The Tsunami Opportunity

I believe that the biggest service we can do to the tsunami victims is to

help them get back to life as fast as they can. I believe that IT and

communications will not only play a big role in coming out with disaster alert,

management, and recovery systems, but will also create new employment and

business opportunities. And that is how you start getting back to life!

People reacted very strongly when I asked how the killer tsunami will impact

the Indian IT industry. "How insensitive. There is death and destruction

all around, and you want to know what will happen to the IT industry," they

accused. Realising my mistake, I changed my question. "Will IT play a role

in relief and rehabilitation of affected people? Will it play a role in

minimizing losses in future natural catastrophes?" Yes, of course, they all

agreed. I had my answer- the IT industry will benefit from the tsunami.

Obviously, it will benefit because it will provide benefits to people and

countries at times of such disasters.

Clearly, there are lots of areas where we need to strengthen our position.

Let me not even talk of a disaster management and recovery system now. I think

whatever else we have was not utilized.

Besides the government, NGOs and corporates, serious about social responsibility, will play a role in disaster management systems

Communications systems, is surely one of them. The killer waves reached India

several hours after they started near Indonesia. Our satellite systems failed to

pick up the trail of destruction and ring alarm bells. There are reports of some

scientists who were trying to alert the Government in India, but they could not

find the right people and their contact details on the net. So, for India, in a

sense, even internet failed to help. Within India, all the great telecom

infrastructure that we keep talking about, failed in raising an alarm. So what

is the use of all the tele-density, if no service provider could send an

automatic sms to alarm people? More or less same is the story about the problems

being faced in relief operations. Citizen databases, local district and town

maps that are urgently needed, too, are not there.

Any country that will now want to build disaster recovery and management

systems will surely invest a lot in IT and communication. Equipment ranging from

high-end workstations that simulate natural calamities to servers that monitor

and forecast weather, will have to be installed. They will have to be integrated

to public and private networks. GIS systems will need to be implemented.

Overall, there will be a lot of money that will be needed to just build good

disaster warning, management, and recovery systems.

But will India, as a country, be able to spend money on disaster management

and recovery systems will be a big question. IT solution providers will have to

come out with economy solutions. And they will have to go, not just to

Governments, but to NGOs, and even business houses who have a corporate social

responsibility plan.

The author is Editor of Dataquest IBRAHIM

AHMAD