The announcement follows the success of its solution for BlackBerry, which was the first ever British Standard (BS8484) compliant lone worker application for BlackBerry. Guardian24’s clients include Fife Council, Genesis Housing, Hyde Housing, the Alzheimer’s Society, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and various NHS trusts. It is used by some 33,500 lone and mobile workers.
The application allows users to log their whereabouts and daily tasks, send GPS locations and raise an alert in a time of need. Should a worker’s safety be compromised, they can summon emergency help with the press of a panic button on the smartphone, even if the keyboard is locked. Guardian24 also creates a “listen live” function which will open a communications channel with security services, giving up-to-date details about the user and their location so that appropriate assistance can be sent.
Analyst firm Canalys recently noted that the Android platform has grown by 244% in the last year and now has a 48.8% share of the market.
Henry Woods, Director at Guardian24, commented; “Android smartphones are achieving a higher level of adoption in the enterprise market, and we expect this to be a significant area of growth for us in both Europe and the USA, alongside BlackBerry, which continues to be a major focus for our business.”
With the backdrop of reduced budgets in both the private and public sector, Guardian24 has proved a powerful proposition as organisations look for cost-effective ways to safeguard vulnerable staff, some of whom may have become lone workers as a result of redundancies or office closures in the recession.
Henry Woods continues: “The recession has had a major impact on workforces around the world. Increasing numbers of people work alone, either away from their organisation’s base or during abnormal hours and this can create health and safety risks as well as feelings of isolation and vulnerability, so it’s vital that companies protect their lone workers properly to maintain productivity and fulfil their legal duties.”
