THE Philippine office of technology firm Cisco has developed an end-to-end solution to help local government units (LGUs) and other organizations deal with disaster preparedness, response and even rebuilding initiatives.

Dubbed as Cisco Konektado, this all-in-one connectivity, communications and collaboration solution can be used to establish or strengthen connections between the high-risk LGUs and their respective municipalities as well as with government bodies that oversee disaster preparation and response.

Cisco Konektado was officially launched in the Philippines, specifically in Cebu through a roadshow at the Seda Hotel Ayala Center Cebu on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 attended by over a hundred LGU representatives and community stakeholders.

Karrie Ilagan, Cisco Philippines managing director, said Cisco Konektado was born out of the company’s goal to harness the use of technology in supporting the country’s local disaster approach.

She said Cisco’s tactical operations team had learned so much during its response efforts during the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.

Cisco initially developed a rapid response kit, a portable and easy-to-use network and device to be used as the first line of communication for first responders until it shifted its focus to developing a solution that will help LGUs be more proactive in addressing the challenges before, during and after a disaster.

According to Ilagan, disaster preparedness is very crucial for the Philippines as it is visited by an average of 26 storms per year, and is prone to earthquakes due to its location in the Ring of Fire.

“Technology can help us respond to natural calamities quicker and lessen the number of casualties,” she said.

Cisco’s Konektado was first deployed in Legazpi City in the aftermath of typhoon Tisoy in December 2019.

Cisco’s Konektado is available in three bundles classified according to the LGUs requirement—Konektado Bayan, Konektado Munisipyo and Konektado Siyudad. The basic bundle costs half a million pesos inclusive of the technical and disaster management training to be provided by Cisco.

The solution allows stakeholders all over the country to communicate via video even in areas where communication infrastructure may be lacking or has yet to be developed. It also has the capability to establish networks when infrastructure is down. Its software and hardware suite was also built to be interoperable.

“Each high-functioning component of the solution is made to be easily installed, programmed and used by non-technical people, eliminating the need for dedicated specialists and cutting down time for staging and deployment when action is crucial,” said Ilagan. (KOC)