eNotify Communication System

The Vendor is required to provide eNotify communication system has supported a wide range of notification types, including email, text, and voice messages, and has been instrumental in emergency response coordination and operational messaging.
- Objectives
•    Replace the legacy eNotify system with a reliable, scalable, and secure notification platform.
•    Ensure the new system supports email, SMS, and voice messaging, including text-to-speech capabilities.
•    Provide real-time message delivery tracking, user self-service, and mobile accessibility.
•    Enable flexible group management and support for both state and non-state users.
•    Ensure compliance with state security policies, including password standards and data protection.
•    Facilitate an interface with department HRM systems for scheduled contact updates.
•    Deliver a solution that can potentially scale to other department divisions in the future.
•    Provide full integration with integrated public alert and warning system (IPAWS) to enable authenticated public alerting through WEA, EAS, and other federally approved channels.
- Requirement:
1. System architecture
•    Web-based, high-availability design.
•    No reliance on state networks or APIs.
•    Vendor-hosted (cloud or on-premises) deployment options.
•    Scalable infrastructure to support future expansion.
•    System uptime guarantees and disaster recovery capabilities.
•    Support for secure integration with IPAWS for public alerting.
2. Communication capabilities
•    Support for email, SMS, and voice.
•    Configuration of message content, timing, and recipient groups.
•    Optional support for accessibility and multilingual messaging.
•    Two-way communication capabilities (e.g., limited replies).
•    Ability to send messages to multiple groups simultaneously.
•    Capability to originate and transmit IPAWS-compliant alerts via wireless emergency alerts (WEA), emergency alert system (EAS), and other federally approved channels.
3. User and contact management
•    Contact storage with user-defined groups.
•    Support for both state and non-state users.
•    Custom data fields for contact profiles.
•    Bulk upload via csv and manual entry.
•    Ability to schedule bulk download to develop an ESRI GIS rest service to a network drive.
•    Automated updates via scheduled CSV interface with department HRM.
•    Role-based access for IPAWS-authorized users to ensure compliance with FEMA requirements.
4. Group management
•    Creation of groups by rank, specialty, region, etc.
•    User-defined custom distribution groups.
•    Group chat and forum functionality for coordination.
•    Inclusion of both state and non-state users in groups.
•    Management of group membership via self-service and admin tools.
5. User interface and accessibility
•    Mobile app or responsive browser interface.
•    Intuitive design for administrators and end users.
•    Accessibility features (e.g., screen reader compatibility).
•    User self-service for profile and password management.
•    Customizable dashboard or landing page for users.
•    Dedicated interface for IPAWS alert creation and review workflows.
6. Authentication and security
•    Self-contained login and authentication system.
•    Enforcement of state password policies.
o    Cryptographic protection of credentials in storage and transit.
o    Temporary password expiration and forced change.
•    Support for multi-factor authentication (optional but preferred).
•    Compliance with FEMA IPAWS security and authentication standards.
7. Permissions and role management
•    Role-based access control for users and administrators.
•    Flexible permission levels for message creation
•    Audit trail of permission changes.
•    Delegated administration capabilities.
•    Support for organizational hierarchy in permissions.
•    Granular permissions for IPAWS alerting to prevent unauthorized public messaging.
8. Logging and audit trail
•    Detailed logging of user actions (who, what, when, where, how).
o    Exportable audit logs for compliance and review.
o    Real-time monitoring of system activity.
•    Retention policies for logs and audit data.
•    Alerting for suspicious or unauthorized activity.
•    Logging of IPAWS alert creation, approval, and transmission for federal compliance.
9. Notification preferences
•    User selection of preferred devices (email, SMS, voice).
•    Opt-in and opt-out capabilities for notification types.
•    Scheduling and prioritization of notifications.
•    Support for escalation paths (e.g., retry on failure).
•    Customizable notification templates.
•    Multiple group capability
10. Message delivery and status tracking
•    Real-time delivery status per device and message type.
•    Visibility into message receipt status (opened, answered, delivered).
•    Report on delivery success and failure rates.
•    Alerts for undelivered or failed messages.
•    Historical message tracking and analytics
•    Tracking and reporting of IPAWS alert transmission status and acknowledgments.
11. System resilience
•    Message queue recovery during outages.
•    Redundant infrastructure and failover capabilities.
•    Offline message queuing and retry logic following outages.
•    Disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
•    Performance under stress or high-volume conditions
12. Implementation and support
•    Detailed implementation plan with milestones.
•    Training for administrators and end users.
•    Dedicated support during rollout and post-launch.
•    Documentation and knowledge base availability.
•    Sla for support response and resolution times.
•    Training and certification for IPAWS-authorized users per FEMA guidelines.