Bolton MRT also envisages this connected solution will be a direct aid in helping to locate missing people and casualties. The new Navisite cloud-based system will allow multiple emergency response agencies to work together and share information in real-time, in a single environment. More importantly, it lets Bolton MRT instantly share location information with emergency services so they are able to respond with the most appropriate resources, reducing rescue response time and potentially saving lives.
“Often in rescues, the biggest challenge is precisely locating the lost or injured person,” said Martin Banks, Operational Member and Treasurer at Bolton Mountain Rescue. “We’re now able to start the process of identifying the person’s location using an application which can be run on our system from any location.”
The police can often triangulate a person’s mobile phone location but this data can be inexact. The SARLOC positioning service, developed specifically for mountain rescue teams and now used across the country, is more accurate. Bolton Mountain Rescue team use Navisite’s cloud to access SARLOC data from any location. The positioning service requires the consent of the lost person, and a smartphone with GPS and mobile data service.
Sumeet Sabharwal, General Manager, Navisite said: “We’re proud to be collaborating with SD Technology UK to support such an important, life-saving organisation like Bolton MRT and to be a part of its cloud transformation. When a cloud service like Navisite’s Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is being used in such a critical and time sensitive context, it’s vital that the service has a reliable and robust infrastructure with availability from any location. We’re pleased to have our technology and managed services used in such a beneficial manner.”
The new system works by sending a text message with a link to the mobile phone of the missing person. By clicking the link, any lost or injured person will be able to open a website that will calculate their location and notify Bolton MRT wherever they are through the mapping application running on Navisite’s DaaS. As a result, teams are able to locate lost or injured people much faster and with greater accuracy, no matter where the rescue team is located.
“Bolton MRT was working off IT equipment that had started to tire and limited their ability to carry out important work from the remote locations in which search and rescue incidents often take place,” said Simon Darch, Technical Director, SRD Technology UK. “With a dedicated focus on supporting cloud migrations for charities and not for profit organisations across the UK, the collaboration was critical for us to be able to provide not only the technology, but the managed services around it. Navisite’s Desktop-as-a-Service and Managed Office 365 solution enables Bolton MRT to work remotely, with full access to an integrated and standardised suite of applications to help their rescue operations.”
Bolton MRT is a registered search and rescue charity, with trained volunteers covering an area over 800 square kilometres. The team functions as a vital resource to local emergency services in locating and rescuing missing or injured hillwalkers, climbing and biking accidents and any other incidents involving people in wild and remote places.
The volunteer organisation previously ran its operations from shared desktops located at the organisation's base and had no back-up procedure in place. This system restricted the ability of the team to access important data and systems remotely, as well as limiting information sharing with other emergency agencies. SRD Technology UK implemented Navisite’ s DaaS and Managed Microsoft Office 365 solution which allows standardised remote working, making it easy to deploy and manage desktop environments and gives the team access to a full suite of applications.
SRD Technology UK and Navisite were selected ahead of other managed service providers for the flexibility and reliability of their solutions, as well as their experience and skills in managing these cloud applications and environments.
