SANTA CRUZ, CA, 23 August 2004 – LAWFUEL – Best for legal news, law news, law articles Onset Technology, a leading developer of enterprise access software for wireless handheld devices, announced today that Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, recently voted the most prestigious US law firm by partners in The Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms, has chosen METAmessage® Emergency Communications software to ensure uninterrupted corporate communications and the distribution of emergency preparedness documents. The software, designed for use in conjunction with the BlackBerry® wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM) (TSX: RIM), provides a broad set of features that ensure continuity of communications and operations in the event of natural disaster or terrorist attack.
“Cravath must have uninterrupted communications under any circumstances, it’s that simple,” said Wade Goldt, Enterprise Messaging Manager at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. “We invested in METAmessage because their Emergency Communications products for BlackBerry ensure that Cravath personnel can communicate in the event of any kind of disruption, and that our people have all the emergency documentation they need right on their BlackBerry handhelds, even without wireless coverage.” Cravath, Swaine & Moore, headquartered in New York City, is widely recognized as a premier American law firm with each of their practice areas regarded as among the best in the world.
With the METAmessage Emergency Communications features, Cravath BlackBerry users have the latest emergency documents, such as contact lists and procedures, stored directly on their handhelds. They are able to read the documents regardless of wireless coverage, for example in subway tunnels or shelters. Cravath administrators are also able to blast messages and notifications to each other or to predefined groups via PIN-to-PIN messaging, one of the most reliable methods of communication in the event of email or network disruption.
According to Gadi Mazor, Onset Technology’s CEO and president, “The need for utterly reliable communications under unforeseen conditions extends far beyond the government space. Law firms and other enterprises for whom clients rely on for immediate communications require alternate, backup systems. METAmessage — Emergency Communications lets enterprises take advantage of any BlackBerry deployment to meet emergency response and COOP mandates.”
METAmessage Emergency Communications
In the event of a catastrophic loss of network, email, or back-end infrastructure, BlackBerry users can take advantage of PIN-to-PIN messaging to communicate directly with other BlackBerry users over the wireless network. However, two factors can potentially impede this feature: the need for easy access to PIN addresses and the decision by many organizations to “turn off” PIN-to-PIN messaging due to the absence of message archiving. With METAmessage, users can make sure their BlackBerry address books have the latest PIN addresses by using METAmessage’s PIN updating feature. And, organizations can enable PIN-to-PIN messaging with the knowledge that all transmissions will be securely archived.
PIN-to-PIN blast makes fast communication with groups possible by letting users address messages using special lists of PIN addresses or using existing lists from the BlackBerry address book where PIN addresses have been included in the address book entries.
The METAmessage handheld document storage (HDS) capability lets a user read emergency information immediately on their handheld even if out of wireless coverage. When in coverage, METAmessage monitors specified network folders that contain emergency documents. It converts the documents into handheld-readable format, and uploads the documents to the handheld. METAmessage maintains the latest versions of emergency documents on the handheld, and the original documents can be in virtually any format, from WordPerfect documents and Excel spreadsheets to Microsoft® Project files, PowerPoint presentations and .html pages.
METAmessage data access capabilities let handheld users access emergency information located in network file servers, document management systems, enterprise applications, and databases using simple forms. Users either request information or enter information into the data source without having to launch a Web browser. METAmessage data access capabilities are currently available for over 180 information systems.
The patent-pending METAmessage Emergency Gateway helps ensure that BlackBerry handheld users are in constant communication with command centers, receiving and reporting emergency notifications and updates via PIN-to-PIN messaging, automatically switching user handhelds from email to PIN-to-PIN mode. For example, the server can push an emergency “Where are you?” message to users that appears as a window with an audible alert. The message can require the user to enter location and contact information in the window and submit the data back to the Gateway. The Gateway, interacting with virtually any type of information system such as a database, can then push user location information, or any other appropriate information, such as Continuity of Operations (COOP) and emergency response (ER) plans, to the field. Or, the Gateway can respond to individual user requests as needed.
METAmessage for Wireless
METAmessage, used by over 1000 enterprise customers with over 100,000 users, is a complete, out-of-the-box solution for BlackBerry handheld access to the enterprise. Users can interact directly with a range of enterprise data systems including document management/time-and-billing programs, enterprise applications, and internally developed databases. The user simply opens a form on the handheld and either requests information from or adds information to the data source. Users can also print anywhere, including network printers; spell check outgoing messages; and, get network documents to send, read, or print. METAmessage also provides advanced Legal, Data, and Voice solutions.
Onset Technology
Founded in 1997, Onset Technology is the developer of METAmessage® for Wireless — a unique software solution that gives business users access to virtually any data on their enterprise network using wireless devices such as BlackBerry® handhelds from Research In Motion (RIM). The software is broadly compatible with virtually all wireless devices and servers including those from strategic partners AT&T, Ericsson, Microsoft, and RIM. Since its introduction, METAmessage has been widely adopted by Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and a range of large service organizations. For more information, visit www.onsettechnology.com.
METAmessage is a registered trademark of Onset Technology. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.
Steve Koontz
steve.koontz@onsettechnology.com
