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Guardly Safe Campus Program infrastructure developed within OCAD U’s own mobile incubator, MEIC
(Toronto—February 22, 2012) OCAD University has teamed up with mobile start-up Guardly to launch a revolutionary new service aimed to improve the safety of students, faculty and staff both on and off campus.
The Guardly Safe Campus Program transforms personal smartphones into code blue emergency phones, the type of emergency consoles typically found installed on campuses across the country. Instead of needing to find one of these devices to signal distress, students can now activate a personal safety network, including campus security, simply by activating the Guardly application on their personal phones.
During an active emergency incident on campus, Guardly uses a combination of GPS, WiFi and cell tower triangulation to track location and provides this information to a campus security dispatcher. For privacy purposes, location tracking is only enabled once a student triggers an alert. A caller’s extended safety network can provide input to campus security to aid in response efforts.
Guardly Safe Campus also makes it easier for those with physical disabilities or sensory impairments to reach help. Since Guardly Safe Campus is built upon the Guardly infrastructure, if students or staff members have an emergency off-campus, the Guardly mobile application can still be used to notify up to 15 emergency contacts as well as 9-1-1 services, further extending the value of the service to OCAD U community members.
“Guardly’s Safe Campus Program has been designed in tandem with campus security administrators and unlocks the capabilities for security managers to immediately identify callers, track location in real-time and communicate with emergency callers by voice or instant messaging,” said Josh Sookman, CEO, Guardly Corp.
The subscription-based Guardly mobile personal safety system has been available to individuals since April 2011. A graduate of OCAD U’s Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC) incubator program, Guardly developed its core infrastructure and its first mobile application for iPhone during its six month residency. It was also during this key period that Guardly, through discussions with key personnel at OCAD U’s campus security and security teams at other universities, learned about how the technology could help higher educational institutions keep campuses safe. Guardly is currently available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone 7 devices.
“The Guardly Safe Campus Program will undoubtedly revolutionize security services in higher education environments,” said OCAD University President, Dr. Sara Diamond. “Guardly is a powerful communications tool for campus security teams, giving them the critical information they need to effectively respond to emergency incidents ever more quickly. We’re even more proud that the infrastructure for the service was developed within OCAD U’s mobile incubator at the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre. This is one of many research commercialization successes coming through OCAD U’s research and innovation initiatives.”
OCAD U is currently undergoing a rigorous testing period with a plan to roll out the app to the entire OCAD U community by September.
OCAD University (OCAD U): 135 Years of Imagination
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada’s “university of the imagination.” The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.
Guardly Corp.
Guardly (https://www.guardly.com) is a platform for emergency communication that facilitates rapid social, mobile and location-aware responses to calls for assistance. Smartphone users who find themselves in an emergency situation can alert, connect and collaborate with local authorities, campus security as well as their own safety groups in a single tap. Guardly is based in Toronto and raised venture funding from Golden Venture Partners, Extreme Venture Partners and angel investors. Guardly is committed to dramatically decreasing the amount of time it takes responders to arrive at an emergency.
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For more information and images, please contact:
Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer, OCAD University
416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)
smulholland@ocadu.ca
See the News Release originally published on OCAD University’s website.
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We’ve been out speaking to customers and we’ve listened to feedback about how we can keep improving our Guardly mobile clients.
Location tracking technologies have come a long way in the last couple decades, but most mobile phones lack GPS sensors that are accurate all the time. Depending on your location, there may be buildings or other objects interfering with your phone’s direct line-of-sight to the GPS satellite network, and this can affect the accuracy reading of your exact location.
Today, Guardly announces Location Confirm for iOS devices. Location Confirm will detect the accuracy of your GPS readings and prompt you to refine your location on a map if necessary. Refining your location can be done with a simple drag-and-drop gesture. This will reinforce to your responder group that you are indeed where your mobile device says you are.
With this update to our location tracking and reporting technology, we hope to further decrease the amount of time it takes for first and secondary responders to reach our customers if and when they use Guardly to broadcast a request for help or assistance.
In our most recent update, Guardly also brings supports for iOS5 devices. Download it here.
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TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Sept. 13, 2011) - Toronto start-up businesses Wave Accounting and Guardly will have greater opportunities to develop and bring their innovative products to market thanks to new Government of Canada investments of nearly $1 million. The announcement was made today by Mark Adler, Member of Parliament for York-Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
“Our government is providing the tools businesses need to succeed and expand into promising new areas,” said MP Adler. “The investments in Guardly and Wave Accounting will help the companies to develop new technologies so they can grow their businesses and create jobs.”
Wave Accounting Inc. will receive a contribution of up to $755,039, through FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation initiative, which will help the company to further commercialize its online accounting and financial management tool for the growing small business market. With the expansion of several new features, Wave Accounting’s clients will be able to manage their financial information from any device with a browser, such as collaborating with business partners and accountants, logging, generating and sending invoices or categorizing expenses. With increase in product demand, the company plans to double its size by the end of 2012.
“This support from FedDev Ontario allows us to make the best strategic decisions for the long-term viability and success of Wave,” said Kirk Simpson, CEO and co-founder of Wave Accounting. “By helping Wave Accounting at this early stage, FedDev Ontario puts us in a position to build a truly global enterprise, with impactful innovation and significant future growth here in the Toronto area.”
Guardly’s platform for emergency communication facilitates rapid social, mobile and location-aware responses to calls for assistance. With a contribution of up to $237,500 through FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation initiative, Guardly will focus on developing the functionality of its personal safety platform for commercial users, enabling businesses in health monitoring, seniors care, residential homes and security industries to extend their alerting and collaboration capabilities.
“I am extremely pleased to receive this federal funding through Investing in Business Innovation,” said Josh Sookman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Guardly. “This FedDev Ontario program has provided Guardly with an opportunity to accelerate the development and deployment of its emergency alerting, communication and resolution platform to partners looking to add similar functionality to other products or devices.”
Investing in Business Innovation is a direct result of feedback from business leaders, academics and community leaders from across southern Ontario, who suggested FedDev Ontario take a leadership role in encouraging entrepreneurs and investors to take the risks necessary to put southern Ontario businesses on the map.
For more information, please refer to the backgrounder.
FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its third year of operation, the Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to support businesses and other organizations through partnerships and investments in skills and training; innovation; research and development; and increased productivity. To learn more, please visit www.feddevontario.gc.ca or call 1-866-593-5505.
BACKGROUNDER
Contribution to Wave Accounting Inc.
WaveAccounting.com is a free online accounting application for small businesses. Part of the new generation of software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud-computing applications, Wave aims to make bookkeeping and accounting a quick, painless process for its customers, thereby freeing them to focus on the success of their own small businesses. While offering a 100% free product, Wave plans to drive revenue through an innovative, privacy-protected method that connects business owners to the suppliers of products and services they need, as well as other revenue streams. This approach enables Wave to build on a large scale around the globe, and provides a significant competitive advantage over the other international market leaders.
FedDev Ontario is providing Toronto’s Wave Accounting Inc. with a repayable contribution of up to $755,039. The company has already grown from 6 to 21 staff in less than a year and this investment will enable Wave to create new highly-skilled positions that it projects will double its workforce by the end of 2012. Wave’s innovative approach to small business accounting has already garnered international attention and more than 55,000 small business signups. More information is available at: www.waveaccounting.com.
Contribution to Guardly
Guardly empowers its users by providing one-touch access to their safety networks. Simply launching Guardly on a smartphone will instantly identify a user’s location and alert family, friends, campus security (at schools that have joined its Safe Campus Program) and 9-1-1 that they are having an emergency. Beyond simple notifications, Guardly instantly connects users to their contacts through conference call, instant messaging and real-time location tracking. Guardly has been widely adopted by students, real estate agents, social workers, and travelers. Privacy is extremely important to Guardly and its mobile application will only track location data during an emergency incident. Guardly’s service is available on iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices and in connection with certain university campuses across the country.
Guardly is a venture-backed company based in Toronto and with the help of FedDev Ontario’s repayable contribution of up to $237,500 Guardly will focus on developing a Partner Application Programming Interface (API) and reporting tools through research and development efforts, product testing, and commercialization of intellectual property. Guardly is committed to dramatically decreasing the amount of time it takes responders to arrive at an emergency. The company is a member of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). More information is available at www.guardly.com.
Investing in Business Innovation
FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation is designed to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses to accelerate the development of new products, processes and practices and help bring them to market. Funding under the initiative is also available for angel investor networks and their associations to attract new investment and support the growth of angel investment funds.
Applications for funding are being accepted and assessed on an ongoing basis. For more information and to apply, please refer to the program guidelines available on the FedDev Ontario web site at www.feddevontario.gc.ca.
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Personal safety service reduces response time in an emergency with 1-tap access to trusted safety networks
TORONTO – August 24, 2011 – Guardly is now available for download from BlackBerry App World andfrom the Windows Phone Marketplace in the United States and Canada. Today, Guardly becomes the first mobile personal safety service in North America to offer cross-platform support and availability on Apple iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 devices. Guardly enables smartphones users in an emergency to instantly alert, connect and collaborate with their trusted personal safety network and authorities with only a single tap on their device.
Available for iPhone since April 2011, Guardly has been widely adopted by students, real estate agents, social workers, travelers, those afraid to walk alone at night or concerned about dating or domestic violence. “Domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of age, background, or socioeconomic status,” said Becky Lee the Founder of Washington D.C.-based Becky’s Fund. “We’re excited to work with Guardly to positively impact and prevent domestic violence in our communities and college campuses through the power of technology.”
“Not every emergency or situation requires 9-1-1 and sometimes friends, family members or neighbors who are nearby can respond to a call for assistance even faster,” says Josh Sookman, Guardly Founder and CEO. “We’ve created a mobile alarm and monitoring service that accompanies you at home or on-the-go and that’s designed to be quickly accessible in an emergency, when seconds really matter.”
Price Reduction for Guardly Connect Subscriptions
Guardly has worked closely with its partners to reduce the costs of delivering its subscription service. We’re proud to announce that we are transferring those savings to our subscribers. Guardly Connect is now available for $1.99/month or $19.99/year, reduced from $9.99/month or $99.99/year.
Guardly is a free download and includes Guardly Alerts – a free service – that provides the ability to send location-based emergency alerts to up to 15 emergency contacts by voice call, SMS and email. Guardly Connect is an upgrade that delivers a stronger sense of security by connecting you to these same people through voice conference, instant messaging and real-time location data with a single tap on your BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 or iOS device.
Guardly is highly configurable and makes it easy to create groups of contacts that will receive emergency alerts or participate in real-time emergency response efforts. Guardly also provides a simple way to run simulations of the system, so that users and their safety networks can get acquainted with how Guardly works during an emergency incident.
Who’s using Guardly?
- Megan is a student at St. Philip’s College where she’s training to be an ultrasound technician. She gets nervous walking home late at night, and never takes classes that end after sunset. Megan loves that Guardly on her smartphone is like having the campus blue light security system in her back pocket.
- Jennifer is a twenty-something PR professional in Vancouver who likes to hike and jog the trails near Whistler, B.C. Often alone, she wants to be protected in case she runs into danger in a remote area. Guardly gives Jennifer peace of mind and has become her trusted safety companion.
- Michael is a 59 year-old BlackBerry-toting sales executive from San Francisco with chronic heart disease. He lives each day knowing that, at any moment, he may need immediate medical attention. Mike lives alone, but has confidence that Guardly can instantly call the authorities as well as neighbors who can often arrive before paramedics to provide life-saving assistance.
Availability on other Smartphone Platforms
Guardly for iPhone and iPod Touch was released in April 2011 and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. Guardly for Android is in development and will be announced shortly.
About Guardly
Guardly is a venture-backed company based in Toronto, Canada. Guardly’s platform for emergency communication facilitates rapid social, mobile and location-aware responses to calls for assistance. Smartphone users that find themselves in an emergency situation can alert, connect and collaborate with local authorities as well as their own personal safety networks in a single tap. Guardly is committed to dramatically decreasing the amount of time it takes responders to arrive at an emergency. The company is a member of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and is based in Toronto, Canada. For more information visit: http://guardly.com.
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We’re pleased to announce today that the Guardly app is now available for download for iPhone and iPod Touch devices through the Apple App Store in Canada and the US. You can get the app by visiting our App Store page: http://itunes.apple.com/app/guardly/id400742014?mt=8
Guardly is a location-based mobile personal safety application that allows users to alert, connect, and then collaborate with family, friends, and authorities in one tap. In the case of an emergency, users and responders can communicate via voice, sms, email, and web conferencing. Our mission is to improve the emergency response process and help save lives!
Guardly is ideal for young females, such as university/college students and busy young professionals, as well as mothers with teenage and university/college-aged children. The app can also be used by travelers, sports enthusiasts, and active daters. Guardly can help in such minor cases as providing peace of mind when walking alone at night, or in more serious cases such as heart attack or domestic abuse incidents.
Our team has been hard at work pushing out our initial release on the iPhone platform, however we’re now shifting gears and moving forward with the development of our app for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone operating systems. Apps for these platforms should be available within the next few months.
We’re excited about introducing our product to the world and encourage you to find out more about our app by visiting the Guardly Overview Page. We look forward to continuing to deliver state-of-the-art personal safety products and helping our users stay safe and secure.
We value customer service and would like to get your feedback on our product. Please leave a comment and will respond as soon as we can. Stay safe!
Don’t forget to stay connected to us by:
Visiting our Website
Following us on Twitter
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Reading the Guardblog
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TORONTO – April 7, 2011 – Guardly, a new mobile personal safety application and service, is now available for download from the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch users in the United States and Canada. Guardly enables smartphone users in distress to alert, connect, and collaborate with their personal safety network and authorities with only a single tap on their device.
Recognizing that proactive actions taken during the first moments of an emergency can often help reduce potentially negative outcomes to an incident, OCAD University has partnered with Guardly to provide local response by campus security for OCAD U students using the Guardly service to broadcast emergencies arising on campus. “Our partnership with Guardly enables the University to extend the reach of its emergency phones on campus by putting a virtual emergency phone onto smartphones carried by students,” said Vicki Brown, Director, Campus Services & Security at OCAD University. “It also enables us to track changes to the location of an emergency in real-time and communicate with the victim and his/her responding safety network throughout the incident until resolved.”
Guardly was created to dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes for help to arrive at an emergency. The app, which was announced and previewed at the DEMO conference in February, is a prime example of how technology can be used to help save lives.
Guardly differs from other personal safety apps on the market in that it enables a user’s personal safety network to collaborate with them and amongst each other through mobile web and web incident pages, SMS and voice conferencing for the duration of the emergency event. “Not every incident or situation requires 9-1-1 escalation and sometimes friends, family members or neighbours who are nearby can respond to a call for assistance even faster,” said Josh Sookman, Guardly Founder and CEO. “We’ve created a mobile app that provides a simple way to bring your personal safety network together instantly, and escalate an emergency to 9-1-1 at any point during an incident.”
Guardly is ideal for students, young professionals, travelers, sports enthusiasts, or anyone who frequently walks alone at night, is concerned about dating safety, is responsible for children, may find themselves in abusive relationships or is faced with medical conditions. Guardly is also ideal for families and friends who agree to look out for one another in the event of disasters such as earthquakes, fires and floods.
Guardly Premium and Guardly Alerts
Guardly Premium (priced at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year) is a subscription service that includes the following key features and services:
- One-tap activation: Guardly alerts two safety networks simultaneously: (1) a user’s personal safety network by voice, SMS and email, and (2) 9-1-1 or any other emergency phone number;
- Contact collaboration: Users can collaborate with emergency contacts in real-time by conference call, instant messaging and map-view showing nearby locations of responders;
- LocationAssure™: Guardly uses GPS, cell-tower triangulation and WiFi hotspots to find a user’s real-time location for the entire duration of an emergency incident, even if the user is on the phone with 9-1-1. By combining this data with places frequented by a user, Guardly helps ensure a user is easy to find by responders in case of emergency;
- NetworkAssure™: Built-in intelligence to detect network failures and wait until a signal is present to transmit data and make calls to 9-1-1 to ensure users are connected to their safety network;
- Auto-dial emergency services including 9-1-1: It takes at least 8 taps to dial 9-1-1 on an iPhone (Home, Swipe, Phone, Keypad, 9, 1, 1, Send). It only takes 3 taps to launch Guardly (Home, Swipe, Guardly);
- Photo sharing: Users can share photos with their personal safety network instantly and securely.
Guardly Alerts is a free service that includes the following features:
- Emergency alerts: Send location-based emergency alerts via voice call, SMS and email to pre-configured safety groups;
- Contact groups: Add up to 15 contacts per emergency group (unlimited groups).
Users can also run emergency simulations of Guardly Premium to learn the benefits of upgrading to the premium version.
Seed Funding
In conjunction with the launch announcement, Guardly has also closed a seed round of financing that includes investments from Extreme Venture Partners, Bryker Capital and several angel investors. The company will be using the funding to add to its technology development and business development teams to build out its partner ecosystem.
Availability on other Smartphone Platforms
Guardly’s mobile application for iPhone is available immediately from the Apple App Store at http://itunes.com/apps/guardly. BlackBerry and Android versions are in development and will be announced shortly.
About Guardly
Guardly is a platform for emergency communication that changes the way mobile personal safety is delivered. Smartphone users that find themselves in an emergency situation can alert, connect and collaborate with local authorities as well as their own personal safety networks in a single tap. Guardly is committed to dramatically decreasing the amount of time it takes responders to arrive at an emergency. The company is a member of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and is based in Toronto, Canada. For more information visit: http://guardly.com.
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Media Contact:
Jodi Echakowitz
Echo Communications
jodi@echo-communications.com
905-709-9600
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Guardly is proud to announce the launch of the Campus Phone Contest!
With over $1600 in prizes to be given away consisting of four (4) Grand Prizes of a 2-Year Subscription to the Guardly service ($200 value), and eight (8) Runner-Up Prizes of a 1-Year Subscription to the Guardly service ($100 value). There are plenty of chances to win; in fact, every entry will receive a one month subscription for free!
HOW TO ENTER
1. Locate an emergency phone/post on a college or university campus
2. Snap a picture so that it appears as though the emergency phone is in the palm of your hand
3. Upload & Send us your picture and caption via Facebook or Twitter
HOW TO WIN
- Winners will be chosen on Facebook based on the number of “likes” your photo submission receives on the Guardly page.
- Winners on Twitter will be chosen by number of “retweets”. Be sure to include the hashtag #WinGuardly and mention @GuardlyCorp in all your twitter submissions.
To increase the chances of winning a grand prize, we’ve chosen to have the contest in 4 weekly parts running in the month of February. So, if your entry isn’t a grand prize winner or even a runner-up in the first week, you can submit a new entry in subsequent weeks. See full contest details here.
An emergency phone on a university campus is one of the quickest ways to get in touch with campus security in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, emergencies can occur at anywhere and anytime, and sometimes away from an emergency phone. Guardly brings an emergency phone to you, by having it on your iPhone at all times. So, next time you need immediate help on campus, we hope you’ll think about Guardly.
We look forward to seeing all your creativity and we will showcase the winners on our Facebook page and our Twitter account.
Good luck contest participants!!
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Exciting times! It was announced today that Guardly was awarded a grant from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) in conjunction with OCAD University through the Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative.
The funds support the commercialization of research projects with 12 distinct OCADU research partners and their private sector partners.
Guardly partnered with OCADU’s Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC) to gain access to a technology incubator space, resources to assist in developing Guardly mobile applications on Google Android devices and advise on designing mobile applications for users undergoing stressful situations.
We look forward to a fruitful relationship!
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Welcome to Guardly’s blog! We hope you enjoy your stay and get to know us a little better. We’ll keep you updated by making sure to mention our new products, features and services, press releases and service announcements. The Guardblog will also be a place of reflection about our industry, our journey as well as anything else that seems to be interesting enough to warrant a mention. As Guardly grows up, the number of voices on the blog will grow in step. We hope that you’ll check back frequently and engage in conversation and discussion. Thank you and happy reading!
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