McLEAN, Va. – The Monitoring Association (TMA) will introduce its plans for the next-generation, cloud-based solution for its ASAP service in booth 1453 at the APCO International 90th Annual Conference and Exposition 2024 Aug. 5-6 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
TMA partners CommSys, Inc. (booth 1832) and Mission Critical Partners (booth 2013) will also be promoting the cloud-based ASAP service at the event.
ASAP, a digital alarm dispatch service, provides a “low-cost, standards-based, non-proprietary solution to emergency communication centers (ECCs) and delivers a faster, more informed and intelligent emergency response,” according to the TMA announcement.
It is currently deployed in ECCs in 23 states and the District of Columbia, covering a population exceeding 54.5 million people. The 30 ASAP-enabled monitoring centers serve 80 percent of all monitored customers in the U.S.
Since 2011, ASAP has been reducing the time to dispatch by an average of two minutes (after call-answer time) for improved outcomes and saving lives and property. All major computer-aided dispatch (CAD) vendors support ASAP.
Why TMA is Debuting Cloud ASAP Service at APCO
“ASAP offers significant benefits to monitoring companies and 9-1-1 emergency communications centers by streamlining alarm notification processing,” says Mel Maier, CEO and executive director of APCO International in the announcement. “Automating alarm workflows through ASAP significantly reduces response times and manual intervention, ultimately enhancing public safety response.”
TMA recently announced a new agreement for managed services provided by MCP. This was a strategic move to replace volunteer efforts to expand marketing and advance the ASAP program with a managed service provider and technology leader to lead and manage the ASAP Service.
MCP has been contracted to assist in designing and developing the next-generation alarm signaling message broker for the ASAP service that will deliver expanded capabilities, integration options, and an ongoing roadmap for the platform.
MCP will also provide ongoing maintenance and day-to-day management of the technical architecture while maintaining existing ASAP Service infrastructure and services.
CommSys served as the original architect of ASAP and its protocol, pioneering its implementation process. As TMA’s long-standing implementation partner, CommSys assists and guides interested PSAPS, software automation providers, and alarm dealers with professional services and software tools to connect to ASAP Services.
CommSys will continue in this role and is in the process of scaling its infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for ASAP services created by MCP’s planned marketing and outreach efforts.
“CommSys applauds TMA’s win-win approach to the nationwide acceleration of the ASAP Service,” says Robert Turner, president and founder of CommSys. “With a deep commitment to ASAP’s impact on public safety, CommSys stands ready to continue what we do best, which is ASAP implementation. Be assured, we are already scaling to meet anticipated ASAP implementation demand.”
“It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child, the same can often be said for technology evolutions,” says Darrin Reilly, MCP president and chief executive officer. “ASAP is the result of a collaborative effort between the alarm and public-safety sectors, and we’re thrilled to be part of this effort going forward to increase the service’s penetration and to develop new and exciting capabilities.”
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