By Dana Bykowski
November 22, 2004

SentryPoints, LLC, a platinum member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and a provider of homeland security and public safety software and systems, recently announced plans for the creation of a Mayor's Crisis Center (MC2) at its home office in the FourthWave Building in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The MC2 concept is a hybrid emergency operations center and dynamic training facility that will also operate as the premier showcase for SentryPoints' full line of products, including its First Responders' Command and Control and Situation Awareness systems, Threat and Vulnerability Assessment (TVA) system, and Non-Emergency Call Center prototype.

The facility will serve as an example of the products SentryPoints offers to local government from single, agency-specific applications to a total package of emergency, non-emergency, training, and simulation solutions. According to SentryPoints Chairman Paul Helmke, the primary benefit of the company's products is their cross-platform functionality and compatibility.

"SentryPoints is unique because it provides an affordable multi-use system that crosses agency barriers." Helmke said. "All too often cities are forced into buying a specific system designed to solve problems unique to a particular agency, only to find that it's incompatible with existing systems. While some tailoring may be available, the added cost almost always results in compromises."

Helmke, former mayor of Fort Wayne and past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, added that SentryPoints designed its systems to be customized to the needs of each of its clients, so that software solutions could be built around existing IT infrastructure. "Our products are designed from the ground up, starting with the end user's needs. SentryPoints' development team defines each system to meet the client's most critical needsÑand we know those critical areas may be different from client to client," Helmke stated.

SentryPoints' partners include General Dynamics C4 Systems, a leading global supplier of sophisticated defense systems, and FourD Development Corp., a Fort Wayne-based developer of software solutions for local governments. Through these companies' experience in integrating software solutions into existing IT infrastructure, these partnerships allow SentryPoints to overcome some of the limits of commercial off-the'shelf single agency'specific solutions.

Helmke stated that the MC2 will provide an ideal environment in which governmental decision-makers can learn about SentryPoints' capabilities. "The MC2 will allow us to demonstrate our systems in an environment that reflects the real world," Helmke stated. "This technology truly needs to be seen to be appreciated."

For more information about SentryPoints, please contact Dana Bykowski at the United States Conference of Mayors at (202) 861-6703 or visit http://www.sentrypointsllc.net.