US Patent 7373388 Notification message distribution

In a computer system, peripheral computers with business applications send alert messages to a central computer when a current variable exceeds a reference value. The central computer implements an alert server to notify a target group of multiple users via communication devices. The central computer escalates further notification to a supervisor user in the event that during a predetermined time period no user of the group has confirmed reception. The notifications have predefined fixed and variable text portion that relate to the alert type. The group of users to be notified is determined by subscription or by a role-to-application assignment.