Unimax's 2nd nature software validates compliance to enhanced 911 legislation.

Unimax an industry provider of change-management software that optimizes enterprise telephony investment has announced that its 2nd Nature software streamlines cumbersome database management associated with enhanced 911 (E911), which provides vital, lifesaving information to the 911 public safety network, thereby enhancing employee safety and facility protection and reducing employer liability. Six states have already passed laws requiring telephone networks to adopt E911, and the Federal Communications Commission is constructing regulatory legislation to mandate nationwide enhanced 911.

The Telident E911 database enables a PBX system to provide a 911 caller's accurate building address, floor and office/cube location to the 911 dispatcher. If the information in the PBX, Telident E911 and public 911 network databases do not match, precious minutes are lost as emergency services personnel scramble to find the right person. The Unimax 2nd Nature product ensures that these systems are synchronized and able to accurately report the location of the caller.

Unimax CEO Andrew Hunkins says that in theory, it all sounds simple but, in practice, maintaining accurate, current databases is a time-consuming administrative burden. "Today, each move, add or change requires the new information to be entered into three databases: PBX, Telident E911 and the public 911 system. Consider that the typical office phone is moved twice each year, which means tens to hundreds of thousands of changes to manage in large corporate, government, medical or university organizations. As a single point of data entry for managing E911 information, 2nd Nature eliminates the repetition by automatically downloading PBX changes into the Telident E911 system and the public 911 system. In addition, it ensures compliance by gathering information from the PBX and Telident E911 databases on a pre-designated schedule or on demand, and reporting any discrepancies."

When the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., began using 2nd Nature, it identified more than 100 discrepancies between the PBX and Telident E911 databases that needed resolution. Cindy Sundberg, the university's telecommunications systems manager, said, "We are thrilled with Unimax's product, which has cut the time in half that we spend keeping up with hundreds of moves each year. But even more important, it's a huge relief to know that we are keeping our Telident E911 database up to date, considering at times we were three weeks behind."