Q + A with the Response team: everything emergency response management

Back in 2012, the team at Black Gold began to expand into the world of software development, leading to the establishment of BGGoPlan Inc. From there, BGGoPlan took into consideration the evolving world of technology and utilized it in the industry of emergency management.

Black Gold’s highly skilled team saw the need to transform the cumbersome paper emergency response plans into a more user-friendly, mobile tool that could be deployed and used company-wide in emergency situations. From there, Response was launched. 
Dive into the world of Response with Jason Swan, Vice President of Black Gold. 

Q: What is Response? 

A: Response is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform and was built by a team with decades of experience in emergency response and crisis management within a wide range of industries. With various perspectives and experience coming together, we were able to create Response. 

Crisis events such as oil pipeline spills, tsunamis, floods, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to highlight the need for effective preparedness planning and solutions.  As a recognized industry leader, we are trusted to provide a solid framework and modern software solutions to guide our clients in times of emergency through the initial response and final recovery stages.

Q: When designing Response, what were some of the challenges your team faced? How did you overcome it?

A: Developing good software requires user feedback. 

Despite our decades of experience in the emergency management business, what we thought was important did not always translate into good design. 

The users continue to validate the technology and provide feedback to the development team through training, real emergencies, and analytics. Continual validated development of new features and scalable design ensure a strong future with high market fit as Response evolves. Currently, Response has over 1,300 users deployed on its proven platform–we are so proud of that. 

Q: How is Response changing the way people respond to emergencies? 

A: In an emergency, communication is essential–no questions asked. And, it needs to be understandable, timely and in sequence. 

Any emergency communication tool that is created needs to guarantee the delivery of accurate, and timely information to all recipients.  It also needs to understand who is on the recipient list and what their dedicated role is to respond. We are changing the way people respond by solving situational awareness. It is key to our software design and approach.

Q: How is Response different/unique? 

A: With Response, we solve the following limitations of current technology platforms:

• The need to share information promptly with  guaranteed deliverability. The message must get through–no ifs, ands, or buts. 
• Situational awareness–everyone needs equal understanding of roles in that moment. 
• Confirmation of who is available and able to respond immediately.  
• Peace of mind that your team has understood the message. 
• Clear and concise record of the emergency communication filtered for due diligence purposes.

The Response App is much more than access to a static, clunky and inefficient  PDF or Word plan, it is a tool used during emergencies so people, your people, can function and communicate more effectively.

Q: How much has tech changed since Response began? Has that affected the way the app operates? 

A: From the day mobile phones debuted, they have been evolving. The world has now entered an era of cell phones with superior functions. 

Over the past 10 years since we have been developing software, mobile devices have undergone significant changes in style/appearance, size, function, camera technology, artificial intelligence, processors, etc. 

We continue to capitalize on these advancements because the improvements support our goal of delivering smart preparedness solutions for clients during periods of crisis. We welcome the rapid changing world of tech, and are excited for what’s next–bring it on.

Q: Looking back to the inception of Response, what would you do differently? What would stay the same? 

A: Nothing. 

We have had many failures and learning opportunities along our journey, but I and the team believe that our success is a direct result of acknowledging those failures, learning from them, and pivoting to make  adjustments so we succeed. 

We also would like to highlight that we continue to acknowledge the good people who have worked hard to make a meaningful difference to our business, our product, and our future. We thank you.

Q: For our local entrepreneurs in the tech space, what advice would you give them when starting their app? 

A: Follow a disciplined software development approach. Generate a minimum viable product and follow up that milestone achievement with rigorous user validation and feedback. 

Q: What’s next for Response? 

A: Innovation is a core value at Response. 

Refining our situational awareness model and incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into our technology solution so that we deliver efficiency, guidance, analytics and learning opportunities for our valued customers. The tech world is changing, and we’re keeping up. 

Looking to get started? Contact Response today!