Crisis Response Using Cloud Computing

May 31, 2017 / G C Network / Comments Off

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SOA-R!! Another Hit !!

By G C Network | October 9, 2008

Yesterday’s SOA-R event coverage by TECH Bisnow Washington was yet another indication that cloud computing is real in the Federal space. Thanks goes to Mr. Dave Stegon from Bisnow on Business and Pauline Healy from Apptis. Thanks…

World Summit of Cloud Computing, December 1-2, 2008, Wohl Centre, Ramat Gan, Israel

By G C Network | October 8, 2008

I am proud to announce that I’ve been invited to speak at the “World Summit of Cloud Computing“, December 1-2, 2008, at the Wohl Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel. As…

MIT Survey: What A Response !!

By G C Network | October 7, 2008

We’ve been quite surprised by the number of survey responses we’ve received. THANK YOU !! That subset of the cloud computing community interested in national security and public sector applications…

Cloud Auction Business Model

By G C Network | October 3, 2008

The other day I talked about how cloud computing could change the government’s budgeting process. Well what about this! Last week, Google filed a patent application that describes a system…

Oracle: To Cloud or Not To Cloud …

By G C Network | October 2, 2008

First Oracle’s Larry Ellison bashes cloud computing as nothing but hype and then his company announces that it will let customers run Oracle 10g and 11g databases and its Fusion…

Capacity planning in a cloud environment

By G C Network | October 1, 2008

In her post “Cloud computing killed the capacity star“, Ivanka Menken brings up some good points. Just think what changes this could bring to the government budgeting process. The trends…

Cloud Databases

By G C Network | September 30, 2008

Joab Jackson, in his “Cloud computing leaving relational databases behind” article, makes some pretty interesting points on the incompatibility of relational databases with cloud-based infrastructures. He first list the various…

The 6 layers of the Cloud Computing Stack

By G C Network | September 29, 2008

From Sam Johnston’s Taxonomy post Clients (examples) are computer hardware and/or computer software which rely on The Cloud for application delivery, or which is specifically designed for delivery of cloud…

Thank You KMI Media Group

By G C Network | September 26, 2008

In this month’s Editor’s Perspective, Mr. Harrison Donnelly announced the new KMI Media Group collaborative effort. Military Information Technology will be using the blogosphere to get their government and industry…

VMware, Cisco and the Virtual Datacenter

By G C Network | September 26, 2008

Last week, VMware and Cisco announced their latest collaboration for the virtual datacenter of the future. The Cisco Nexus® 1000V distributed virtual software switch is expected to be an integrated…

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Cloud computing is more than servers and storage. In a crisis situation it can actually be a lifesaver. BlackBerry, in fact, has just become the first cloud-based crisis communication service to receive a Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization from the United States Government for its AtHoc Alert and AtHoc Connect services. If you’re not familiar with FedRAMP, it is a US government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. The Blackberry certification was sponsored by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

While you may not need a US Government certified solution in an emergency, your organization may really want to consider the benefits of cloud computing for crisis response. From a communications point of view, companies can use cloud based services to quickly and reliably send secure messages to all members of staff, individual employees or specific target groups of people. Smartphone location-mapping functions can also be easily installed and used. One advantage of using application-based software installed on an employee’s smartphone is that it can be switched off when an employee is in a safe-zone, providing a balance between staff privacy and protection. Location data can be invaluable and result in better coordination, a more effective response and faster deployment of resources to those employees deemed to be at risk.

Using the cloud for secure two-way messaging enables simultaneous access to multiple contact paths which include SMS messaging, emails, VOIP calls, voice-to-text alerts and app notifications. Cloud-based platforms have an advantage over other forms of crisis communication tools because emergency notifications are not only sent out across all available channels and contact paths, but continue to be sent out until an acknowledgement is received from the recipient. Being able to send out notifications and receive responses, all within a few minutes, means businesses can rapidly gain visibility of an incident and react more efficiently to an unfolding situation. Wi-Fi Enabled devices can also be used to keep the communications lines open when more traditional routes are unusable.

While you’re thinking about your corporation’s crisis response plans, don’t forget about the data. Accessing data through cloud-based services can prevent a rescue effort from turning into a recovery operation. Sources for this life-saving resource include:

Data exhaust – information that is passively collected along with the use of digital technology
Online activity – encompasses all types of social activity on the Internet such as email, social media and internet search activity
Sensing technologies – used mostly to gather information about social behavior and environmental conditions
“Small Data” – data that is ‘small’ enough for human comprehension and is presented in a volume and format that makes it accessible, informative and actionable
Public-related data – census data, birth and death certificates, and other types of personal and socio-economic data
Crowd-sourced data – applications that actively involve a wide user base in order to solicit their knowledge about particular topics or events

Can the cloud be of assistance when you’re in a crisis? Cloud-enabled crisis/incident management service from IBM may be just what you need to protect your business. IBM Resiliency Communications as a Service is a high availability, cloud-enabled crisis/incident management service that protects your business by engaging the right people at the right time when an event occurs, through automated mission-critical communications. The service also integrates weather alerts powered by The Weather Company into incident management processes to provide the most accurate early warning of developing weather events and enable proactive response

Crisis Response Data and Technologies