E-SPONDER Express(TM) Now Available for Responder Agencies

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Convergence Communications announced the availability of E-SPONDER Express(TM), the first plug-and-play incident management appliance that enables first-responders to prepare, respond and recover from emergency incidents and meet NIMS (National Incident Management Systems) obligations. Affordable for most agencies, E-SPONDER Express is listed at $19,999.

E-SPONDER Express comes with NIMS/ICS (Incident Command System) policies and procedures already built into the system. Organizations are able to effectively manage an incident following NIMS/ICS guidelines by filling out ICS Forms in the system, and reporting against the data captured in the system during the incident. Reports and forms it manages can be used as proof of NIMS/ICS compliance.

"E-SPONDER Express gives agencies a tactical tool for managing incidents at the operator and command level -- for planning, executing and reviewing post-event conclusion," said Robert Wolf, President and CEO of Convergence Communications, the makers of the E-SPONDER(R) suite of products. "It simplifies the creation of IAPs (Incident Action Plans), allows agency administrators to follow incident statuses, area commands and MACs (multi-agency coordination centers) to better coordinate separate incidents."

As a result of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (09/04 HSPD Directive 5), all first response agencies must meet certain certification criteria for NIMS/ICS. Proof of compliance is necessary for reimbursements under FEMA guidelines as well as accreditation and certification. E-SPONDER Express helps jurisdictions meet the NIMS obligations of ICS implementation, IAP creation, corrective action planning, personnel accountability, resource accountability and management and standardization of the planning process.

"E-SPONDER Express is perfect for agencies large and small," said Wolf. "It improves the effectiveness and efficiency of incident response efforts by allowing agencies to apply consistent NIMS/ICS processes to incident response in an easy, familiar to use format. It can be deployed as a local server and LAN configuration in either a data center or directly in the field in a mobile or command post unit. The appliance model makes it simple to implement for organizations with either deep or limited IT skills. The appliance includes all hardware, software and licensing including the ability to backup the entire server to removable media for safe storage and recovery."

E-SPONDER Express features an "all hazards" approach that provides end users with the ability to create additional incident templates for managing reoccurring incidents including fires, tactical situations, accidents and to manage larger incidents such as tornado, hurricane or a man-made disaster. E- SPONDER Express includes all FEMA-based ICS 200 series forms plus several additional forms to document, plan and report all aspects of an incident within NIMS/ICS guidelines. Agencies are also empowered to add additional forms, processes and procedures to customize the solution to meet the organizations needs.

Another key feature of E-SPONDER Express is its ability to allow an agency to manage costs and reimbursement of both equipment and personnel separately. Organizations are able to track in real-time, report and archive the costs associated with managing an incident. This positions an agency to be better prepared to recoup costs of incident response through disaster assistance, reimbursement or insurance claims. It also helps manage incident costs by allowing command staff to visualize cost estimates and burn rates during the response.

The E-SPONDER Express appliance comes complete with hardware (Dell(R) Server (NASDAQ: DELL) , Standalone or 1U form factor), software and licensing for up to 25 named users. Additional User licenses can be purchased. Hardware includes three years of onsite maintenance. E-SPONDER Express software includes one year of software assurance and 25 hours of round-the-clock help desk support. Additional hours of help desk support and software assurance are also available. E-SPONDER Express is also available as a software only solution for agencies supplying their own hardware.

About Convergence

Convergence, the creator of E-SPONDER(R) and E-SPONDER Express(TM), provides government and commercial enterprises with highly customizable communications and collaboration solutions as well as providing the commercial market with a wide variety of information technology solutions. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner (NASDAQ: MSFT) , Convergence is an industry leader in mission-specific software for the homeland security and disaster preparedness community with E-SPONDER(R) and the new E-SPONDER(R) Express suite of solutions. Winner of the 2005 and finalist for the 2007 Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year Award, E-SPONDER(R) has been used by a variety of customers and events including Super Bowl XXXIX, 2004 Presidential Debates and the St. Louis-based games of the 2004 and 2006 MLB World Series.