Likelihood to Recommend This software is very well suited for law enforcement agencies of all sizes from 5 to 5000 officers. There is a mobile app that allows officers to quickly and easily search while out in the field or on a call. They can quickly review a policy, locate a form, pull up a map and much more using either the mobile app or the desktop application.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
This is great for schools who want a bulk package of services at a competitive cost. Older website designs limit functionality and have a very square design. SchoolMessenger has more modern templates with newer capabilities which is better for visitors of the site. The functionality is great for parents who are accessing the site on the go, which happens more often than you know.
Read full review Pros Policy management- [Users] sign for, and can take [tests] to prove understanding of policy right in the application. As [the] policy is updated, old versions are retained, so that we not only know what a policy contains, we can track changes and provide information on what a policy was at any given time in the past. Training- Users receive notifications when training is due and are guided to complete the training. If the training requires recertification, PowerDMS can be configured to alert the user that re-training is needed, without a supervisor needing to keep track. All documents used in training, including presentations and videos, can be contained in the PowerDMS course, so we can prove not only that an employee was trained, but exactly what curriculum was use din any given training. Accreditation Assessment- [Our] accreditation standards manual is uploaded directly into PowerDMS. Proofs are accomplished using the actual policy and procedure, as well as the documents created during the workday. There is absolutely no duplication of effort. Communications accountability- Email [can] be read and forgotten. With PowerDMS, a document can be distributed for user signatures, insuring that the user took affirmative action to read and understand the document. Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Read full review Cons The Workflow process in PowerDMS is not as easy to grasp as some of the other concepts and requires a little more explaination, especially for non-administrative background users. Users are unable to view the steps in a Workflow template in order to determine which Workflow would work best for their needs when routing documents. It would be great to have multiple message options for past due inbox notifications in addition to the options for past due tasks to encourage users to go to their inbox to review their messages. Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
There's nothing I dislike. This program is very straight forward to use. It just works well. Read full review Likelihood to Renew I have had nothing but positive experiences with PowerDMS from day one. If we ever run into a situation we are unsure of, PowerDMS support has ALWAYS been able to answer us basically immediately. I really love that they are constantly seeking to improve and expand.
Julie Rosenburg Special Projects Administrator /Accounting and Accreditation
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Usability There is a learning curve as with any software system and I have found those users who consistently use the system more have a much higher success rate than those who only log in to sign off on documents. Now that most users have been in the system for over 2 years I consistently hear how much easier the processes are than they originally thought they would be
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
SchoolMessenger serves our main purpose of sending out emergency notifications and notices to parents. It is great to cut down on the paper use and the ability to attach documents to our notes. We have used this to send home notifications from our Parent-Teacher Organization. Parents have thanked us for sending a back ups due to papers being misplaced and knowing that they have a backup through email.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Never had an issue with PowerDMS not being available. Speed is an issue from time to time
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Performance We use PowerDMS in the cloud so our performance might be different from other users who use on-premise. The program has always been up with very minimal downtime and always seems responsive and snappy when navigating the UI and searching documents. We don't currently have any integrations with other software.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Overall, this is a good, effective, and cost-efficient product. It is missing some key functionality we had with a previous program which limits my total score, but I still think a lot of school districts can get a lot out of SchoolMessenger. The features and functions they do include work well.
Read full review Support Rating I just wish we had some in-state support. The contacts I have had with customer support have been great. Awesome communication, problem-solving, and support. I have talked to and met Stephanie Williams (CSA for Power DMS) at the most recent Entrust conference. She was professional and devoted time to addressing our agency needs.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
The support is fantastic. I have never had such complete support from a technology service. Every issue has been resolved while I was on the phone. I never had to wait for a callback or an advanced support tech. Their people are very well trained in their product and how to meet their customer's needs.
Read full review In-Person Training In-person training works really well.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Online Training Online training works well and keeps from having to have classroom training
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Implementation Rating Implementation of PowerDMS was near seamless. The product was able to input existing policies and procedures within a few hours, which helped to lay the foundation for future use. Having PowerDMS on-boarding readily available was also a huge benefit.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Alternatives Considered PowerDMS is a lot different than Linkedin Learnings. In PowerDMS you have to create your own courses versus in Linkedin Learnings they provide extensive content on a wide variety of subject matter. Linkedin Learnings is what we have used in our organization for Bias Training and Ethics Training. PowerDMS is the repository for documents and Trainings, so the systems work very differently
Emily Davies Professional Development and Training Manager for the Cornell Police
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Easier to use and more cost effective than shoutpoint
Read full review Scalability Because of features and functions.
Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Return on Investment Created efficient processes for approving document revision Migrated what originally was a paper system to electronic Accessible for any employee by logging in, employees do not have to seek out policy and procedure binders, and updated documents can be automatically sent to inboxes when updated. Read full review West Technology Group, LLC (formerly Intrado)
Lost the confidence of families that we were protecting their data. Refused to refund our funds after they released confidential information. Required extensive resources to find another product. Read full review ScreenShots