Tech for Good: Microsoft's Alliance for Disaster Management

by Catherine (Kitty) Keller
article posted on the US Chamber of Commerce' Business Civic Leadership Center blog

Microsoft and its Citizenship team last week unveiled a new nonprofit alliance to enhance disaster relief management. The partnership with the Aidmatrix Foundation, a supply chain management humanitarian organization, is part of Microsoft's efforts to support disaster response organizations through the use of information and communications technology. As part of the partnership, Aidmatrix Foundation will use a variety of Windows Azure and Bing Maps-based technologies to provide dynamic maps, social media information, photos and video content. These technologies will facilitate communications between responders and with the public during disasters, allowing for the rapid exchange of information on conditions in the disaster areas, disbursement of resources where they are most needed, and connecting community members with the available relief resources.

Aidmatrix, founded on initial investments from Accenture, i2 Technologies, and UPS, has been an R&D partner of Microsoft and is integrating Microsoft’s Windows-based Azure technology into its SCM4Giving™ and other humanitarian aid platforms. This platform enables partners, including state/local governments and nonprofit organizations, to publish their list of needed relief items on their own website as well as directly to the Microsoft network of disaster communication websites, making the needs requests visible to a broad audience. Aidmatrix partners with more than 40,000 nonprofit, corporate, and government relief agencies worldwide who can benefit from this work during times of disaster.

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