professionals from all over the world  for training on various ESi products and on emergency management processes., Currently ESi is expecting to offer two to three training es per month, with that number increasing as the training and certification program grows.   About ESi Augusta, Georgia-based ESi®, the global leader in crisis information management solutions, pioneered the market with WebEOC®, the world’s first Web-enabled emergency management communications system.  Recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America in 2007, ESi connects crisis response teams and decision makers at national, state and local agencies, healthcare providers, airlines and corporations worldwide, providing access to real-time information for a common operating picture during an event or daily operations. By offering a solutions package from initial design and installation through training, implementation and maintenance, ESi sets the standard for crisis information management. For more information, please visit www.esi911.com. For more information, contact: Anne Murray Sims, ESi Phone: (706) 823-0911 Email: asims@esi911.com Martin Humphrey, Fleishman-Hillard Phone:  (404) 739-0138 Email:  martin.humphrey@fleishman.com