Executives, financial advisors and insurance representatives at City Securities Corporation are BlackBerry users. They rely on BlackBerry smartphones to stay in touch with their customers and colleagues on a day-to-day basis and while they travel. While developing a back-up plan in case of a communications blackout or natural disaster, they realized how would people keep in contact if email wasnt available? A core part of the continuity plan was to use BlackBerry smartphones to send PIN-to-PIN messages between users. If regular email is down users can send data messages to each other by addressing them the PIN number that is unique to each device. Using PIN numbers circumvents the need to go through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, because the messages can still be sent between two BlackBerry smartphones. The only hitch was City Securities only distributed their disaster recover guide once a year, so if a BlackBerry changed hands within that year then the PIN number would be out of date. With this factor in mind, City Securities wanted a way to keep a mobile directory of PIN numbers up-to-date and accessible to users, without having to assign an IT person to maintain the list.

City Securities implemented PINpoint - an auto updating feature that searches the SQL server via the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and automatically pushes out changes to the mobile directory Including the PIN numbers for all end users. Now, with just a few clicks, they know people will still be able to reach each other if there is a problem. City Securities is seeing major benefits because of PINpoint. In contrast to a paper system that wasnt updated often enough, City Securities employees have a mobile emergency contact list on their smartphones, without taxing the IT Team. Because PINpoint is an automated solution, no one from the IT team has to be assigned to maintain the contact list. This frees up resources to take on other tasks that help end users. The executive team can also rest easier, because if they do face an emergency they know their BlackBerry smartphones will have a readily accessible list of company personnel that will keep them connected.

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