Crisis app gets larger audience with Blackboard

Herndon, VA - June 29, 2014 - A Washington technology company is partnering with Blackboard to give college students, faculty and staff the ability to deal with emergencies such as fire, weather and campus crimes.

Herndon-based In Case of Crisis has integrated its emergency app into Mosaic, which is a mobile platform by the education technology company Blackboard.

The subscription-based service will be sold to universities and colleges, which will in turn make it available to its students.

“It’s a little app that sits on the smart phone, whether an Apple or Android, and it will have the emergency plan that the institution came up with sitting right there, for that person to act on in a number of different situations, whether its an active shooter, weather, a medical emergency or a fire in a building,” said Chris Britton, general manager of In Case of Crisis.

Britton said the app will help the people affected navigate through the crisis, whether it lasts minutes or days.

He said the company has sold almost 100 subscriptions, which range in price from a few thousand dollars a year to $15,000.

In Case of Crisis was created in 2012 by Anna Ryan, chief executive of Irving Burton Associates, based in Herndon. Ryan saw the need for access to emergency instructions on a mobile device after her team witnessed the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, was forced to evacuate offices because of an Anthrax scare and experienced an earthquake from the 16th floor of a high-rise office building.

Irving Burton Associates, a for-profit business with around 250 employees, provides support services for the federal government, particularly the Defense Department.

Blackboard, owned by Providence Equity Partners, was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in the District, with offices in Europe, Asia and Australia.

About RockDove Solutions

RockDove Solutions, developer of the adaptable mobile crisis management solution In Case of Crisis, helps organizations turns their crisis management, business continuity, emergency preparedness, and workplace safety plans into accessible and actionable digital playbooks. Serving hundreds of public and private institutions, in the rapidly growing enterprise mobile marketplace, the company’s award-winning, customizable crisis app prepares companies to quickly and effectively respond to crises. For more information, visit www.rockdovesolutions.com.

Originally posted on The Washington Post