Mutualink and Rave Mobile Safety today announced that they have integrated the Mutualink K12 and Rave Panic Button technologies into a common platform designed primarily to support emergency communications on school campuses, as well for hospitals, governments and other enterprises.

Mutualink’s solution lets schools connect their hardware-based communications infrastructure—from LMR radio systems to video cameras—to law enforcement during significant events, such as medical emergencies or active-shooter incidents, according to Mutualink CEO Mark Hatten. However, this level of collaboration was triggered by personnel pushing hard-wired panic buttons, which may not be located in an area that is easily accessible by a witness to an incident, he said.

With this in mind, Mutualink officials debated whether the company should develop its own mobile panic-button solution or partner with Rave Mobile Safety, which has developed a smartphone application that provides panic-button functionality, according to Hatten.

“I think we approached Rave probably 8 or 9 months ago,” Hatten said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “It just made sense [to partner with Rave]. We were not going to build what Rave built. We were going to build a much simpler version of that. They’ve got a very extensive, well architected and efficient product, so we just decided to partner. We’re very excited about the partnership.”

Todd Piett, Rave Mobile Safety’s chief product officer, echoed this sentiment, noting that the two company’s technology solutions are complementary. The partnership of Mutualink and Rave Mobile Safety also addresses the two primary needs identified in studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI and the city of New York, he said.