Using hybrid IT, AI can help governments respond more effectively to public emergencies, such as floods, fires, and earthquakes
As more natural disasters hit the news, the need for more effective government responses to public emergencies is underscored. As Deloitte points out:
“Wildfires, bridge collapses, epidemics, intense hurricanes. Disasters seem to be getting more severe and more frequent. Yet, budgets and workforces remain largely stagnant for many emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) organizations, which include public health, disaster, and other professionals that help the public prepare for and respond to emergencies. Estimates project a need for the US public health workforce to grow by 80%.”
So, governments are faced with trying to do more for less. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) can come in, helping to ease the pressure on emergency response workers and aiding in the planning and response to crises.
These solutions are best delivered through a hybrid IT infrastructure developed by a digital transformation partner with a strong track record in leveraging AI technology to deliver more reliable and resilient services to government and private-sector clients.
So, how can you leverage hybrid IT and AI in the EP&R services you provide? Read on.
How AI For Emergency Management Can Help
During an emergency such as an out-of-control wildfire, AI can serve as another set of eyes on the ground, providing real-time data and insights that can dictate more effective emergency responses. Natural language processing abilities can also be used to scan, analyze, and transcribe 911 calls, helping to ensure prompt, effective attention by the correct agency.
Or it might scan social media posts and other outlets to warn of the beginning of a disease outbreak and trigger an early response to curb it.
Generative AI can also help prepare for emergencies, creating training simulations so teams can develop more effective coping strategies. It can also help with the reporting and documentation of emergencies, providing comprehensive data that can refine and improve future responses to emergencies.
When using AI to enhance public safety, we need to worry about more than natural disasters; there are also manmade ones. Just as bad actors can leverage new technology for their criminal activities, law enforcement and private security personnel can effectively use AI to counter these threats.
As Security Magazine points out:
“In criminal investigations, AI is revolutionizing how evidence is gathered, analyzed, and interpreted. Advanced facial recognition technology, natural language processing, and AI-driven data mining have become essential tools in identifying suspects, uncovering connections between criminal networks, and solving complex cases. AI-powered surveillance systems can automatically flag suspicious behavior in real-time, reducing the burden on human operators and enhancing the accuracy of monitoring efforts.”
Overcoming Legacy System Constraints with Hybrid Solutions
In many cases, organizations already have legacy IT structures in place. The often in-house technology can become outdated and unable to take advantage of the new technologies that can let them innovate with the EP&R services they provide.
Legacy architecture can also:
- Leave you open to data breaches and other security problems
- Put a heavy maintenance burden on IT staff
- Cost you money and time
- Hurt performance
- Stand in the way of integrating with new technologies
These problems could be solved with a hybrid infrastructure combining on-premises and cloud technologies that provide the power and flexibility you need to better respond to emergencies and new scenarios coming down the road.
A Core BTS hybrid infrastructure solution can help to:
- Boost the resiliency of your system
- Control costs, including ones for sprawling, unneeded tech
- Decide what hardware needs to be replaced
- Improve end-to-end security, preventing data breaches
- Provide the means to change and scale as EP&R threats morph
Integrating your legacy architecture with the latest cloud technology can give you these advantages. Cloud solutions can be public, private, or increasingly multi-cloud, leveraging solutions from multiple providers to get the best performance and cost savings for your IT.
Strategic Steps for Building a Resilient IT Model
To build a robust hybrid IT infrastructure that enables you to leverage AI in emergency management, begin by defining your goals for adopting cloud capabilities. Are you trying to speed up response times? Would you like to leverage analytics for future planning? Or is cost optimization the issue?
Once you have set your goals, you need to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can measure your progress towards achieving them.
Next, look at your current infrastructure to decide what is best-handled on-premises and what services and applications would be better shifted to the cloud. Then, you need to choose your cloud provider or providers and decide where your chosen applications, data, and applications should fit in the hybrid cloud.
As part of the transition, you must define everyone’s roles and workflow flows to ensure smooth progress. There should also be a well-defined timeline for the implementation.
Data safety is essential, so you must ensure the cloud’s robust security measures are properly configured and deployed. Finally, since cloud environments are dynamic, they require constant supervision to ensure security and compliance with relevant regulations.
Explore CoreBTS’s Services to Evolve Your IT With Scalable Hybrid Solutions
Whatever your emergency, Core BTS has a solution tailored to your specific needs. Want to unlock the power and promise of generative AI? We wrote the book on it. You can download a copy here, showing how the technology can support and transform your organization.
Crisis management and public safety are about having the right tools to perform essential services better. Get in touch so one of our professionals can show you how to bring your IT to the next level with scalable hybrid solutions that make your job easier and everyone’s lives safer.
