Extend Messaging and Automation with Enhanced Webhooks

At Omnilert we often receive requests to enable new forms of communications that extend our customers' ability to reach their constituents or interact with their organization’s systems. These may focus on messaging subscribers through unified communications platforms, enterprise chat & messaging focused tools, digital signage, employee or student experience software, or creating facilities or operating procedure automation through simply sending a message. Many systems have modern interfaces and APIs, which can be taken advantage of with simple, yet powerful, integration mechanisms. We’re always looking at ways of opening up the platform to integration and Webhooks can often be employed to add new value to current organizational systems and enable new processes. 

It's with that in mind that we enhanced our widely adopted existing Webhook endpoint to allow for greater flexibility and control. With Webhooks, you can connect to new modalities to take action and get your message out in powerful, low-code implementations defined to suit your own organization's goals.

Send alerts across communications tools with an Omnilert Message
A simple yet powerful example involves the popular communications platforms, Slack and Microsoft's Teams. Despite the fast-paced nature of communications in these tools, enrolling an entire organization into a "read-only" channel dedicated to critical communication that can remain focused on an issue at hand, or setting up a private channel for managing a situation among select staff is easy. With that in place, you can very effectively use Omnilert’s webhook endpoint to further distribute your messaging.

What’s more is that these tools allow you to visually configure meaningful templates for specific use cases that can be added directly into the enhanced Webhook endpoint with a few moments of your IT, Slack or Microsoft Teams admin’s help. Adding variables to the webhook for your message subject and body will populate that message’s content wherever you wish to post it.

via Slack Block Kit Builder

via Microsoft Teams | Message Designer

Issuing Commands with an Omnilert message
Using simple visual tools such as enterprise-ready Zapier, or IFTTT unlocks limitless possibilities for executing actions in existing organizational tools and workflows. 

Schedule a meeting
Via Scenarios for example, a single message delivered to the enhanced Webhook endpoint can fully schedule a debrief meeting for tomorrow morning (or, any time), with your staff addressed and conferencing details added to discuss an event and it's response outcomes for improvement or further coordination without relying on presence of mind to remember to do so following a frantic situation. 

Update a website
Likewise, using Zapier, or wordpress plugins you can choose to keep a post pinned to a publicly-facing Wordpress site updated at all times with the latest information regarding an event.

While many practical use cases involve little more than visual drag and drop tools once you get started, some will benefit from a developer or IT person’s implementation. With their help, other powerful uses can be enabled in your organization as well, since any web software, internet enabled device or piece of facilities infrastructure that can receive a Webhook is a candidate for inclusion in the automation of your operating procedures. From additional messaging modalities to sirens and doors, lights and digital signage, or even logging incidents in case management systems for non-urgent action—the Webhook endpoint can help you enhance existing systems, ease administrative burdens for required workflows or unlock new helpful processes within your organization.

The enhanced Webhook endpoint is available now to all Omnilert customers. Visit the Help Center to learn more.