MessageNet systems

MessageNet Systems, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer software
Founded	1991 (founded as Orchid Systems)
Founder	Jerry Geis Kevin Brown
Headquarters	101 E Carmel Dr, Carmel, Indiana , U.S.
Area served	North America
Products	"Connections"
Website	http://www.messagenetsystems.com

MessageNet systems is a privately-held company located in Carmel, Indiana, United States, providing a broad-range solution for organizational communications needs. It uses a slogan of "Everyday & Emergency Communications — Unified." Its flag-ship product is called "Connections," which may comprise of any combination of several features and capabilities (which are outlined and explained briefly, later in this article), depending on the organization's needs.

Company Overview

Mission

According to the company's website, the mission of MessageNet systems is to provide impactful and life changing communication solutions to resolve the daily and emergency communication challenges organizations face.

Culture

The company claims to have a long-standing culture of innovation and openness about software development and adopting new technologies. For example, its founders take particular pride in being one of the first to utilize a web-browser as a user interface in the early 1990's, when the practice was not yet in widespread use. The company's software development team is also actively involved with many open-source software projects.

History

MessageNet's old logo

MessageNet's new logo

The Early Years & Growth

• 1991 - Founded with the name "Orchid Systems."
• 1996 - Changed name to "MessageNet Systems" and adopted a corresponding logo.

Continued Growth & Expansion

• 2011 - Recognizing the complexity of organizational communications, and in helping organizations understand those complexities, MessageNet became more active in education-oriented video production (in addition to marketing), and started a company YouTube channel.
• 2012 - Changed branding with an updated logo, color scheme, and slightly modified its name to be "MessageNet systems" rather than "MessageNet Systems" (the difference being the lower-case "s" in "systems").

Product

MediaPort

Visual PA

PC Alert

Scrolling PC Alert Demo

MessageNet's main (and only) offering is an all-encompassing product called "Connections." Connections is a broad product that may include several different features & capabilities, depending on the customer's needs. Connections is an example of an emergency communication system. According to the company's marketing materials, "MessageNet Connections is a browser-based, integrated system that unifies private and public, everyday and emergency communications into one powerful system. Connections integrates your existing communication systems to create communication bridges between people, places, and things. One of the unique advantages of the MessageNet Connections system is scalability: you can start with your specific needs now, and later uniquely upgrade your system to include additional functionality."

Connections

• MediaPort — A multimedia digital signage system, using high-definition flat panel displays to display many types of media, including presentation slide-shows, video, emergency evacuation routing, two-way video-conferencing, photographs, text messages, and scrolling news tickers, for both daily and emergency uses.
• Visual PA — A system designed to deliver visual public address messages from any authorized PC running a browser to electronic LED sign boards in one room, throughout an entire campus, or across a WAN.
• PC Alert — Delivers alert and emergency messages to any, or all, PCs on a network by popping a message up as a window and scrolling it until a person or an event terminates it.
• PageStation — An advanced text messaging software system that provides real-time text messaging to pagers, PDAs, Twitter, and cell phones, from any authorized computer on a network.
• MESA — Enterprise Security & Alerting features that integrate and enhance an existing building's automation, fire safety, and security systems. It adapts and prioritizes alerts from a variety of safety and security systems for delivery to any of the spectrum of communication devices used in the enterprise.
• CallVista — A voice communication system that integrates desk phones, home phones, cell phones, wireless phones and videophones. It includes an autodialing phone directory, in/out whiteboard functionality, and more.
• SecurePA — The software interface that extends the utility, security, and ease-of-use of Overhead Paging, Intercom, Mass Notification and PA systems.

Customer Service

MessageNet systems' primary focus is in offering its Connections product; however, the company does provide some services to customers who have purchased, or are in the process of purchasing Connections. MessageNet provides customer service as well as installation and upgrade support.

Primary Markets

MessageNet systems' solutions are currently deployed in these markets:

• Industrial manufacturing environments
• Retail establishments
• Universities and higher education
  • A MessageNet-derivative system is currently being used at Gulf Coast Community College.
• Deaf and blind schools
  • Mississippi School for the Deaf — According to the Tech Bytes newsletter, this school has implemented Connections to serve as an Emergency System with the following features:
    • Allow staff to react more quickly to incidents;
    • A Security System that will monitor students, as well as reduce misconduct, vandalism, and theft;
    • An Electronic School Bulletin Board that will display schools events, lunch menus, or a calendar of events to any TV on campus;
    • A Virtual Media Cart that will play and control tapes, and/or DVDs in a classroom without a player, media, or remote control;
    • A Video Contact System that will enable real-time video conversations with staff members;
    • An Off-Campus Control and Monitoring System that allows responsible parties to view cameras and control devices remotely via the Internet;
    • A Broadcast System in which announcements can be made for both the hearing and sight-impaired student;
    • A Professional Development System that will allow teaching of a class to multiple classrooms simultaneously, or connect the classroom to an existing distance learning class or learning lab.
• Hospitals and medical facilities

External links

• MessageNet systems' Homepage