Reference no: EM131483708
Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:
1. Needs and Challenges: What is the need or challenge of the organization? What are potential ways to address that need or challenge? How can it be improved?
2. Innovative Technologies: What are three innovative technologies that can be used to address the needs of the organization, and how do the technologies address the needs?
3. Assessment: Assess the technologies with regard to cost, implementation, potential benefits, and stakeholder effect. Be sure to comprehensively address each component of the assessment for each of the three innovative technologies.
4. Selection: Based on the assessment, which innovative technology best meets the organization's needs and why?
Background: In the event of devastating natural and man-made disaster events, the loss of critical communication infrastructure is one of the primary barriers to providing quick response to aid the victims of these events.
Events such as Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast of the US in 2005, the 9.3 magnitude earthquake and its resultant tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, and the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti in 2010 that may have killed up to 85,000 people and displaced ten times that figure completely eliminated all means of communication such as telephone land lines and cellular telephone networks.
The damage was so severe, even emergency contingency communications were wiped out. This massive devastation to local and regional communications infrastructure in turn hindered relief as efforts to provide and disseminate relief efforts and supplies, triage victims, and provide other relief efforts such as telemedicine to diagnose and treat victims remotely. Even smaller and more localized events, such as the May 2013 tornado swarm in Oklahoma, can leave the regional communications infrastructure unusable for a time.
United Mobile Response Systems (UMRS) provides integrated solutions for crisis and disaster response organizations worldwide. This small, innovative company is based in the high tech hub of Reston, VA, with its primary mission to support the crisis response community by injecting cutting edge technology solutions to enable its customers to decrease response time and increase overall effectiveness of crisis response operations for these customers.
UMRS has a robust Business Development and Marketing (BDM) Team, which is largely made of former crisis response professionals with experience in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts with the US military and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and local emergency management. This team has been surveying and interviewing government disaster response personnel as well as analyzing and responding to recent Requests for Information and Market Surveys that have been released by various US and international organizations, including FEMA and the international relief organization UNICEF.
Their analysis has concluded that a viable and profitable market exists to develop a mobile communications solution that can address the major requirements for re-establishing a viable communications capability in regions where the infrastructure no longer (or possibly never did) exists and have been working with Engineering and Integration (EI) Team to develop what could be UMRS' signature offering.
The primary requirements for this product are: - Mobility - must have a Mobile Command Center housed in a ruggedized vehicle with at least a 14 inch clearance and 300 mile range before refueling and capability of onboard power generation to support the communications solution - once in place, the MCC would serve at the base and central location for relief efforts and would in most cases be co-located with central relief coordination efforts - to extend range from the MCC, other communications devices would be deployed that complement the MCC - Data - must be capable of at least transmitting voice with a preference for also transmitting data, as it is important to be able to send and receive sensitive health data to and from the MCC - Range - must be able to extend the communications range beyond the mobile command center within a 10 mile radius with an option and preference for being able to provide communications external to the MCC if they exist at that range (connect to other MCCs) UMRS Engineers have already identified a viable solution for providing the vehicle for the MCC that meets requirements. They have agreed to purchase modified versions of the rugged military HUMVEE from AM General, based in South Bend, IN, as the platform for the MCC. This version cuts cost by removing the requirements for protective armor, thus reducing weight and extending the maximum range.
In addition, the vehicle has onboard power generation capability of 2400W max, more than enough to run a small server farm or other electronic devices if needed. This vehicle can carry a payload of 3500 pounds and has 250 cubic feet of open area in the rear. Problem: Instead of developing the communications solution in-house, the Engineers and BDM team have decided to acquire and integrate a communications solution in conjunction with the MCC vehicle.
In addition to the data and range requirements above, reliability is an important factor in disaster relief; however, reliability may be balanced by other factors such as extending range or other capabilities. Cost is an important factor as potential customers will be evaluating this solution against other candidates; that said, anticipated competitions for these vehicles are believed to judge candidates by Best Value, so cost that adds significant value in improving disaster relief communications efforts would be acceptable and would be considered. The solution may be a single product or an effort that integrates multiple products with minimal additional effort required for integration to minimize unit costs. UMRS hopes to bring this complete product to market within five years.
For Milestone One, you will submit the background for the problem and your research of three innovative technologies that have the potential to address the specific business scenario above. You will identify the technologies that you considered, document the advantages and disadvantages of each technology relative to the business scenario, identify which technology you have selected for the scenario, and provide justification for your selection.