Public Safety Software Group
Disruptive Innovation for Public Safety Technology

Companies like Uber and Airbnb, today, have opened up newer boulevards of disruptive innovation and have become well known brands of their respective industries. Their unsettling ideation changed the course of traditional markets and offered inventive services at a better price-point that was not available earlier. Bringing similar disruption to the public safety sector, the Public Safety Software Group (PSSG) puts forth a suite of cloud-based software products designed for public safety agencies to offer highly affordable software applications that fulfill specific requisites without having to make bigger investments in enterprise-wide offerings to get just a few needed applications.

Serving in the law enforcement community and fire service for over 20 years in a volunteer/reserve role, Art Femister, Founder, PSSG, states, “I saw first-hand the need for niche software products that not only help free up manpower but are also affordable.” While technology can do great things, police and fire chiefs mention ‘unless the innovation is affordable, it doesn’t do anyone any real good.’ “We design and develop highly affordable, user-friendly products that any agency can afford and put to use, freeing up staff by automating mundane and repetitive tasks.” Femister adds, “I believe our 96 percent renewal rate says it all; the software just works and does what it’s supposed to, so our clients are happy and continue using it.”

The majority of police and sheriff’s departments are small to medium-sized agencies. As of 2016, there were around 12,116 police departments across the nation with 90 percent of them with less than 100 police officers, 84 percent with less than 50 police officers, and 71 percent with 25 or fewer officers. “Our products are very affordable thus making them very well suited to small and medium sized agencies as well as larger agencies that are looking for specific solutions that we offer,” says Femister.

PSSG’s suite of cloud-based SaaS products includes ODISS, TIMS, and VIMS.

ODISS, the Off-Duty Integrated Scheduling System helps agencies schedule their full-time sworn officers for special events as well as paid-off duty assignments outside their normally scheduled shifts such as sports and entertainment venues. TIMS, the Training Integrated Management System is used to announce and schedule training classes, re-certifications, etc., tracking training required for agency, state and federal compliance, and includes a career path navigator to help officers better understand what is needed to advance within their department.

I saw first-hand the need for niche software products to save time, be efficient while also being highly affordable

Finally, comes VIMS–Volunteer Integrated Management System, the company’s first product developed in-house in 2009. Almost half of all public safety agencies utilize some form of volunteers, all of which have unique requirements that need to be tracked, reported, and stored just like full-time paid personnel. Femister remarks, “As a police volunteer myself, I saw how numerous redundant paperwork tasks were being performed along with other tasks that were not being followed up on–such as years of service awards and training requirement analysis–because there was no automated way to track them and hence invoked the idea to create VIMS.”

In explaining the value brought to their client agencies, Femister explains how their suite of products eliminates the complexities in maintaining separate calendar and email systems along with various multiple spreadsheets to track hours and events and simplify the process. Public safety agencies utilize their suite of products to save time and better utilize staff, Femister says. “Our clients are our number one asset. By taking great care of them, they in turn help us grow with new product ideas that help the industry in general, it’s truly a win-win for all of us,” says Femister.