EmePoint: smart software that helps small businesses

EmePoint: smart software that helps small businesses recover faster from disruptions and disasters

Auckland, 14 May 2015 – Small New Zealand businesses generally don’t have plans to help them recover from earthquakes, cyclones, floods, fires or the loss of key staff[1]. They feel they don’t have the time or expertise – or the money. But that changes with the launch today of EmePoint, a cloud-based software tool that helps them to prepare better for disruptions, keep going afterwards and recover faster.

EmePoint is the world’s first emergency planning tool designed for small and medium businesses. Developed by New Zealand software company, Healthpoint, it allows businesses in any sector to develop their own customised plans for dealing with the disruptions their business may face – for less than $1 a day.

“In New Zealand 97 percent of enterprises are small businesses[2],” says Kate Rhind, Managing Director of Healthpoint. “Most are under-prepared, so they’re more susceptible to disruptions when disaster strikes. They know that ‘she'll be right’ won’t cut it in 2015, but until now they’ve had few realistic options.”

US data shows that around a quarter of small businesses do not reopen after a major disaster.[3]

EmePoint has been developed by experts in risk identification, emergency planning management and business continuity planning, working closely with many small businesses, from law offices and pharmacies to schools and design companies. The system helps them plan using a clever rules-based platform, guiding them through an intuitive process and streaming in relevant local emergency data. It helps them to identify risks specific to their business, to prepare for these and to produce their own individual plan. When their business is disrupted, they will be ready to respond and be able to recover more rapidly.

EmePoint also notes a business’ priorities and capabilities and allows them to easily update the plan across all scenarios when they restructure, move to the cloud or go mobile. Their plan is always relevant and up to date.

A subscription to EmePoint is $28 per month. There is no setup cost. The initial plan can usually be completed within a day. Companies can trial EmePoint free for 14 days by registering atwww.emepoint.com/.

The emergency planning platform used in EmePoint was first developed to meet the needs of GPs in the northern region of New Zealand and is now also used by over 2,000 general practices throughout Australia – around 30 percent of the total – providing sector-wide resilience.

ENDS

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