BJSS delivers new Crisis Hub for Brits abroad

SOFTWARE solutions business BJSS has delivered a project in partnership with Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to make it easier for Brits affected by a crisis overseas to ask for help.

The Crisis Hub was used to help British nationals in the evacuation from South Sudan in December. It collects data during crisis situations from both the FCO’s crisis response team, as well as British nationals affected. This information is then used by the FCO to aid the effective planning and delivery of its response.

The system replaces the FCO’s previous one which was decommissioned in May 2013 and follows a commitment by the secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, Mr William Hague, that the FCO would introduce a new crisis IT system for British nationals affected by crises overseas.

Leeds-headquartered BJSS has a turnover of £48m and employs 400 people. The business has recently opened an office in New York and has bases in London, Derby, Manchester, Houston and Chicago.

The new platform is hosted in the Cloud and has been designed to support a range of communication channels such as SMS text messaging, telephone and a webform on gov.uk.