EWSN 2017 :: Uppsala Sweden
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​INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED WIRELESS SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS
February 20-22, 2017 - Uppsala, Sweden


Running Mass Alerts From Your Pocket: The Best Apps

Mass notifications are most useful when the person responsible for sending them is not tied to a desk. A sudden schedule change, weather warning, staffing update, event reminder, or customer announcement may need to reach dozens or thousands of people while an administrator is travelling, working on-site, or simply away from a computer.

The apps below approach mobile notification workflows from different directions. Some handle the actual delivery of large-scale alerts, while others organise contacts, automate processes, coordinate teams, or keep schedules accessible. For organisations that want the core notification process to work naturally from a smartphone, a purpose-built communication platform remains the strongest foundation.

1. DialMyCalls

Run Mass Alerts Directly From Your Phone

DialMyCalls is the most natural starting point for a mobile mass notification workflow because large-scale communication is exactly what the platform is designed to handle. Organisations can send automated phone calls, mass text messages, and email broadcasts from one system, giving administrators several ways to reach employees, customers, parents, residents, members, or other contact groups.

Its iOS and Android apps bring those capabilities directly to a smartphone. Users can create mass texts or automated calls, select contacts, send broadcasts immediately, or schedule them for a future date and time. That makes the phone a genuine control centre for the notification system rather than simply another device that receives alerts.

Keep Sending, Responses, and Reporting Together

The mobile workflow extends beyond sending the original message. DialMyCalls supports two-way SMS on mobile, allowing administrators to read incoming replies, respond to recipients, and receive push notifications when new messages arrive. Detailed reporting is also available for voice and SMS broadcasts, helping teams see what happened after an alert was sent.

This combination makes DialMyCalls the clearest all-around choice on this list for organisations specifically trying to run mass alerts from their pockets. Calls, texts, email, contact management, scheduling, responses, and broadcast reporting can remain part of one purpose-built system, so supporting apps only need to be added when they contribute something useful to the wider workflow.

2. HubSpot

Bring Customer Context Into Mobile Communication

HubSpot can add an important customer-management layer when notifications are closely connected to sales, service, or account activity. Its mobile app gives teams access to CRM records, contact histories, tasks, tickets, deal information, and account context while they are away from their computers.

That information can help employees decide who needs to be contacted and what sort of follow-up is appropriate. A sales representative, for example, can update a deal stage or review recent activity from a phone, while a service employee can check open tickets before communicating with a customer.

Keep CRM Work Moving Away From the Desk

HubSpot's mobile tools also support activities such as assigning tasks, logging notes, reviewing dashboards, managing inbox activity, and checking customer records. Its iOS and Android apps are therefore useful for teams whose communication processes depend heavily on information stored inside the CRM.

For a mass notification workflow, HubSpot makes the most sense as the customer-data and relationship-management layer rather than the dedicated broadcast engine. It can provide the context surrounding an alert while a purpose-built notification platform manages rapid communication with an entire contact list.

3. Google Sheets

Keep Recipient Lists Accessible Anywhere

Google Sheets offers a flexible way to maintain the data behind a notification workflow. Organisations can build spreadsheets containing names, phone numbers, email addresses, departments, shifts, locations, customer categories, membership groups, or any other fields that help determine which people should receive a particular message.

The Google Sheets mobile app allows users to create, view, and edit spreadsheets from an iPhone or iPad, while sharing permissions allow other people to view, comment on, or edit the same files. Similar mobile functionality is available within Google's broader Android ecosystem, making shared recipient data practical for distributed teams.

Organise Audiences Before an Alert Goes Out

Columns, tabs, filters, and sorting can make a large contact database easier to divide into practical groups. A company might separate employees by branch and shift, for example, while a property manager might organise residents by building or community before transferring the relevant audience into a notification system.

Sheets is primarily a data-management application, so its strength lies in keeping recipient information organised rather than delivering urgent mass alerts itself. For organisations already working in Google Workspace, however, it can provide a familiar and highly adaptable supporting layer behind a dedicated communication platform.

4. Slack

Coordinate the People Managing an Alert

Slack can help organise the internal team responsible for deciding what needs to be communicated. Channels can be created around departments, locations, incidents, projects, or operational teams, giving employees a central place to discuss an emerging situation before an external or company-wide notification is sent.

Its mobile app also supports configurable notifications for messages, mentions, direct messages, replies, and selected channels. Employees can therefore remain connected to important internal conversations while away from their desks and adjust how quickly mobile notifications appear.

Build an Internal Coordination Layer

A dedicated Slack channel could be used to confirm the wording of an announcement, identify the appropriate contact group, obtain approval, or document follow-up after a broadcast. This can be particularly useful when several employees share responsibility for communication and need to coordinate before anyone presses send.

Slack is strongest when the intended recipients already belong to the organisation's workspace. That makes it a useful internal collaboration companion to a mass notification system, while a platform designed for large-scale phone, SMS, and email delivery can handle outreach to employees, customers, residents, parents, or other audiences outside Slack.

5. Zapier

Automate What Happens Before an Alert

Zapier can connect the different cloud applications involved in a notification process. Its automated workflows, known as Zaps, begin with a trigger in one application and then perform one or more actions, allowing routine processes to run without someone manually transferring the same information between systems.

A workflow could begin when a spreadsheet receives a new row, a CRM record changes, or another predefined business event occurs. Zapier can then move information, update records, create tasks, or initiate another step in the communication process based on the rules that have been configured.

Connect a Larger Notification Stack

This becomes particularly useful when notification workflows involve several applications. Instead of expecting an administrator to monitor every system separately, automated triggers can help make sure predictable events lead to the appropriate next action.

Zapier is primarily an automation and orchestration platform rather than the system responsible for broadcasting mass alerts. Its best role here is connecting the surrounding applications and reducing repetitive work while a dedicated notification service manages the actual calls, texts, or emails sent to recipients.

6. Google Calendar

Turn Scheduled Events Into Communication Cues

Google Calendar can contribute to notification workflows that revolve around predictable dates and times. Businesses can schedule appointments, meetings, deadlines, maintenance windows, events, or recurring activities and use Calendar notifications to keep the people managing those activities aware of what is approaching.

Notification settings can be configured for individual events or more broadly, with alerts available through phones, browsers, and email. Changes made to notification preferences on a phone can also sync with the user's computer settings.

Support Recurring and Time-Sensitive Workflows

Google Calendar can also work well for routine communication planning. A team might create recurring reminders before weekly staff announcements, monthly customer updates, scheduled building maintenance, or another event that regularly requires a message to be prepared and distributed.

Calendar itself is not intended to broadcast urgent alerts to a large external contact database. Its value is in organising the timing around communication, making it a useful scheduling layer that can work alongside a dedicated mass notification platform when administrators need both reliable reminders and large-scale delivery.

Keeping Mass Communication Within Reach

The best mobile setup depends on which part of the notification process an organisation wants to manage. HubSpot can supply customer context, Google Sheets can organise contact data, Slack can coordinate internal teams, Zapier can automate supporting steps, and Google Calendar can keep scheduled communication on track. When the main requirement is actually sending large-scale alerts from a smartphone, however, DialMyCalls provides the most direct fit by bringing mass voice calls, texts, email, scheduling, replies, contacts, and reporting into a platform built specifically around group communication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is There a Good Mass Notification App for iPhone and Android?

Most established mass notification services support both major mobile platforms, but their mobile capabilities are not necessarily identical. Some apps focus mainly on basic sending, while more complete options allow administrators to work with contacts, schedule messages, review results, and manage responses from their phones. DialMyCalls, for example, provides iOS and Android access for mass calling and texting along with mobile two-way SMS functionality.

Can a Mass Notification App Work Well for a Small Business?

Yes. Small businesses can use mass notification software for employee schedule changes, appointment reminders, operational notices, customer announcements, weather updates, and other routine communication in addition to emergencies. The most practical choice is usually a service whose pricing and capacity make sense for the organisation's actual usage rather than forcing a small team to purchase enterprise-scale volume it rarely needs.

What Should I Look for in a Mass Notification App for Emergency Alerts?

Prioritise fast delivery, multiple communication channels, straightforward contact management, and reporting that helps confirm what happened after a broadcast. Having voice and text available in the same system can make alerts easier to manage because administrators do not have to maintain completely separate workflows. DialMyCalls combines automated calls, SMS, email, mobile access, and detailed broadcast reporting within one account.

Is There a Free Mass Notification App Available?

Free trials, limited introductory plans, and free account options are available from some providers, although usage restrictions can apply. These options are useful for testing the interface, contact-management process, sending workflow, and reporting before selecting a paid service. DialMyCalls currently allows users to create an account without a credit card and offers a limited free automatic calling option, while its mobile app itself is free to download.

We look forward to your contribution to EWSN 2017 in Uppsala, Sweden!


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