BEIJING, Aug. 6, 2007 -- Staff of ESi(R), the global leader in crisis information management technology, will present three papers at the 2007 China-U.S. Conference on Disaster Management, being held in Beijing, August 7-9, 2007. With its ground-breaking WebEOC(R) solution, the world's first Web-enabled emergency management communications system, ESi continues to be a pioneer in the field.

Jim Cook, ESi Director of Services, will present "Interoperability Through the Use of Software Systems," which describes how today's Web-enabled software systems can bridge the information gap between response organizations during an emergency or disaster. Cook brought 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors of emergency management to his position at ESi where he interacts with customers on drills and exercises, board configuration, training and administration of WebEOC.

"Unfortunately, Asia has been afflicted with a number of natural and technological disasters which has increased the need for crisis management practices at a startling rate," said Cook. "We hope that patrons of the conference can use the information from the presentations to implement or enhance disaster management models for their respective areas of interest."

Bryan Small and Shane Rimmer, both software engineers at ESi, will present "Breaking the Mold of Emergency Operations Software Using a Distributed Approach." This paper proposes an alternative approach to emergency operation software and explains how a distributed model could solve many existing problems. Small has designed several frameworks, including the handheld framework that will be used in the upcoming releases of WebEOC. Rimmer develops distributed applications that integrate systems from multiple emergency operation centers.

Josh Shows will present "Emerging Data Exchange Standards in Emergency Management Systems" developed with Adam Geitgey, Manager of ESi Labs. It will help the audience understand the critical need for data exchange standards that enable emergency management agencies to coordinate responses across state and national lines. As a software engineer at ESi, Shows leads the standards implementation and adoption for WebEOC. He also co-chairs the OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) Subcommittee on Emergency Management Standards Adoption, a not-for-profit international consortium that drives the development and adoption of electronic data standards. Geitgey, who lived and worked in Shanghai, China, as a lead software engineer for Hanna Strategies, LLC, before joining ESi, will not be attending the conference.

Each of the ESi presenters will be partnered with Chinese representatives to discuss disaster-related issues critical to China and other countries worldwide.

The purpose of the China-U.S. Conference on Disaster Management is to accelerate the exchange of best practices, technologies, and research and to promote partnerships among individuals, institutions, and agencies involved in disaster management worldwide. The conference will provide participants with a hands-on learning experience on topics including disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery.

About ESi(R)

Based in Augusta, Ga., ESi connects crisis response teams and decision makers at national, state and local agencies, healthcare providers, airlines and corporations worldwide, providing access to real-time information for a common operating picture during an event or daily operations. By delivering highly customizable products and end-to-end services from design, installation and integration through maintenance, training and 24/7 support, ESi sets the standard for crisis information management. For more information, please visit http://www.esi911.com.