Products & Services

THE PEACEFUL DISPATCH CENTER - FACT OR FICTION?
By Dan Voss - Product Manager

Imagine a dispatch center that is not filled with the sounds of repeated, static-filled radio transmissions. Imagine a dispatch center where your dispatchers are not constantly interrupted by crews updating their current status. Imagine a dispatch center where the dispatchers do not feel completely drained at the end of their shifts. Where is this virtual paradise of a dispatch center? It could be your own…

MobiCAD for EMS is a mobile extension to our popular EMS dispatch product Sweet-CAD that can help you achieve a new level of calm in your dispatch center and provide your crews in the field with a valuable assistant. MobiCAD for EMS is a variation of the successful public safety product, AVeL-MobiCAD.

MobiCAD runs on laptop computers installed in each of your vehicles, and it automates much of the communication between your dispatch center and your field personnel.

• MobiCAD for EMS equipped vehicles receive incident information automatically when the vehicle is dispatched to an incident – eliminating the need for the dispatcher to communicate the details verbally. This eliminates the chance for the crew in the vehicle to misunderstand the details of their dispatch. The details are all displayed on the screen, available for reference at any time during the response.
• The crew in the vehicle clicks on a button to report status changes related to the vehicle, or an assigned incident, and the change is automatically logged in Sweet-CAD – eliminating the need to contact a dispatcher to log the change.
• Text messaging is also available for communication between vehicles and the dispatch center for those communications that are not related to a specific incident or status.
• Real-time location information is displayed on a map in MobiCAD for EMS to provide the crew with a valuable navigation assistant.
• Vehicle location information is also displayed on maps in Sweet-CAD, providing the dispatcher with an accurate, precise picture of fleet deployment. Accurate, precise knowledge of fleet deployment helps the dispatcher make better decisions that can save time and money.

Your return on investment comes from

• Efficient use of employees – it shouldn't take two people to keep track of the status of a vehicle.
• Efficient use of vehicles – real-time location information allows the dispatcher to send the closest appropriate vehicle.
• Improved work-environment

Are you ready to see how this peaceful dispatch center can be yours? Contact your sales representative for a demonstration of MobiCAD for EMS.

ORTIVUS PLANNING TO DISCONTINUE SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 2000 PRODUCT FAMILY
by Charlie Barry - Product Manager

(1) On June 30, 2005 Microsoft, as part of their Support Lifecycle Policy, transitioned Windows 2000 product family (including windows 2000 Server, Advanced Server, Datacenter Server, and Windows 2000 Professional) mainstream support to their extended support phase. The Windows 2000 product family will be in the extended support phase until June 2010.

(2) The Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy defines:

• Mainstream Support as the first phase of the product support lifecycle. Mainstream support includes:
  • Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims)
  • Security Updates
  • The ability to request non-security hotfixes
• Extended Support follows Mainstream Support for Business and Developer products which includes:
  • Paid Support
  • Security update support at no additional cost

As Ortivus looks into the future of the Sweet product line (Sweet-Billing, Sweet-Field Data, and Sweet-CAD) with the upcoming compatibility with Windows Vista, it becomes imperative that in order to continue offering exceptional products that integrate well with technology, the Sweet product line must also change. In an effort to expand the product line, Ortivus will discontinue support for the older, outdated technology. This includes the Microsoft Windows 2000 product family, which the Sweet product line will cease to support, effective June 30, 2010.

At Ortivus, we understand there is an investment associated with upgrading technology, therefore we are making customers aware of our intentions over 30 months in advance. Ortivus recommends that customers immediately start making plans to upgrade Windows 2000 Operating Systems.

Microsoft is scheduled to release Windows Server 2008 in Feb 2008, however Ortivus would caution customers from moving their Sweet applications to this server operating system until the applications have been certified by Ortivus to run on Windows Server 2008.

Please continue to monitor the OrtivusTALK Newsletter for articles pertaining to the phase out of support for the Windows 2000 product line and the compatibility with Windows Server 2008.

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(1) Microsoft Corporation - http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/extendedsupport.mspx
(2) Microsoft Corporation – http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle