CentralSquare ENGAGE 2024 Recap

With over 1800 attendees and 300 plus sessions led by CentralSquare team members, customers and industry experts, it would be an understatement to say that ENGAGE 2024 was an event you didn’t want to miss.

This year we held our annual user conference from May 5-8 in Dallas, Texas, bringing together government and public safety leaders across North America.

“ENGAGE at its core, is designed with you and for you to demonstrate our commitment to our customers – ensuring that you get maximum value from your current investment, guiding you to explore further possibilities and efficiencies, particularly through cloud-based technologies. Above all, it means meeting you where you are on your journey and supporting your progress toward your goals,” said Ron Anderson, CentralSquare’s Chief Sales Officer.

This is truly the essence of what ENGAGE is all about.

Over the course of three days, we learned, shared experiences, inspired one another and built a community of people committed to driving change and innovation in the public sector, as well as equipping government agencies to better serve their community.

Innovation in the Cloud

We opened our learning sessions with the Executive Keynote, “Dedicated to Your Mission.” With the goal of empowering the public sector with the best technology to serve citizens, we unveiled our latest innovations, including the launch Public Safety Suite® Enterprise, ONESolution™, Pro and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) in the cloud.

Research shows that the pandemic created an immediate need for the public sector to adopt cloud technology for its flexibility and scalability. Years later, we see that more and more agencies increasingly rely on cloud-based systems.

Simply put, cloud is here to say.

By making our solutions accessible in the cloud, we’re working to enhance emergency response communications and improve critical service delivery to communities nationwide.

In addition to cloud innovation, we announced the launch of our NG911 solution – CentralSquare Vertex™ 911 Call Handling. It is an advanced system that takes 911 beyond the call for faster response coordination. Features include:

• Text Translate: Automatically translates incoming texts in over 135 languages in less than three seconds, saving call takers significant time waiting for third-party translation services.
• Audio Transcription: Displays real-time and post-call transcripts for callers and dispatchers to ensure accurate documentation, keyword searching, and faster analysis of recorded calls through an automatic speech-to-text feature.
• Automatic Call Distribution and Abandoned Call Processing: Optimizes call taking with advanced call queues and saves significant time through automatic response to abandoned calls by allowing call takers to focus on urgent responses.

Another highlight of the keynote was the announcement of cloud-based Utility Billing – a solution that equips local governments to streamline and manage all your community’s utilities in a single platform.

Thought Leadership and Training Sessions

One of the great things about ENGAGE is that it provides a space for our customers and experts to share their knowledge and experience on industry trends and challenges, and the lessons they’ve learned to overcome the obstacles that hinder efficiency.

This year our agenda included Big Idea sessions that focused on thought leadership topics for the public sector, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the public sector, Women in Government Leadership, Modern Fire Response, School Shooting Response and Preparedness, Mental Health in Emergency Response, Cybersecurity Threats in the Public Sector and much more.

A standout Big Idea session was the “Fireside Chat: The Future of Modern Policing.” This session featured William Evans, Former Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Jim McDonnell, Former Sheriff for Los Angeles County and Bernadette DiPino, Former Chief for Ocean City, Maryland Police Department.

This powerhouse of veteran public safety leaders discussed topics such as the evolution of modern policing, increased mass shootings, staffing challenges, budget constraints, technology developments, as well as future trends for public safety agencies.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also delivered an impactful session on the current cybersecurity threats facing the public sector, discussing how local government agencies can leverage resources to protect their communities from these threats.

“From the 2023 Crime Report on cybersecurity threats, there was $12.5 billion in reported losses in 2023,” said Michael Kingsley, CISA Cybersecurity advisor. The threats are real – increasing in complexity

You can learn more about how CISA helps organizations to prepare for modern cybersecurity threats.

Alongside the thought leadership discussions, CentralSquare experts delivered impactful training sessions on CentralSquare products including product roadmaps, classes on how to further utilize your current solution and customer-led sessions on tips and best practices.

Impactful Experiences

This year we partnered with ConjoStudios to present a special screening of the document PTSD911. The film focuses on first responders and their struggle to keep their jobs, sanity health and even personal relationships after experiencing traumatic incidents.

Following the screening, producer and director, Conrad Weaver joined us a for live Q&A session of the film, discussing the impact of PTSD on dispatchers and first responders.

Learn more about the film and how your agency can view the documentary.

Join Us Next Year

As exciting as this year was, each year we are working to improve the experience and deliver a more impactful event – and you don’t want to miss it.

Mark your calendar for CentralSquare’s ENGAGE in April 2025 in Orlando, Florida, and come be a part of an awesome community of industry experts.

You can also learn more about ENGAGE through our social media channels by using #CSTENGAGE.