Windows Azure Storm after ESRI maps Izumo future

The storm struck. The trees were blown down over the wires and the water level elevated. The emergency management team is busy calculating the losses. The first responders intuitively answer these questions often starting with a map. These maps are often provided by Geographic information Bae (GIS) leader Esri. A few weeks ago, my visit to their REDLANDS,CA headquarters happened one day after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. Long-term GIS solutions have been developed into complex http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/8284.html "> Desktop applications for use by trained GIS professionals." But over the past year ESRI has included cloud-based components in its systems called ArcGIS Online. It allows users, even ordinary people like you and me, to create, instantly publish, and share interactive maps. Its downloads increased during the storm. After the peak of the storm, the system hosted by Windows Azure expanded three times times the number of maps, from 50 million to 150 million, to learn more about how the cloud affects the industry, and I'm with Esri's public Safety and national Paul Ross, general manager of Security FX Russ Johnson and the product manager for ArcGIS Online, has had a conversation.

In the past ...

Prior to joining Esri, Russ was a former commander of a national Accident response team. "It's critical to anticipate the location of a disaster before it happens, especially when you are leading a diverse team across local, state and federal locations," he said. This information is usually printed and distributed to the emergency handling staff. The biggest challenge is finding data, because local governments tend to be disrupted by disasters. For the 9.11 event, it took at least a week to find data, assemble, standardize, create a database, and then make a map. When the map is finished, some people will ask some belated questions. "What kind of bridge can be negative overload?" Which government building is vacant and damaged? Wait a minute.

Once the initial task is finalized, it is usually scheduled to be refreshed every 12 hours. It takes the helicopter 4-5 hours to measure the accident. Then spend a few more hours with the planning team to develop new tasks for the emergency processing team to print.

At present ...

Entering the cloud will fundamentally change a 30-year process, with several major aspects. The first is to get a lot of practical basic data online. Then it's easy to use-people can use new applications to quickly create maps, and anyone can manipulate them, no need to be experts. Now that the data and information are in real time, maps can be updated dynamically-you can know the status of roads, gas stations and shelters. Maps that don't need to be printed or preferably converted to static PDFs are then published online. Now these maps can be positioned almost instantaneously and are easily shared across multiple organizations. Resource allocation can be sent directly to the emergency response team via digital technology. The public can also access these maps. This will enable us to make smarter decisions, get better results, and let management follow up better.

The cloud enables another new feature called Dynamic binding. For example, a map of the flood area is obtained and a real-time flow pressure gauge is introduced to show the current water level. Or get a layer of shelters and open stores nearby. One map generates another. The average user can combine these static and dynamic data themselves. There are infinite possibilities. For example...... A question related to many people-how did Hurricane Sandy affect the voter turnout of the 2012 U.S. presidential election? The map shows constituency-level historical polling data and disaster-covered FEMA impact areas.

The darker color is the place worst hit by the storm. By combining storms and polling data, the impact of storms on the expected votes of political parties can be estimated.

The future ...

A more powerful thing is slowly emerging – to allow the public to assess disaster losses. As the storm approached, Esri created a cloud-based mobile solution that allowed individuals to escalate and upload the status of the ground to the central database. And with the wide use of smartphones, this creates a concept of making public members a sensor for loss assessment. What a powerful thing.

Although we are not there yet, the cloud has become a turning point in changing the industry. Paul Ross said that when he first met Hurricane Sandy, he did not hesitate to enable the cloud to assume the task of providing critical information. Utility companies posted a power cut icon-indicating where the power was cut and when electricity could be restored. State and local governments have announced evacuation maps and storm-affected areas.

The inspiring thing is that ESRI does not just do the same things on the platform as it did on the cloud. Also doing things that can only be done on the cloud. This shows how the power of the software is helping to solve real human problems and cloud power is gradually increasing the problem of how to operate.

About ESRI and Microsoft Disaster response

During the disaster, ESRI and Microsoft partners provide public and private institutional and community information on the cloud computing infrastructure. Microsoft guides people through online platforms such as MSN, Bing, and microsoft.com to get this information.