Spotlight: Tablet Command devoted to providing technology tools for emergency responders

1. Where did your company name originate from?
The co-founders selected the name Tablet Command based on the desire to communicate a solution that can be applied to the management of any incident on any device.

2. What was the inspiration behind starting your company?
Tablet Command was conceived by fire service professionals on the heels of the 2007 Michelle Drive incident in Contra Costa County, Calif. Tablet Command was founded in 2011 to support enhanced situational awareness, personnel accountability and emergency incident management

3. What is your signature product and how does it work?
Our signature product is Tablet Command Enterprise, a cloud-based, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) integrated digital incident response and management solution that replaces a traditional MDTs and offers an incident management platform that mirrors the whiteboard commanders have used for decades.

Tablet Command also supports the management of incident resources on a map. Through Real Time Sync (RTS), Tablet Command allows all response and management personnel to see incident activities in real time. Despite being cloud-based, Tablet Command is unique as it also allows incidents to be managed without internet connectivity.

4. Why do you believe your products are essential to the firefighting community?
Tablet Command has proven itself to be a literal “life saver” for emergency response personnel (fire, EMS, and law enforcement). It reduces turnout and arrival times, provides instant access to critical incident data including pre-plans, GIS data, and automatic vehicle location (AVL) data, which significantly enhances situational awareness. On scene, Incident Commanders can better manage any incident on their iPad using our simple and intuitive user interface coupled with agency specified incident templates and checklists. All incident management data in Tablet Command is time stamped and exportable for reporting and analysis.

5. What has been the biggest challenge your company has faced?
The biggest challenge Tablet Command has faced has been the adoption of a new approach and technology into the public safety market. Rather than the traditional whiteboard or pen and paper incident management strategies, public safety agencies can now take advantage of the speed, convenience and power of iPads and smartphones in a system that is directly integrated to the agency computer aided dispatch (CAD) system.

6. What makes your company unique?
A lot of things make Tablet Command a unique company. Two items really stand out. First, it was founded by two active duty fire professionals who wanted to create a communications, response and incident management tool to help the emergency responders community. Plus, the president and CEO is a retired Chief Officer from a busy department in Northern California. The Tablet Command team has unique insight into and understanding of the needs of those working in the emergency response environment.

The second important thing that separates Tablet Command from other companies is that our customer service is unparalleled in the industry. We get great feedback from our customers about the speed and professionalism of our customer service. Not only does the company respond very quickly, but the staff is friendly and experienced.

7. What do your customers like best about you and your products?
Tablet Command is used by hundreds of fire departments and more than 10,000 responders across North America and what they like about the product is real time information presented in an interface that is intuitive and easy to use. Every screen on a tablet or smartphone is easy to navigate. The workflow is recognizable to both Command Officers and response personnel.

8. What is the most rewarding part of serving the first responder community?
The most rewarding part of Tablet Command serving in the first responder community is that it has helped save lives on the fireground. During a recent wildfire, a strike team found themselves trapped in a dangerous fast-moving fire. Using unit AVL data presented in Tablet Command, they were able to navigate to a safe zone and escape the fire.

Tablet Command fills the gap between traditional mobile data solutions and the need of response personnel in a simple and intuitive user interface that has been designed around their needs. Because the Tablet Command team is agile and responsive, we are able to respond to the dynamic needs of our customers. Said another way, we are part of the solution.

9. Do you support any charitable organizations within public safety or the community? Tell us more.
Tablet Command supports the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation with a contribution of 1% of annual revenue, and has supported the San Diego Fire Foundation Burn Institute.

10. Is there any fun fact or trivia that you'd like to share about you or your company?
In addition to being an industry-leading communications and incident management tool, Tablet Command has been used by emergency responders to help manage large events such as the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego, the Super Bowl in Santa Clara and the Mavericks Big Wave Surf competition.

11. What's next for your company? Any upcoming new projects or initiatives?
Tablet Command is on the leading edge of technology tools for emergency responders. We continuously update and enhance our service to provide public safety personnel with the most reliable, fastest, most convenient and effective communication, response and management solution in the industry.