YUDU Sentinel Blog

Optimising Emergency Notification Systems in 2025: A Sentinel Spaces Approach

Written by Edward Jones | 16 Apr 2025


As we move through 2025, the speed and reliability of emergency communications have become critical to organisational resilience. From fire evacuations and cyberattacks to extreme weather events and infrastructure failures, the way organisations manage alerts and updates can be the difference between swift containment and prolonged disruption.

But while many businesses still rely on outdated, one-way broadcast systems, leading organisations are shifting towards something more powerful: secure, multi-directional communication platforms that offer real-time visibility and built-in escalation paths.

This is where Sentinel Spaces excels — transforming how crisis notifications are sent, received, acted on and recorded.

Two-Way Communication as Standard

In a live incident, the ability to confirm message delivery and gather feedback from the field is just as important as the initial alert.

Sentinel Spaces is designed around two-way communication, giving crisis teams instant visibility into:

  • Who’s received and read the message
  • Who’s safe and accounted for
  • Who needs assistance or has updates to share

This feedback loop supports faster, better-informed decisions, particularly when managing large, dispersed teams or dynamic, evolving incidents.

From Alert to Action: Seamless Escalation

Many emergencies require real-time collaboration — not just messaging. Sentinel Spaces enables teams to escalate seamlessly from chat to video crisis rooms, without switching platforms or compromising on security.

Key features include:

  • Instant video and audio calls within a dedicated incident space
  • Screen sharing for walkthroughs of floor plans, dashboards, or workflows
  • Locked rooms for private conversations
  • Scalable access for external experts and responders

This integrated approach means crisis teams can move from raising the alarm to managing the response in a single, secure environment — saving time when it matters most.

Pre-Built Templates for Rapid Deployment

Emergencies are unpredictable — but your initial response shouldn’t be. Sentinel Spaces supports customisable templates that make sending structured, situation-specific alerts simple and fast.

Templates can include:

  • Pre-written messages for specific incident types
  • Defined escalation paths and actions
  • Tagged users or teams for automatic inclusion
  • Links to incident-specific collaboration spaces

This allows for consistent, confident communication even when pressure is high and time is short.

Multi-Channel Delivery to Maximise Reach

A good notification system meets people where they are. Sentinel Spaces supports multiple delivery methods to ensure important messages are seen and acted on — including:

  • Mobile push notifications
  • In-app banners and alerts
  • SMS fallback
  • Email notifications

Whether someone is at their desk, working remotely, or onsite in a critical location, you can be confident that urgent messages will cut through.

Controlled Access and Role-Based Permissions

Effective crisis communication requires clear control. Sentinel Spaces provides role-based access management, meaning:

  • Only authorised users can send alerts or initiate video calls
  • Sensitive documents or chat spaces are restricted to the right personnel
  • Teams are automatically grouped by function, department or location

This ensures your communications remain focused, secure and appropriate — with no room for confusion or missteps.

Built-in Audit Trails for Compliance and Review

With growing regulatory scrutiny — including legislation like the Tall Buildings Act, Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), and Martyn’s Law — organisations must be able to demonstrate how incidents were handled.

Sentinel Spaces automatically captures:

  • A complete message history with timestamps
  • Read receipts and response acknowledgements
  • Video call logs and recordings
  • Access records for files and Spaces

This not only simplifies post-incident reviews but also provides invaluable evidence for compliance and continuous improvement initiatives.

Resilience Through Separation: Out-of-Band by Design

In a serious cyber incident, it’s common for core systems like Microsoft Teams or email to be compromised or disabled. Sentinel Spaces is built to operate outside of your day-to-day communication infrastructure, offering a truly resilient, out-of-band solution.

This means that even if your organisation’s main platforms go offline, Sentinel Spaces remains fully operational — allowing you to continue coordinating your response without delay or risk of exposure.

Conclusion

Emergency notification systems are no longer just about issuing alerts — they’re about coordinating action, maintaining visibility, and providing a secure, compliant space for collaboration during the most challenging moments an organisation can face.

In 2025, resilience is about integration, speed and control — and Sentinel Spaces brings it all together in one powerful platform.

If you’re looking to modernise your approach to incident communications, now’s the time to explore how Sentinel Spaces can help you respond faster, collaborate smarter, and recover stronger.