In concert with the APCO International 78th Annual Conference & Expo, APCO is pleased to announce a preconference course designed for providers of computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems in learning more about the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) and requirements for creating a successful interface. The course is intended to streamline ASAP interface development by CAD providers on behalf of the PSAPs that are anxious to take advantage of the ASAP program but have been waiting on their CAD provider to offer a solution.

This is the perfect opportunity for CAD providers, their management and technical staff, to understand the details surrounding ASAP. The course is designed to provide complete information to enable CAD providers the build of a successful ASAP interface between their PSAP customers and alarm monitoring companies.

During this course, presented by APCO staff and ASAP SMEs, attendees will learn:

• An overview of the ASAP project
• Review of the schema
• Message types sent by the alarm monitoring companies & PSAPs
• Review of actual ASAP XML messages
• Best practices
• Overview of the current transport layer & the role of the Message Broker
• Project status: Operational alarm companies & states

The course will be conducted on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, from 8 a.m. – noon. Registration for the course will begin on July 2. An organization may register and send up to five staff members. The cost of the course has been significantly discounted.

In addition to the preconference course, APCO also offers technical assistance to CAD providers on site at the company’s location. The content is similar to the course being offered in August, but with a full-day duration operating at a slower pace.

For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.apco2012.org/program/pre-conference-courses.html or e-mail asap@apcointl.org.

About the Author

Bill Hobgood is a project manager for the city of Richmond’s DIT public safety team with 40 years of experience in public safety. He is also a project coordinator for APCO’s Comm Center & 9-1-1 Services Department and a subject matter expert on the ASAP Project. Contact Bill via e-mail at asap@apcointl.org.