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One of the first things parents teach their children is how to dial 911 when an emergency occurs. The simplicity of this system has saved the lives of multitudes and continues to do so despite many challenges.

Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Six – that’s the estimated number of 9-1-1 calls that will have been made during the time it takes you to read this article[1]. Handling roughly a quarter-billion 9-1-1 calls annually is no small feat, and this responsibility falls on the broad shoulders of the roughly 6,000 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) spread across 3,000+ counties nationwide[2]. And while our worst days represent the everyday of the heroes under the headset, their path to our rescue is paved with innumerable challenges, some of which include:

911 dispatchers spend every day responding to emergencies. Their job is to triage a situation and provide appropriate responders to the scene. But are they prepared to face a catastrophic event like a mass shooting, a Category 5 hurricane, or even a six-foot snowfall that shuts down an entire city (think Buffalo, NY in November 2022)? Disasters happen, but within the PSAP, failure is not an option.

For many products and services, one of the best predictors of business growth is the quality of the customer experience. In turn one of the best measures of customer experience is the Net Promoter Score, or NPS. The NPS score can range from -100 (all customers are detractors of your product) to +100 (all customers are promoters of your product). According to Retently, the B2B SaaS NPS benchmark is around 40. Despite this benchmark, Carbyne enjoys an overall NPS score of 94 (out of 100). When we share this with external parties, they are often incredulous and want to know how they can achieve these lofty accomplishments. For us, it really comes down to four primary reasons:

This is a challenging year for tech companies, especially for entrepreneurs seeking funding for their next phase of growth. According to Pitchbook, VC funding was down 8% in the first six months of the year, driven by the sliding shares of mature tech companies. The NASDAQ composite index is down close to 25% through September. And yet, despite the liquidity crunch, Carbyne secured $56 million to invigorate the public safety industry with modern cloud-native technology.

While many of us realize the toll suicide and mental health take on our communities, the numbers are truly eye-opening. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 1 million people per year attempt suicide, over 3 million make a plan for suicide, and over 12 million seriously think about suicide. To provide a more personalized response to them, and to improve overall 9-1-1 emergency call handling capacity, starting on July 16, 2022, the 9-8-8 hotline goes live. 9-8-8 is more than just a number.  It is a framework that implements community based care by giving people in an emergency mental health crisis someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go, leveraging an emergency response platform.

I first visited the Orleans Parish Communications District in October 2017. That’s when I met their fearless leader, Executive Director Tyrell Morris, MBA CPE. I knew from that first encounter he was a strong, innovative leader and I wanted to stay connected. In December 2019, I had the privilege of attending the inaugural Communications Executive Leadership Academy hosted by Director Morris at OPCD. It was during that week I had many personal and professional breakthroughs. That week I set my intentions and made a goal to have professional growth within two years. I didn’t know where I would be, but I knew I wanted to ascend. Exactly two years later, I left the 9-1-1 center I grew up in for an opportunity to join Carbyne who was busy disrupting the industry! It was serendipitous that the universe saw fit for OPCD to be my first official customer, and I got to be part of the elite team that, under Director Morris’ leadership, launched Carbyne APEX at OPCD on June 24, 2022.

While Hurricane Katrina left an indelible mark on all its survivors, the call-takers and dispatchers who heroically fielded 9-1-1 calls during the ordeal were forced to hear the nonstop sounds of fear turning into panic, which time may never fully heal. And while many moons have elapsed since those harrowing days, based on NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) data from the past quarter century, the likelihood of New Orleans experiencing a tropical cyclone in any given year is pegged at a staggering 92%. It’s not a question of “if” the 9-1-1 capabilities of New Orleans will be tested to their limits again, it is a question of “when”.

Funding the critical technology needs of our public safety heroes is more important than ever. In recognition of this need, federal and state governments are increasing funds to revolutionize mission critical technology including some of the best emergency medical services software in the U.S. Following the pandemic, government agencies accelerated their efforts to enhance critical response solutions and infrastructure to modernize public safety communication management. In fact in May ’22, the Biden administration announced $10 Billion towards public safety related improvements. Furthermore, bipartisan legislation in the works allocates approximately $2.2 Billion for 9-8-8 and mental health emergency response across America. As a result, more and more agencies using public safety call center software around the nation no longer have to choose between the solutions they want and the solutions they can afford.

What does safety mean to us as corporate leaders? I sometimes ask myself this question and am intrigued by the myriad of meanings that come to mind. We all want safety for our family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. We want safety for our country, and we want safety for the world. And while governmental agencies offer public safety services such as emergency calling and response, what about the millions of private sector organizations employing billions of people globally? How can corporate leaders help and support the effort of making the earth a safer place to live?