OnPage Launches BlastIT: Messaging for the Masses

Imagine you’re the manager for the IT Operations for a multimillion-dollar retail chain. The chain not only has numerous stores throughout the U.S. but also a robust online presence. Now imagine that you need to conduct security and software updates on the company’s servers. The update will end up disrupting store services for 30 minutes after the work day.

Ideally, you will want to update the managers and employees of your retails stores, so they know that they will be temporarily unable to update inventories or employee schedules during that time span. You might also want to update relevant shift managers, so they know what to expect as well. However, you’re not sure what is the best way to update your dispersed employees.

You could send all the relevant individuals an email letting them know about the expected update. Of course, that’s how you’ve always sent updates in the past. But the last few times you sent mass emails for important updates, almost 50% of the managers never saw the message. Furthermore, you got some nasty emails from store managers when they couldn’t log on and update inventories because that’s what they normally do after the store closes for the day. Clearly, they never got the message either.

Does this scenario sound a bit too familiar? What should you do?

BlastIT – Mass Messaging in the Modern Age

In today’s world of IT management, mass messaging is a real need. Operations managers need to get messages out. And not just operations managers. City comptrollers, hospitals and emergency service providers needs the ability to get a message out to employees, citizens or hospital workers in a jiffy. And if they are left to simply using email, they are at a disadvantage.

Imagine if managers were trying to store employees not to show up to work because of a potentially dangerous weather pattern. Should they really send an email?

Consider that “email takes up 23 percent of the average employee’s workday, and that average employee sends or receives 112 emails per day.” Email essentially becomes a burden and fails to gain the rapid attention of the recipient. Email just cannot ensure a swift read and acknowledgement. Clearly, a messaging alternative is needed that provides companies with this needed ability to get messages out to employees in multiple formats and ensure employees receive the message.

For this very need, OnPage has created its mass messaging tool, BlastIT. BlastIT works by enabling management teams to send messages to their employees while not requiring employees to have any necessary hardware or software other than a phone. BlastIT helps managers with:

• Creating messages which go immediately to multiple platforms. BlastIT messages go to recipients’ phones, multiple emails and SMS at the same time. BlastIT will even leave a voicemail if the recipient does not pick up the phone.
• Allowing administrators to develop and edit messaging templates, messaging groups and members.
• Providing employers with a way to make sure their employees have received and seen the message. BlastIT’s confirmation receipt allows managers to see the message status.

BlastIT embodies the recognition that management and operations folks need a powerful way to contact employees when there are important updates that relevant team members need to receive. It’s hard to manage ITOps when you cannot get messages to the people who need them. BlastIT knows this pain point and seeks to alleviate it through its mass messaging capabilities.

Ready to Blast Off?

If you have ever had struggles with mass alerting of your employees or clients when you needed to get out messages to them, then the scenarios described earlier in this blog aren’t just cute ideas. They’re real pains and impede your ability to communicate.

Now that you have a tool like BlastIT, your frustrations can be put to the side and you can find something else to fret over. Maybe you can start with the sad state of coffee your company is serving in the break room.

Conclusion

BlastIT is OnPage’s newest feature. Customers don’t need to have existing OnPage accounts. BlastIT can work completely independently of OnPage or as part of a complete messaging package.

To learn more about how BlastIT can work for your company or institution, contact our sales team at [email protected].