Cloud computing, data-analysis tools and video analytics are changing how public safety agencies operate, connect with the public and use information to make split-second decisions, writes Bob Schassler, senior vice president of government solutions at Motorola. New tools will help public safety officials make decisions based on data from smartphones, video, social networks and text messages, Schassler writes. Police departments are quickly learning to use historical data and crime-mapping software to most efficiently distribute resources, he writes.