In the Aftermath of Tragedy

  Business Intelligence   Strategy  

My heart sinks each day as I see the rising death tolls reported from the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, will be dead by the time all the casualties are counted and tens of millions will have their lives and their livelihood altered forever. Most of these individuals are the poorest of poor and will not have access to the resources to help them climb out of the hole of devastation for generations.

While the world has responded in its generous way by donating large amounts of food, money and clothing, these actions are temporal and will wane over time and those affected will need to pick up whatever remaining pieces that they have and survive.

While this disaster will undoubtedly rank in the Top 5 during modern times of total damage and total casualties, this event did not take place in the 13th century, 18th century or even in the early 20th century. As a world today, we are supposedly much more technologically advanced and able to respond to global situations much more quickly due to our advancements. However, as this tsunami has shown, we have a long way to go in terms of extending that technology globally.

While the information technology economy continues to boom in certain contexts, the poorest continue to live as if they lived in the 13th century. Technology has not been integrated into …

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