About DEMA
The Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) consists of the Arizona National Guard (Air, Army, Joint Task Force), the Division of Emergency Management and the Division of Administrative Services. DEMA provides vital military and emergency management capabilities to the citizens of Arizona and the Nation.
Prior to implementing Salesforce, DEMA was struggling to maintain a consistent user experience with its existing system. Recognizing the need to centralize their mission critical information and move to a web-based platform that would provide more stability, DEMA partnered with MST Solutions (A Mastek Company) to launch a new Search and Rescue Incident Tracking System. The new system is easy to use an allows search and rescue cooperators to quickly find and capture important mission information and manage relationships with its partners more effectively.
The Challenge
Before making the switch to Salesforce, DEMA was unable to make upgrades to its legacy system and was receiving feedback that it was complex and frustrating to use. Without cloud-based features to document mission activities or process reimbursement requests, users were filling out a physical form to enter data and submit missions for reimbursement to their financial team. Understanding these challenges, DEMA knew they needed to invest in new technologies to simplify mission-critical processes while staying connected to their most valuable resources.
Solution
DEMA chose to partner with MST Solutions due to its experience implementing Salesforce and reputation for successfully working with other public sector organizations. MST Solutions conducted discovery sessions to develop a deep understanding of the business needs and technical requirements of the new system. The resulting solution uses the Salesforce Lightning Platform, Service Cloud and Community Cloud to manage end-to-end operations associated with search and rescue missions. Users can now log information related to search and rescue missions directly through the Salesforce Community portal and request approval from the state coordinator for the resources used. The system also provides staff the ability to monitor system usage, generate mission reports and sends notifications to staff when new missions are opened or when recovery requests are made.
The one-on-one assistance and short notice availability and willingness to train new users in an unfamiliar environment was great. Janell and Jessica were always cheerful and more than helpful. I look forward to future projects.
– Jesse Robinson
The one-on-one assistance and short notice availability and willingness to train new users in an unfamiliar environment was great. Janell and Jessica were always cheerful and more than helpful. I look forward to future projects.
– Jesse Robinson
Technologies Used
- Salesforce Lightning Platform
- Service Cloud
- Community Cloud
- Government Cloud
- DocuVault
- Rollup Helper
Results
By using a modern cloud-based platform for its Search and Rescue Incident Tracking System, DEMA was able to increase the efficiency of its staff, improve system security and get better insights from their data. The new system is easy to use and available on any internet browser. Users can quickly and easily find agency information, create and process reimbursement requests and collaborate with their local agency counterparts performing the search operations. In addition to providing a high security environment for DEMA’s data, Salesforce allows the management team to restrict access to the system for certain internal groups, ensuring the privacy and accuracy of information. Another benefit to using a web driven application is that it provides better and more timely access to important mission information that can be used for training and reporting purposes. Administrators can quickly create summary reports for each mission and create custom reports that can be shared via email.
- Increased efficiency
- Improved system security
- Better insights from data
