The radios today are no longer mechanical. The consoles are no longer mechanical. They are all software driven. This provides a lot of versatility for emergency response teams. For example, if a dispatch center says, “Hey, I need to have the consoles reconfigured,” in a matter of hours we can mock up a screen for them and provide them with a new layout. The same goes for changes to the radios. They can be performed quickly. This made an eight year consolidation process, or even a special event change, effortless because the consoles were so configurable.
The challenge with software driven devices is you have to keep them up to date. Here are three reasons I consider updating your software critical to equipment performance:
- Bug Fixes: The number one reason to keep your software up to date is bug fixes. Any piece of software you have might have bugs. It is critical, whether you’re in public safety or a commercial market to keep your radios updated. There might be a situation that’s occurring in a radio and the bug fix will resolve it. It’ll make your organization more efficient and it’ll make your job easier.
- Feature Updates: Software updates provide new features. In the latest version of the Motorola Solutions Customer Programming Software (CPS), you are able to take lines of code and drag and drop them into other lines of code. This can save a lot of time when you’re developing the radio code plugs that are used for optimal radio performance.
- Support Software: Upgrading and eliminating bugs is important, but having support software that can help you to manage and maintain your radio is critical. Radio Manager is a software program that manages a fleet of radios versus trying to program radios individually. We have 3500 APX radios in DuPage County so having the ability to pre-program radios into a database and then hook the radios up and have the radios program themselves has been tremendous.
We live in exciting times with the technology that is available today. Software gives you the ability to not only create new features but it allows the radios to do certain things you never even dreamed of 25 years ago. From the standpoint of maintenance, it’s easier to be able to maintain them, because you can actually hook up a computer to them, you can analyze them, get raw data, and do updates if you need changes to be done. To learn more check out the video on Software Provides Peak Performance.
For more information on the value of interoperable and consolidated communications in DuPage County visit the case study webpage at motorolasolutions.com.
