Current systems that are implemented to support the emergency management community are typically developed using proprietary data models that may inhibit information sharing. The IMIS Framework recommends an architecture where standard information encodings and standard data services are implemented in the IMIS-compliant systems to support the necessary data exchanges and improve overall interoperability between systems holding information and systems supporting consumers of the information.
The emergency management community (law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and command center organizations) have an extreme need to share incident information to support situational awareness and establish coordinated response and mutual aid activities. That need to share information on both natural and criminal incidents is not being met today by the existing systems and vendor solutions in a regional, state, or national environment because of a lack of standards and processes to support system interoperability.