When unexpected events occur, it is crucial for organizations to have systems in place to ensure that critical calls get through. On October 10th, 2023, the government decided that more state authorities should have the function of an Officer on Standby.

How do you act when something unforeseen happens and your regular communication solution is unavailable? Ensuring call flows and the ability to activate backup solutions is increasingly part of organizations’ business continuity plans. Several public service organizations have an Officer on Standby, and now ten more government agencies are to set up this function. Read more about the government’s decision on the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) website.

– With the changes in the world that we are now experiencing, the government’s requirement for the officer on standby-function is a development we are seeing more often among authorities and companies, says Ove Känngård, CEO of Pre Greeting AB, which owns MiniVoice.

– Important call flows in an organization’s continuity plan must be ensured, as well as the ability to activate mobile backup solutions. MiniVoice can help ensure that important calls always reach their destination, he continues.

What is an Officer on Standby?

Officer on Standby is a term used in different organizations and contexts to describe a person who is available and ready to perform tasks or responsibilities when needed, especially during unplanned events or emergencies. In different professional fields and sectors, the concept of an Officer on Standby can be applied in different ways. For example, it can apply to people in the civil protection, healthcare, technical sectors, or other areas where rapid and effective response is important.

“The reason for the Government’s decision is that the proposed authorities are deemed to have tasks of particular importance to be able to immediately manage a peacetime crisis situation within their own area of responsibility or in collaboration with others,” the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency writes on its website.

Why is Officer on Standby an important function for public benefit organizations?

For public benefit organizations, the Officer on Standby is an essential function for several reasons. In addition to ensuring availability and crisis preparedness, it contributes to an immediate response to emergencies or unexpected events. Furthermore, it leads to increased customer satisfaction and effective risk management, which is crucial to addressing the challenges that the changing environment poses to businesses.

“Our customers place high demands on accessibility”

– For some time now, we have been experiencing an increased demand for the mobile group service MiniVoice, partly due to the government’s decision that an increased number of authorities should introduce the Officer on Standby function, says Ove.

MiniVoice is completely separate from the organization’s regular communication solution. With reliability beyond the ordinary, very high availability is ensured, so that critical voice calls and text messages reach selected support functions. Any mobile phone subscription, even a roaming subscription, can be connected to MiniVoice. Since the emergency number is located outside the regular switchboard, the customer is protected from any disruptions in their own telephone or data network.

– Our customers place high demands on availability and that technical operation and data storage is in Sweden, something the MiniVoice service fully fulfills. In addition, appreciated support from the MiniVoice team is available, says Ove.

“We leave 2023 having 100% availability”

With extraordinary reliability, MiniVoice is used as a secure service for call distribution to business-critical functions, for all operations, but mainly in crisis, preparedness, and backup solutions.

– One and the same MiniVoice response group receives calls from the alarm centre and text messages from the customer’s operating equipment. Everyone in the group can see and act on the text message, and whoever is currently logged into the group receives the calls, explains Ove.

A leading player in renewable energy based on tree fuels has switched from a physical mobile phone to a cloud based MiniVoice response group for the emergency response team. This requires round-the-clock readiness of technical staff with high availability. Get to know one of our customers using MiniVoice for a well-functioning Officer on Standby solution here.

– Delivering a very high availability with the MiniVoice service is our ultimate goal. We measure availability in the service continuously and we leave 2023 with 100% availability, says Ove and continues:

– It motivates us to continue, with continuously updated technical solutions, to strive to be part of the chain ensuring that critical calls always reach their destination.