APX Data vs Emergency Reporting Software : Discover the Differences

Adapting to Changing Needs and Technology

Many fire departments in the United States and Canada that are modernizing their operations face the challenge of finding a solution that not only meets their needs now, but also for years to come. Smaller budgets and cost cutting initiatives force many departments to do more with less. Early technology adopters may have relied on Emergency Reporting for their incident tracking and reporting needs: however, with their recent acquisition by ESO, the uncertainty of what comes next may pose a threat to their operations. If you are among those in this situation or are in search of an alternative solution, APX Data has a mobile first suite of products for fire departments and public safety agencies focused on response, compliance and prevention.

While it may seem predictable that our company would recommend APX Data as a better alternative, we do so for good reason. As developers of a robust emergency reporting platform, we understand the unique needs of firefighters and have tailored our solution to meet those needs.

APX Data is transforming fire department response, compliance and reporting with the most advanced mobile, easy-to-use software solution – the best Emergency Reporting Software alternative.

Risk from acquisition by eso

In 2021, the fire service industry witnessed a remarkable event with the largest acquisition in the emergency sector involving ESO and Emergency Reporting System.

Shortly about: Emergency Reporting System

Emergency Reporting System was a leading global provider of cloud-based fire RMS software. The company catered to over 7,500 fire service and EMS agencies in North America. Moreover, Emergency Reporting had a significant federal presence, serving over 170 Department of Defense/military installations worldwide.

Shortly about: Eso

ESO Solutions, Inc. is committed to enhancing community health and safety by harnessing the power of data. Established in 2004, the company continues to develop innovative, user-friendly software to address the evolving needs of EMS agencies, fire departments, hospitals, and state EMS offices across North America. ESO currently supports thousands of clients with a comprehensive software suite, which includes the industry-leading ESO Electronic Health Record (EHR), a next-generation ePCR; ESO Health Data Exchange (HDE), a pioneering healthcare interoperability platform; ESO Fire RMS, a contemporary fire Record Management System; ESO Patient Registry, which covers trauma, burn, and stroke registry software; and the ESO State Repository.

While the acquisition between ESO and Emergency Reporting System had its positive aspects, there were also potential negative sides to consider:

Legacy

Emergency Reporting System introduced their solution at a time when fire departments did not use digital information. When Y2K was on everyone’s minds, Emergency Reporting in the year 2000 pioneered a web solution that was revolutionary 23 years ago. It was at a time when fire departments were still relying on pen, paper and filing cabinets to manage their preplan, inspection, investigation, reporting or community programs.

All of this improved fire departments management of information but today, this legacy capability has been dramatically improved thanks to mobile-first technology, wireless networks, smartphones, tablets and secure cloud computing options. With technology and devices made available to us only a few years ago, all we now need is “the app for that” and this will forever change how fire departments capture, consume and use accurate data daily. This for emergency services is priceless because — by definition — fire departments live in a mobile workplace environment.

Back Office
(at the station)

Technology such as Emergency Reporting (built 23 years ago) has become obsolete and has been leapfrogged by Smart Mobile applications, apps that instantly capture information that you need and must share with others in seconds. Fire departments need software applications that are easily accessible, friendly to use and responsive (fast), in order to benefit immediately from the next response. Emergency Reporting is no longer meeting the needs of convenience as an easily accessible option: it has been superseded and is best referred to as a legacy, back office (at the station) option.

Security

The Emergency Reporting Application is built on a web-based platform, requiring users to log in using a web browser. In the event that users forget the URL for logging in, they may conduct a search on Google using various queries such as “emergency reporting login”, “emergency reporting system login”, “emergency reporting login”, “emergency reporting system login”, or “emergency reporting new login” to find registration page.

Web browsers can accumulate large amounts of sensitive information that can be targeted by hackers seeking to gain unauthorized access to personal data or sensitive business information. According to the Cisco Cloud Security report, web browsers are frequently the source of successful hacking attempts due to the wealth of information they contain.

At APX Data, we place a high priority on security and utilize an additional stage of protection for our devices. Each device is assigned a unique license that serves as an added layer of security to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data. This license acts as a key, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access the device and its associated data, protecting against unauthorized access and potential security breaches.

Migrating incident data from ERS to APX Data

Moving to a modern mobile platform, APX Data makes this transition seamless, by picking up from where you are with your currency data solution, importing all your records and making it easy for your department to now capture, manage and report with today’s Smart Mobile capabilities.

APX Data is designed to address the needs of fire departments, ensuring compliance with the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. This software solution streamlines data management, simplifies reporting, and improves overall efficiency for fire departments, enabling them to focus on their core responsibilities of protecting lives and property.

More about the APX Data Advantage:

APX Data offers a tailored, mission-critical solution for your fire department’s operation: nothing more, nothing less. APX helps make all firefighters aware, connected and informed about their community for that next fire response call :
1) Simple access to your data, critical information on all structures including residential in your community instantly – we have your structural information

2) Instant access to the best resources to use such as fire hydrants, their location, capability and more available in seconds
3) Inspection, investigation and preplanning data collection/management done digitally, reducing time to complete and improving significantly the return on investment – 10X process improvements doing more with less resources
4) Sharing data instantly, benefiting even more from your auto-aid partners, mutual-aid partners with your data also available to them – at no additional cost
5) Incident management, from response to NFIRS incident reporting
6) Dispatch CAD integration at no additional cost to the fire department, an easy non-intrusive connection
7) Instant visibility jumping into the firetruck about where you are going, what you need to know and must be aware of in seconds, fully interactive data in the palm of your hand

The future of “right data at the right time” is here: you are likely reading this on your smartphone, and that is what we are talking about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Any departments near me using APX?

APX has about 2000 firefighters using our fire software, across the United States and Canada, on a daily basis. Chances are there is one near you. Our customers readily act as references and are happy to share their experiences with prospective users. What state are you interested in?

Can I buy only inspection or NFIRS reporting, not the entire Fire RMS solution?

Certainly, we’ve designed a versatile platform to accommodate your requirements and budget. You can purchase a single product and start using it. Later, you can expand by adding more products or opting for the all-in-one solution to obtain comprehensive Fire software.

Is this solution exclusively web-based, or is there also a mobile app available?

Our solution is designed as a mobile-first platform, enabling you to accomplish tasks in the field seamlessly. We have developed a mobile app that allows you to conduct inspections, and investigations, prepare NFIRS reports, and more, all from your tablet or phone. This way, you can complete tasks on the go with ease.

Can you import data from other internal databases to give us a running start?

APX can import your existing data, allowing you to leverage work already completed. With APX fire software, you don’t have to start from zero.

Can it work outside of internet coverage?

Yes. The APX solution allows users to both capture and use data without persistent coverage. Capture users can save the data locally to their device, and can sync up any changes when connectivity is re-established. View users can sync down the data while in coverage, and then have access even if connectivity is lost.

Is APX compatible with CAD, RMS, CMS, GIS, etc?

The APX solution utilizes open APIs, so the technical foundation is in place for APX to interface with most other systems.

With APX fire software, you won’t have to start from zero. We can work with you to import your existing data from your RMS, CMS, or other data sources.

How secure is the data stored in the APX Fire RMS?

Our fire software is cloud-based and hosted on Microsoft Azure, a trusted provider used by major government agencies. We ensure our customers benefit from Tier 3 data centers that are fully redundant, offering robust cyber and physical security measures.

Migrate to APX

Working hand-in-hand with firefighters and academia, APX has developed a suite of easy to use, user-driven fire pre-planning and inspection solutions that help firefighters reduce risk and save lives by providing real-time access to accurate data or information at times of emergency.