Sustainable Workforce Deployment in an Age of Cyber Security, Terrorism, Natural Disasters and Limited Transportation Resources

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 • 5:30 p.m. ET

Hurricane Sandy brought to the surface a number of critical topics over the past month — climate change, emergency preparedness, and the challenges of getting people to work when a disaster occurs. Disasters remind us how dependent we are on infrastructure systems and how fragile they are. The impact on our transportation systems and energy (gasoline) to fuel them has similarities to our telecommunications systems and our reliance on electricity. When these systems or their energy sources are disrupted, the infrastructure fails.

In the aftermath of the storm, limited train services and public transportation as well as impassable routes resulted in traffic congestion. Inadequate gasoline supplies and loss of power required to pump gasoline resulted in long lines of drivers waiting at filling stations while attempting to return to work. This competition for limited gas supplies and congested highways impeded the effectiveness of first responders and emergency response efforts.

This presentation will introduce how strategic regional deployment of employees using a protected network infrastructure can provide a timely solution to issues of sustainability, limited transportation funding with increasing congestion, security, and ability to survive in uncertain times.

Michael B. Shear, founder and CEO of Strategic Office Networks, LLC. and Broadband Planning Initiative, has more than three decades of experience in bringing new technologies and services to market. Through his experience in switching systems, enterprise networks, services management, and technology portfolio financing, he led the product definition and market creation of national directory assistance.

Shear turned his attention to identifying how information technologies may enhance community sustainability by increasing access to job opportunities while reducing gasoline consumption, traffic congestion, and air pollution. He earned a patent on the multi-location distributed workplace method in 2010 and was a 2012 Kansas City Google Gigabit Challenge finalist.

Over the past decade, Shear has lectured and worked with a number of metropolitan regional planning organizations, state officials, and local leaders in helping them to assess broadband priorities and better understand their relevance in re-engineering local economies. Shear has a BS in international affairs and an MS in telecommunications from the University of Colorado.

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