Mort Jensen – Orion

Push-to-Talk 2.0 (PTT 2.0): Transforming Communications for the Defense and Intelligence Communities

Mort Jensen — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 15:30:52 +0000

Top 4 Takeaways from DoDIIS 2021

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently convened its annual Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) Worldwide Conference in Phoenix. The discussion centered on the urgent need to prepare the government’s technological infrastructure to meet new challenges in the years ahead.

We heard how frontline communication is a critical component of this infrastructure. In today’s landscape, this means that not just any push-to-talk (PTT) solution will do for government operations.

Planning for the Future of Government Field Operations

Before we even built the Orion platform, we were compelled by the complex and dynamic needs of government agencies. We reevaluated push-to-talk and built a platform that moved beyond the limitations pervasive across the communications industry. Orion didn’t just build another push-to-talk platform, we radically modernized communications and architected our PTT 2.0 platform with the Intelligence Community in mind.

Our commitment to innovating frontline communications aligns with Defense and Intelligence community directives that were front and center at DoDIIS 2021. Here are our top four takeaways on the future of field communications within intelligence and defense, including details on the critical role of Orion’s PTT 2.0 in making this future available today:

#1: End-to-End Encryption and Data Security Are Paramount to Frontline Communication Technology

Today’s Defense and Intelligence teams need technology to help them act faster and smarter, but they cannot compromise on security and encryption. In fact, it’s imperative that any technology used by the Intelligence Community exceeds the pace of cyber threat developments.

Orion’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is built into the very fabric of Orion’s platform. No other push-to-talk (PTT) platform offers this level of foundational security. Instead, inferior PTT solutions have attempted to find security workarounds after entering the market. The reality is that after-the-fact patches lack proper E2EE protocols and are not suitable to support government operations today or in the future.

Defense and Intelligence field teams are able to confidently rely on Orion’s platform knowing its security complies with the highest levels by the federal government. Teams securely communicate on the go on any device, with voice, text, photos, videos, and files such as PDFs. Each message is end-to-end encrypted using AES-256 with ephemeral keys and is compliant with the FIPS 140-2 standard which protects proprietary and sensitive information and communications. In addition to public cloud deployments, the Orion platform supports private cloud deployments as well as on-premise or air-gapped.

Learn about Orion’s end-to-end encryption.

#2: Frontline Technology Should Help Field Teams Do More With Less

Orion’s Push-to-Talk 2.0 (PTT 2.0) radically transforms communications with Voice AI Bots and platform integrations. Orion’s patented Voice Bots participate in talk groups and provide cutting-edge, innovative solutions to help frontline government operations do more with less.

These bots enable teams to offload routine processes triggered by voice commands, events, or actions. Team members also use voice commands to activate third-party integrations and access value-added services like real-time language translation and transcription.

Orion Voice Bots also perform complex, multi-step workflows. Take the example of an emergency alert. Voice-commands like “Code Blue” start an escalation that sends an email or SMS, an audio recording, and geolocation information to predetermined team members, kicking off rapid and targeted responses to any emergency that arises. Geofences or inactivity for a set amount of time can also trigger emergency response workflows.

Learn about Orion’s Voice AI Bots.

#3: Communications Should Interoperate with Field Team and Government Technology

Government technology ecosystems contain vast data stores critical to successful missions. At DoDIIS, Intelligence and Defense experts expressed that how desked and deskless teams access that information will be a critical component of building the right tech stack to take on the future. One “how” that is often overlooked is voice.

Orion’s secure platform offers seamless accessibility and gives voice to government systems by integrating with third-party technology. Teams use voice to access critical information while remaining heads up and aware. Team members easily amplify their knowledge by connecting to systems or obtaining best-practice manuals, guides, or mission information right from the field and on-demand.

Orion’s patented API layer changes the game by enabling teams to leverage valuable data within third-party solutions to increase situational awareness. For example, Orion location data combined with the ability to initiate communications bolster operations and response with platforms like ATAK (Android Team Awareness/Tactical Assault Kit), geospatial systems like ESRI, and more.

Learn about Orion’s Integrations.

#4: Field Teams Need Solutions That Connect Over Any Network, Device, and Location

Too many communications systems lock users into networks, devices, and platforms that are unable to scale or force deployment limitations. These constraints no longer meet the dynamic needs of the modern-day Intelligence Community.

The Orion Platform is designed to operate on any network, enabling communication over any distance. In fact, there is no gap in where teams can operate. Communications are available on a local, regional, and global level — allowing teams to connect over any IP connection, whether LTE (public or private), Wi-Fi, satellite, or mesh. Orion is also device-agnostic and configurable to meet the needs of any field operation worldwide.

Learn more about Orion’s broad device support.

Push-to-Talk 2.0 (PTT 2.0) and Transforming Frontline Defense and Intelligence Communications

Like the experts at DoDIIS, we agree that it’s time to modernize the government’s technological infrastructure, especially when it comes to field team communications. Field teams need the ability to communicate securely with voice, text, photos, videos, and files such as PDFs. By collaborating on the go and on one device, they become more effective at their missions.

Orion architected PTT 2.0 to help defense and intelligence agencies meet their evolving communication and collaboration requirements — today and in the years to come.

Learn how Orion’s Push-to-Talk 2.0 can transform your field team operations.

Get the PTT 2.0 Fact Sheet

4 Reasons Public Transportation Operations Need PTT 2.0

Mort Jensen — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 18:57:21 +0000

Insights From APTA’s TRANSform Conference & EXPO 2021

Over three days at the recent APTA Expo, I had the opportunity to meet with leading public transit professionals and discuss what’s next for the industry. It struck me how ready the industry is for innovation following two years of pandemic-related disruption.

Learn More About PTT 2.0 For Transportation

But what was my biggest takeaway? The public transportation industry is focused on the future. Transit leaders know the time for transformation is now — especially as ridership levels return and the recent $1.2 trillion infrastructure package opens new doors.

Here are a few of my top takeaways from my conversations with public transit leaders:

#1: Public Transit Needs Better, More Reliable Voice Technology

Public transit organizations are tired of old-school radios with limited functionality and range. The reality is that today’s public transit workers need more than one channel to communicate effectively. Particularly, they need ad hoc 1:1 or limited group environments that enable undivided attention on the matter at hand. Dispatchers should be able to create and move drivers, supervisors, customer service representatives, emergency responders, or even maintenance workers into groups ensuring an incident receives undivided attention while other drivers remain undistracted.

Public transit leaders have also been let down by push-to-talk alternatives. They need reliable and scalable voice technology that is available on any phone or tablet device and that runs on any cellular network. Transit organizations are tired of being locked into one PTT network that frequently suffers from spotty coverage.

Learn more about Orion’s PTT 2.0, the next generation of push-to-talk for public transportation.

#2: Public Transit Leaders Want New Ways to Innovate Incident Response

The safety of passengers, drivers, and personnel will always be the single most significant priority for public transportation operations. And today’s leaders are searching for new, innovative ways to improve upon the industry’s already high standards.

Transit executives at APTA were closely considering technology that offered automated safety workflows to enhance existing protocols. Solutions that provide reliable, always-on advanced location services are non-negotiable. Voice-triggered emergency alerts were also a notable topic. Combined, advanced location services and voice-automated responses can streamline incident response.

Drivers need solutions that support them during urgent moments. They want the security of knowing they can trigger automated emergency notifications with words like “help-help.” These voice triggers can automatically transmit their locations to dispatchers or managers who can escalate emergency response.

Learn more about Orion’s Emergency Alerts.

#3: Public Transit Operations Need Automation

Transit organizations regularly deal with manual, everyday tasks that are time-consuming and burdensome on an already taxed workforce. Not to mention the common plight of driver shortages everywhere. There’s a very real opportunity to leverage automation via the very same operational tools in use today.

Automation can address simple tasks like a “radio check” for example. In the traditional radio or PTT-only world that many agencies still live in, and in particular across fleets that number in the hundreds or thousands, a finite dispatch team is quickly inundated with a very harmless check-in by literally every driver at the start of a shift. Why not put a bot in front of that and free up that precious dispatcher time?

Tremendous value can also be achieved through the automation of forms and checklists. For example, with an Orion voice bot, the completion of a simple pre- or post-operation vehicle inspection can be automated with voice instead of perhaps what may be in place today with paper. Checklists are instantly accessible, completed on time, in the right order (no pencil whipping!) and are digitized and archived for compliance purposes.

Real-time language translation is another powerful example of automation that’s available right now. And this one in particular has the ability to provide an immediate impact on the driver labor shortage. English-speaking dispatchers can communicate in real-time with non-English-speaking drivers, and vice-versa. ESL team members in place today are less inclined to leave. And this capability unlocks access to an expanded labor pool. Win-win.

Learn more about Orion’s Process Automation with AI Bots and Workflows.

#5: Interoperability with Third-Party Software Offers Transformative Opportunities

Transportation organizations know the future is a single pane of glass in each vehicle. Instead of switching between applications, drivers want to use their vehicle tablets to view critical information all in one view.

The possibility of layering voice over third-party software offers the potential to be a real game-changer. Transportation industry leaders know innovation will really happen when they can interoperate voice and critical systems. Voice-first collaboration platforms built with open API platforms will be game-changers for the industry, allowing simultaneous use of routing software, voice, mapping, and more.

Learn more about Orion’s Third-Party Integrations.

The Orion Collaboration Platform for Public Transportation

Public transportation operations need better than the legacy technology many of them still use every day. Fortunately, innovation offers manifold advantages simply unavailable when transit operations use radios or limited PTT apps.

Orion offers game-changing PTT 2.0 that will revolutionize how public transportation organizations operate. When public transit organizations can capture each data point, voice message, text, image, or video, they gain a voice-operations system of record that will prepare them to offer the modern transportation riders have come to demand and depend on.

Learn More About Orion For Transportation