Restoring Internet and telephone services is becoming a key component of disaster response, and integral to the delivery of immediate needs like food, water and shelter.
That is where companies like Cisco Systems Inc., a technology company based in San Jose, California, come in to help provide connectivity to both victims and responders. Cisco has a tactical operations team dedicated to disaster response. The West Coast team lead is Rakesh Bharania, a network consulting engineer who has designed and deployed networks for disaster response from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti to the Ebola virus last year.
Bharania has volunteered with the American Red Cross since he was 18, but he didn't see the intersection disaster response has with his career in networking and information security until he started with Cisco. Devex spoke with Bharania about the role of tech companies in disaster response, the refugee crisis and what he’s learned. Here is an excerpt from that interview:
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
