Jim Goodnight saw. Reacted. SAS responded. Its analytics software helped save lives. Pro bono.

But first, a bit of backstory.

Anyone who has seen “The Impossible” which focuses on the devastation and human tragedy of the Indonesian tsunami knows the devastation the ocean can wreak. 

The on-rushing wave of water sweeps virtually everything before it – including stars Naomi Watts and Ewen McGregor. The rush of water back to the ocean adds further devastation.

Now recall the videos and photos of the incredible damage wreaked in the Philippines in 2013 by super Typhoon Haiwan.

Goodnight didn’t need to see a Hollywood epic to be moved. A frequent traveler to southeast Asia, the billionaire co-founder of SAS was determined that SAS – a global leader in data analytics with $3 billion in annual revenues – would help the Haiwan relief efforts.

Free.

Data analytics as a tool to help save lives in an emergency? Yes.

Thanks to the compassion of Goodnight, rescue organizations were able to make rapid use of analytics to crunch big volumes of data – such as tweets from a disaster zone – to deliver actionable results. I.e., helping to save lives.

Analytics is not thought to be a quick process. In the case of super Typhoon Haiyan, that belief turned out to be wrong.

“Immediately after the typhoon, Dr. Goodnight wanted to know how SAS could help,”  I-Sah Hsieh, global manager of International Development at SAS, tells WRAL TechWire.

“So SAS’ International Development team reached out to contacts at IOM [International Organization for Migration, part of the U.N.] who were already on the ground trying to address the MANY needs that existed.

“When we heard that most of their data on the hundreds of displacement centers was on a spreadsheet, we knew we could add value there. And from there we branched out to other areas like social media/text analytics.”

IOM’s own Displacement Tracking Matrix coupled with SAS analytics began delivering the actionable intelligence. (See the graphic that depicts the dashboard of information SAS helped analyze.)

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Thousands of tweets from the disaster area helped keep government and relief officials informed about what was happening.

The end result from SAS showed in almost real time specific, detailed data about what relief was needed  - and where.

IOM is a first responder of international reach, helping countries and communities deal with disasters. In the case of this typhoon, which killed thousands and left 300,000 homeless, IOM was looking for help to get relief where needed – fast.

In a report about relief efforts and how SAS assisted, the IOM notes that the SAS office in the Philippines reached out with an offer of assistance.

“Within minutes …”

A passage in the report points out clearly how fast SAS was able to respond with the number crunching and analysis:

“The Philippines office of SAS Visual Analytics organized and analysed the data to identify shelters which faced the most critical health risks.

“Within minutes of the first data being uploaded, a map emerged showing shelters experiencing a dangerous mix of overcrowding, unsafe drinking water and solid waste disposal problems.

“This allowed IOM to pinpoint sites where high number of families still lived in makeshift shelters or dramatic growth of certain vulnerable populations in a short amount of time.”

Help for Future Disasters

SAS and IOM fully disclosed the results of their collaboration on Tuesday.

Going forward, I-Sah says SAS hopes to use analytics to deal with other disasters.

“The success of this initial project has sparked many ways of using analytics in disaster response,” he explains.

“We are in discussions both on a local and global level to determine what an on-going initiative would look like. SAS is committed to using our analytics to help minimize the suffering that follows a disaster.”

Especially if Goodnight – who is a philanthropist who doesn’t often discuss his giving back – is tuned in to what’s happening. 

In a statement, the director general of IOM praised SAS.

“We have been working to enhance preparedness by developing practical tools for government officials, humanitarian organizations and affected communities,” said Ambassador William Swing. “The SAS collaboration provided the right tool at the right time. We, our beneficiaries and partners are all grateful for the partnership and technology.”

As are, no doubt, the thousands who received relief – and lived.