EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – NC4, Inc., a leader in situational awareness, incident monitoring, crisis management, and secure collaboration, today announced that the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) has implemented the latest E Team software to enhance information sharing and resource tracking statewide.  Fully deployed just before the severe flooding across the state in March, E Team allowed disparate groups from all levels of government, as well as the private sector and non-governmental organizations, to quickly coordinate efforts throughout the state.  With the help of E Team, Missouri was able to prepare for, and respond to, critical incidents during this presidentially-declared disaster, while also saving lives and mitigating damage. Within the past 18 months, Missouri’s 5.8 million residents have experienced 14 presidentially-declared disasters, more incidents than the preceding 10 years combined.  Because Missouri can experience a natural disaster trifecta each year – ice storms, winter storms, and floods – Missouri DPS is acutely aware of the importance of coordinated, multi-agency response throughout the state.  To improve the existing methods for responding to and managing emergencies statewide, Missouri DPS decided to implement NC4’s most recent version of E Team in late 2007 as a cornerstone of its Missouri Emergency Response Information System (MERIS) project.  The MERIS project aims to streamline and integrate emergency response efforts throughout the state. “Manual pen-and-ink methods for emergency management can be effective for managing small incidents, but the sheer amount of information needed by public safety responders and managers at all levels of government in Missouri is only possible through the application of technology,” said David Finch, assistant director for homeland security, Missouri DPS.  “We needed a common interface that was inclusive, consistent, and easy to use for all participants in the MERIS project.  E Team allows us to communicate among, and foster better relationships with, state, local, and Federal agencies.” While the state had used a legacy version of E Team, the updated version allows it to leverage additional functionality, such as enhanced geographic information system (GIS) capabilities, without requiring additional staff.  With a common operating picture for presenting information and communicating with stakeholders involved in incident management, E Team improves public safety across the state. “It was during our first MERIS exercise – simulating a broad, health-related emergency – that the flooding began,” Finch said.  “We pushed E Team live immediately – putting it to use in a real emergency.  E Team allowed us to bring in teams from hundreds of miles away and direct them to the sites of most need, while avoiding impassable areas and closed roads.  Additionally, E Team tracked Federal assets and recorded each incident within the emergency from start to finish – which enabled us to develop Federal reimbursement reports effortlessly.  Without E Team’s macro- and micro-level situational awareness technology, protecting our citizens would have been a far greater challenge.” Immediately upon deploying E Team for flood recovery efforts, Missouri saw a vast improvement in communication between local- and state-level emergency managers, resulting in a more efficient recovery process than in previous disasters.  Because E Team is a Web-based solution, managers simply needed an Internet connection to access a secure platform of integrated functions, including reporting, resource management, action planning, notification, and mapping, that enhanced the collective capabilities of the public safety community brought together by one common goal – to protect Missouri citizens in times of need. “During a disaster, emergency managers need access to real-time information in order to make the most informed decisions possible,” said Jim Montagnino, president, NC4.  “E Team improved Missouri’s situational awareness, taking the guesswork out of these decisions.  At our core, NC4 aims to assist our customers through stressful times, and we are pleased that Missouri could leverage E Team to manage this incident efficiently.” About NC4 NC4, through its incident monitoring centers, improves the Situational Awareness to both business and government clients by providing real-time, global, 24x7 proactive incident information and alerts.  NC4 issues timely, relevant, and personalized alerts covering incidents near an organization’s key locations that may impact life and safety, physical assets, and continuity of operations.  This includes incidents such as transportation, severe weather, hazmat, law enforcement, fire, terrorism, and other incidents that have the potential to cause disruption. Additionally, NC4 provides Situational Response through its E Team offering, which provides sophisticated planning and operational tools to enable emergency managers to effectively process the massive amounts of information generated during a major event, crisis, or disaster.  E Team’s Windows-based, browser-accessible software has been used to manage events ranging from 9/11, multiple Olympics, and political conventions to hurricanes and other natural disasters. NC4 also provides Secure Communications and Collaboration through its ESP offerings.  ESP is an application service provider that provides government agencies and corporations with a common platform for secure communication and collaboration.  ESP provides solutions for diverse organizations to share Controlled Unified Information (CUI) through highly secure, compartmented, web-accessible portals.   For more information, see www.nc4.us.