Mark43, the 2024 Platinum ‘ASTORS’ Award Champion for Best Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Recovery Solution, announced the results of a survey of Massachusetts residents.

The survey revealed significant concerns with safety and emergency response due to cyberattacks, natural disasters, and legacy systems.

Most Massachusetts residents call for public safety technology upgrades to address their concerns, ensure resilience in emergencies, and better protect their communities.

“Massachusetts residents are concerned about the impact that ever-increasing natural disasters and cyberattacks are having on emergency response efforts and legacy public safety systems,” according to Matthew Polega, Co-founder and President of Mark43.

“They clearly expressed demand for modern, cloud-native, secure, and redundant public safety systems that enable working and reporting from any location using mobile devices.

“Such systems provide failover and maximize uptime, allowing users to spend more time in their communities doing the work they intended and that their constituents expect and deserve.

“The concerns of Massachusetts residents and their proposed solutions align with Mark43’s mission to empower communities and their governments with new technologies that improve the safety and quality of life for all.” 

Survey results below affirm that Massachusetts residents worry about safety at significant public events and the impact of natural disasters and cyberattacks on emergency response operations.

• Massachusetts residents are concerned about the ever-increasing number of natural disasters caused by climate change, which is affecting response time and disrupting 911 dispatching.

  • Their top concerns are power outages (58%) and dangerous road conditions (47%). Compared to 2023 national general population data, Massachusetts residents are more concerned than the general U.S. population about dangerous road conditions caused by natural disasters.

• More than half (53%) of MA residents fear cyberattacks could affect their local first responders’ duties, and 60% worry most about emergency systems going down and affecting 911 response times.

  • This reinforces the need for a strong cybersecurity focus for their local first responders to help keep data safe. 

• As malicious actors increase yearly, Massachusetts residents fear man-made disasters like cyberattacks (70.8%).

  • Nearly all (93%) of Massachusetts residents admit that they would be at least somewhat or extremely concerned if their local first responders were using outdated technology.

  • First responders across the nation agree – a near-total majority (93%) believe the general public would feel better if their local public safety agencies were required to adhere to federal cybersecurity standards.

  • Unfortunately, outdated technology is too often deployed, and this response reveals a strong demand for modern public safety systems.

• Over one-third (38%) of Massachusetts residents fear their local first responders aren’t keeping records appropriately and confidentially due to unsecured systems that are at risk of data breaches and that first responders easily lose important data when returning to the station for reporting duties.

  • Legacy systems create unnecessary risks, which modern records management systems can easily mitigate.

(Public safety deserves a technology solution that also operates as a true partner to combat the industry’s biggest challenges. See how Mark43 provides superior innovation, resiliency, security, interoperability, accessibility, and value so that you can focus on what matters most: serving your communities. Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)

As evidenced below, Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly demand upgrading public safety systems to ensure resilience in emergencies and better protect their communities.

• As climate change results in a drastic uptick in natural disasters, nearly all (92%) of Massachusetts residents want their local police department to have modern tech systems to handle emergencies.

• Most (82%) of Massachusetts residents want more funding for their local public safety agency to upgrade technology systems.

• Similarly, 83% support their local first responders investing in technology that could help save time, enabling them to spend more time engaging with the community.

  • Modern cloud-native public safety platforms streamline reporting and enable officers to work and file reports from anywhere.

  • Rather than returning to the office to do paperwork, officers lose time they could spend in their communities.

  • Modern dispatch systems also allow dispatchers to work from anywhere if a natural disaster or a down on-premises system prevents them from working in the office.

(Hear from Kathleen O’Toole, former Boston Police Commissioner, and Seattle Police Chief, about today’s law enforcement challenges and how Mark43 was able to ‘hit the mark’ for her department in Seattle. Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)

The top four technology upgrades that Massachusetts residents want for their first responders are  as follows:

• • Dispatching software that pinpoints the exact location of the 911 caller (65.6%).

  • Modern records management systems allow first responders to access updated, real-time information (64.7%).

  • Backup computer-aided dispatch systems, which enable dispatchers to continue their work if their main systems go down (63.9%).

  • Mobile apps that let officers use their mobile devices to fill out reports and access information from anywhere (54.2%).

• When respondents were asked whether they would want their local public safety agency to have a backup emergency dispatch system in place if any primary, regional, or statewide systems went down, 92% said yes, and 86% said it would make them feel safer.

(Hear from WSMV on Nashville’s 911 center choosing Mark43 Alternate CAD two years after the Christmas Day bombing. “Currently, when the CAD goes down at the center, the backup is a sheet of paper. Dispatchers must record each call by hand, at times logging 100 calls an hour. Now, if it goes down, the Mark43 system will kick in.” Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)

Mark43, a leading cloud-native public safety technology company, is proud to work with public safety partners across Massachusetts, including the Boston, Holyoke, Falmouth, Weymouth, West Springfield police departments, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies.

By delivering a modern, intuitive, and mobile-first Records Management System, Computer-Aided Dispatch, and Analytics platform, Mark43 empowers governments and their communities to improve the safety and quality of life for all.

Working with more than 250 local, state, and federal public safety agencies, Mark43 transforms how first responders use technology to respond to, engage with, and serve the community by providing the tools, resources, expertise, and security foundation that public safety needs today, tomorrow, and beyond.

To learn more or to request a demo, please visit www.mark43.com.

MARK43 Recognized for Fourth Consecutive Year in 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program

American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards, the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Government Excellence Awards Program, now entering its Ninth Year, recognizes industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

MARK43

Best Disaster Preparedness and
Disaster Recovery Solution

• Alternate CAD

• Mark43 Alternate CAD is designed to serve as the backup to a community’s primary CAD, providing the modern technology needed to keep every public safety agency operating and constantly connected.

• The public safety industry faces heightened pressures and evolving threats, especially when natural disasters and cyberattacks strike. System outages put technology and data at risk, and siloed platforms leave agencies stranded amidst outages and breaches.

• Mark43’s Alternate CAD provides the solution to ensuring resiliency, sustaining operations, accessing appropriate resources, and collaborating across all necessary channels as these disastrous events transpire.

• Mark43 offers a resilient, user-friendly cloud-native platform, allowing public safety agencies to continue operating without interruption during natural disasters and other emergencies impacting the city, state, or region.

(Nashville’s 911 center deployed Mark43 Alternate CAD two years after the Christmas Day bombing. “Currently, when the CAD goes down at the center, the backup is a sheet of paper. Dispatchers must record each call by hand, at times logging 100 calls an hour. Now, if it goes down, the Mark43 system will kick in.” Courtesy of Mark43, WSMV and YouTube.)

• Innovative, reliable, and best-in-class technology is vital so that first responders can keep working when their community needs them the most (when the primary CAD systems have gone down.)

• When the primary CAD is impacted by extreme weather or a critical incident, having the Mark43 Alternate CAD in place will ensure there aren’t interruptions to potentially lifesaving response.

• *Mark43 is a Returning ‘ASTORS’ Award Champion for their Fourth Consecutive year.

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.

Comprehensive List of Categories Include:

Don’t see a Direct Hit for your Product, Agency, or Organization?

Submit your category recommendation to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher, at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

Homeland Security remains at the forefront of our national conversation as we experience an immigration crisis along our southern border and crime rates that are dramatically higher than before the Pandemic across the United States.

These challenges have become a national priority with an influx of investments in innovative new technologies and systems.

Enter American Security Today, the #1 publication and media platform in the Government Security and Homeland Security fields, with a circulation of over 75,000 readers and many tens of thousands more who visit our AST website at www.americansecuritytoday.com each month.

The pinnacle of the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Ceremony Luncheon Banquet, an exclusive, full-course plated meal event in the heart of New York City.

The continually evolving ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Government Excellence Awards Program will highlight the trail of Accomplished Women in Leadership in 2024.

So be on the lookout for exciting upcoming announcements of Speakers, Presenters, Book Signing Opportunities, and Attendees at the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon in November of 2024 in New York City!

In 2023, this exclusive sold-out event featured at ISC East, well over two hundred representatives of law enforcement, public safety, and industry leaders came together to honor the selfless service of those who stand on the front lines – and those who stand beside them – providing the capabilities and technologies to create a safer world for future generations.

Comprehensive collaborations between these private and public sectors have led to the development of innovative intelligence and technologies that serve to protect our Nation.

Steven Dettelbach, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives, delivered the keynote address at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Excellence in Public Safety Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon.

Director Dettelbach spoke with passion on the epidemic of Gun Violence by Illegal Guns taking place across the United States, which results in over 125 deaths daily and impacting generations of families – leaving open chairs at holiday events.

Firearm injuries were the leading case of death for children for the third year in a row, he explained, and have doubled in the U.S. since 2021, levels that are simply intolerable.

Director Dettelbach lauded the strong partnerships with Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Policing that ATF has earned and relies upon to reduce violence and spoke with admiration as a former prosecutor on the selfless sense of mission and drive that is universal across the entire First Responder Community.

The prestigious Annual ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program highlights the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.

The ‘ASTORS’ was specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit, and intelligence to end-users in a variety of government, homeland security, enterprise, and public safety vertical markets.

(See a few highlights during the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Government Excellence Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon in NYC during ISC East on November 16, 2023. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

AST puts forward the Largest and Most Qualified Circulation in Government with Over 75,000 readers on the Federal, State and Local levels.

AST Digital Publications are distributed to over 75,000 qualified government and homeland security professionals in federal, state, local, and private security sectors.

‘PROTECTING OUR NATION, ONE CITY AT A TIME’

AST Reaches Private and public Experts, essential to meeting these new challenges.

Today’s new generation of public safety and security experts need real-time knowledge to deal with domestic and international terrorism, lone wolf attacks, unprecedented urban violence, shifts in society, culture, and media bias – making it increasingly difficult for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Military and Private Security Professionals to implement coordinated security measures to ensure national security and improve public safety.

These experts are from the Government at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as from private firms allied to the government.

AST provides a full plate of topics in our AST Monthly Magazine Editions, AST Website, and AST Daily News Alerts, covering 23 Vital Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities, and Emergency Response among others.

AST has Expanded readership into integral Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants and Dams, Bridges and Tunnels, and other potential targets of terrorism.

Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting and Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools and Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – all enticing targets due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.

To learn more about ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners solutions, Be On the LookOut for the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS Edition Fully Interactive Magazine – the Best Products of 2023 ‘A Year in Review.’

The Annual CHAMPIONS edition reviews ‘ASTORS’ Award Winning products and programs, highlighting key details on many of the winning firm’s products and services, including video interviews and more.

It will serve as your Go-To Source throughout the year for ‘The Best of 2023 Products and Services’ endorsed by American Security Today and can satisfy your agency’s and/or organization’s most pressing Homeland Security and Public Safety needs.

From Physical Security (Access Control, Critical Infrastructure, Perimeter Protection, and Video Surveillance Cameras and Video Management Systems), to IT Security (Cybersecurity, Encryption, Data Storage, Anti-Malware, and Networking Security – to name a few), the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS EDITION will have WHAT YOU NEED to Detect, Delay, Respond to, and Mitigate today’s real-time threats in our constantly evolving security landscape.

It will also include featured guest editorial pieces from some of the security industry’s most respected leaders and recognized firms in the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program.

For more information on All Things American Security Today, as well as the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program, please contact Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:

• Provides named sources
• Reported by more than one notable outlet
• Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos

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