By Sam | May 20, 2013

Top Smartphone DR Apps

There are apps for everything. Are you wondering what the best DR apps are? This post is for you.

One of my favorite things to do while at a client site is to hold a tabletop exercise.  The exercise usually ends up somewhere between a great reality TV show and a well-executed game plan of a world class soccer team (depending on the readiness of the Credit Union). To develop the scenario you must “set the stage” and provide details such as to what has occurred, type of impact and time of the event.  I like to choose the “after hours” scenario because it forces you to use the tools you have at home (or in your briefcase, backpack, purse, etc.)  Vs. your perfectly configured desktop at work.  Incredibly, the tool that is turned to most often isn’t a laptop – it’s your smartphone!  A plethora of apps exist to aid in your recovery efforts. Our experts weigh in on the most commonly seen apps below:

NOAA Weather Radio:  NOAA provides the Weather Radio App with over 200 All Hazards Broadcasts. This app in conjunction with a traditional hand crank weather radio will strengthen plan by ensuring you will receive critical severe weather alerts via push notifications to your smartphone. The Weather Radio App provides the latest warnings, watches, notifications and forecasts 24/7/365. And the cool part is you don’t have to have the app launched to receive notifications!

SHarePlus: Many Credit Unions have invested in collaboration tools like SharePoint to build their intranets and store critical business information assets. SharePlus is a great smartphone tool for accessing SharePoint (SP) sites while on the go.  Especially nice is the fact that you do not to install special server side plug-ins to make this app work.  The interface is user friendly and provides a clean delivery of your SP data to your phone.

Red Cross Tornado/Hurricane: These are fairly new, and I’ll admit that although I have them downloaded I have not had to “use” them since luckily we have not experienced severe weather this spring in my area. I have however thoroughly tested them and have just one thing to say. Install it! A tornado/hurricane is the sort of threat where ANY level of pre-warning could potentially save lives. This app is designed to give you the best possible chance to get to shelter. AND there is a nice educational component to “test” your tornado/hurricane survival knowledge.  Great app – great price, free!

Your-Local-Police-Scanner-App (insert name here): Virtually every state, county and city now has some sort app to follow their activities. Many rely on Facebook to post current emergency dispatches (fire, ambulance, traffic issues). A quick search in your app store will not disappoint you. Having a reliable source of authority on your crisis situation is critical during a disaster. 5-0 Police Scanner is a good starting point.

Take out your smartphone now – download and test these today to ensure your readiness!

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