{"id":64576,"date":"2023-04-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=64576"},"modified":"2023-08-31T13:41:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T20:41:21","slug":"disaster-relief-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/disaster-relief-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Salesforce Exec on 5 Considerations for Disaster Relief Technology Amid Digital Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: AI Cloud, Einstein GPT, and other cloud GPT products are now Einstein. For the latest on Salesforce Einstein, go <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disease outbreaks, wildfires, earthquakes, wars \u2014 there is no shortage of crises requiring urgent response in today\u2019s world. And with the dual challenges of climate change and a changing geopolitical landscape, the frequency and intensity of disasters will only increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To meet the unprecedented growth in demand for emergency response, companies, governments, and nonprofits should look to the very same strategy employed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 digital transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five criteria for disaster relief technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When undergoing digital transformation, every agency and company must be aware of the important choice in front of them \u2014 finding the right tools and partners that empower their organizations rather than complicate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To provide critical support and make an impact, public, private, and non-profit entities need technology that includes these five factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Centralized data<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Emergency responders can serve constituents more effectively when their tools capture high-quality and real-time data and can be customized for various users and needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a wave of refugees fled to neighboring Moldova. Children\u2019s Emergency Relief International<\/a> (CERI), a humanitarian aid organization, stepped in to offer social services and support. Working with Coastal Cloud<\/a>, a Salesforce partner, CERI built a data-focused emergency case management system on the Salesforce platform within weeks, customized to users speaking multiple languages, to ensure they were prepared to serve people in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By collecting high-quality data in one place, CERI could track cases and outcomes across Ukraine, address bottlenecks, and strengthen logistics. \u201cInformation is now centralized and visible in real time to supervisors, and program management decisions can be made fast in a data-driven way,\u201d said Connie Belciug, CERI\u2019s executive director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Information is now centralized and visible in real time to supervisors, and program management decisions can be made fast in a data-driven way.<\/p>\nConnie Belciug, CERI<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

2. Agility<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In an emergency, conditions change quickly and there isn\u2019t much time to plan. Meanwhile, rapid response can mean the difference between life and death. Organizations tackling crises need tools that enable them to change course immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic hit, CDR Maguire, a contractor specializing in emergency management, was tasked with helping the Florida Division of Emergency Management set up COVID-19 testing services across the state<\/a>. Partnering with Coastal Cloud, CDR Maguire created a customized resource planning platform on Salesforce that facilitated more than 4 million COVID-19 tests and another 4 million vaccinations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRequirements were changing literally overnight. We were able to respond thanks to the power of the Salesforce platform and our ability to configure and deploy it very quickly,\u201d said Tim Hale, co-founder and managing partner of Coastal Cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were able to respond thanks to the power of the Salesforce platform and our ability to configure and deploy it very quickly. <\/p>\nTim Hale, Coastal Cloud<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The emergence of generative AI technology<\/a> gives organizations access to even more powerful tools in the event of an emergency, including better disaster resource management by analyzing population density and logistics, mass citizen outreach for evacuation routes or locations of medical supplies through personalized routing, or even to train first responders with simulated emergency scenarios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, organizations can use generative AI to make sure infrastructure maintenance is optimized by analyzing equipment performance and usage patterns, which can help utility companies better manage downtimes and prevent outages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n