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GSN Magazine June 2016 Digital Edition

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Convy on Net-Centric Security<br />

New Mobile Technology for<br />

Disaster Response<br />

By John Convy, Convy Associates, Washington, DC<br />

When disasters and conflicts take<br />

place, communications and power<br />

infrastructure can be severely damaged<br />

or rendered nonexistent, and<br />

must be restored as vital components<br />

for response and recovery. Government,<br />

aid agencies,<br />

and NGOs are increasingly<br />

depending on<br />

digital communications<br />

to deliver food,<br />

shelter, medical aid,<br />

and conduct searches<br />

and rescues.<br />

Surprisingly, some<br />

people displaced by disasters<br />

are initially more concerned<br />

with communicating with friends<br />

and family than receiving food or<br />

water. In our ultra-connected world,<br />

mobile connectivity has become a<br />

basic and essential human need.<br />

When disasters bring down critical<br />

infrastructure, first responders<br />

now rely on many new forms of<br />

mobile technology. Mobile seems to<br />

improve and advance on a monthly<br />

basis, along with a fast-growing demand<br />

for instant and accurate information<br />

for billions of people worldwide.<br />

The mobile industry is responding<br />

with a dramatic surge in new tools<br />

and inventions.<br />

One of these that I happened upon<br />

recently is a text messaging, contacts,<br />

calendaring, and task management<br />

With Gyst, an incident commander, first<br />

responder, or disaster service worker can<br />

communicate, collaborate, and coordinate<br />

with anyone, anywhere in the world who<br />

can receive SMS or MMS messages.<br />

app from a startup in Austin, Texas,<br />

founded by former Dell executive<br />

Bruce Kornfeld. Named Gyst, Inc.<br />

(gystapp.com), the company is funded<br />

by angel investors, including former<br />

BlackBerry board member Jim<br />

Estill.<br />

Kornfeld told me that<br />

Gyst is designed to be a<br />

powerful productivity tool<br />

for professional and organizational<br />

communications<br />

that he hopes will<br />

revolutionize in-the-field<br />

emergency and disaster<br />

26<br />

Bruce Kornfeld<br />

response, and make disaster service<br />

workers better connected and more<br />

effective.<br />

“There is a growing need for specialized<br />

text applications to help in<br />

disaster response situations, because<br />

it’s common for wireless<br />

voice communications<br />

to be down, but<br />

for data to still be up,”<br />

Kornfeld explained.<br />

“If voice calls are impossible,<br />

as long as an<br />

SMS or cellular data<br />

connection is available,<br />

Gyst can function<br />

optimally.”<br />

At its core, Gyst is a productivity<br />

and organizational tool. But, because<br />

of its unique capabilities, I think it<br />

may find a place among disaster response<br />

organizations, by positioning<br />

itself as a useful means of<br />

fast, global communications<br />

for both agencies and<br />

individual users.<br />

“Gyst has the ability to<br />

operate anywhere in the<br />

world, and connect with<br />

any user who has a cellular<br />

data connection. It helps

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