zimAlert Emergency Response

Emergency contacts previously had no way to see where help actually was. We built a mobile app with live location sharing, so responders and the people waiting on them are looking at the same picture in real time, not guessing over a phone call.

The challenge: Nobody could see where help was

When someone raised an alert, the only channel back was a phone call. The person waiting had no way to know whether a responder had been dispatched, where they were, or how long was left.

Responders were working with the same blind spot in reverse. Locating the person who needed help meant talking them through landmarks over the phone, at the exact moment they were least able to describe where they were.

The solution: One live picture, shared both ways

• Live location sharing: Responders and the people waiting on them see the same map in real time, so nobody is describing a location over the phone at the worst possible moment.
• Alerts that carry context: An alert arrives with position attached rather than as a call somebody has to interpret and relay onward.
• Built for the phone in a pocket: Delivered as a native mobile app, because the device someone already has in their hand is the only one guaranteed to be there when it matters.
• A backend that holds up: Location updates and alert state run through a service built for the moments when everyone opens the app at once.

More on how we approach mobile app development.

Business value & impact: The wait stopped being a blind one

The uncertainty that made the wait worse was the part software could actually remove.

• No more guessing over a phone call: Both sides are looking at the same information instead of assembling it verbally under pressure.
• Responders arrive at the right place: Position comes from the device rather than from a description given by someone in distress.
• Status is visible, not requested: The person waiting can see help moving without having to call and ask.

Built with