< Previous| tribalnetonline.com60BYNATE REGIMBALSENIOR MANAGER, BUSINESS CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGY, GRANT THORNTON LLPNate Regimbal is a Digital Transformation consultant within Advisory Services at Grant Thornton LLP, helping clients define and implement digital and organizational strategies and solutions that enable business and growth objectives. Nate has worked for consulting and technology firms for over 13 years, serving clients across industries.ABOUT THE AUTHORWHAT IS AR?Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that enhances — or augments — a view of the real world with computer-generated objects, including voice, images, video and text. One example is Heads-up Display technology in cars that presents data — such as speed or navigational information — out in front of the driver, allowing them to keep their head positioned “up” while viewing this information. Another example is the pop cultural phenomenon Pokémon GO game. The app uses a mobile device’s camera, GPS and gyroscope to find and show nearby virtual Pokémon characters on the device’s display — creating the experience that the Pokémon exists in the real world.EXPERIENCE BUT ALSO INTERACTAR isn’t only about receiving enhanced experiences. AR also has an outbound mode, allowing users to create virtual objects within the real world so that they or others can subsequently interact with them. For example, the AR “sky-writing” app, Skrite, allows you to upload drawings, photos and messages and virtually “write” them in the sky. Users can create a public message like “John was here!” above the Grand Canyon or private messages like “The side gate is unlocked” — viewable only when the mobile device of the intended recipient is nearby and aimed toward the GPS coordinates of where the sender’s virtual message was “written.”MORE THAN JUST A GAMEAR is not just for leisure and entertainment. AR solutions are being adopted within the enterprise and unlocking value in virtually every department.Ken Hubbard is CFO at Meridiun (www.meridiun.com) — an AR cloud platform and solution company in Irvine, CA. “We started in the medical space, creating active print solutions for tier I medical device companies,” said Hubbard. “We then automated the relationship between the employee and the Human Resource (HR) department within large enterprise customers. With hundreds or thousands of employees, one problem is that HR is constantly being called upon to answer individual employee questions.”Meridiun alleviated that pain by enabling instant access by employees to their personal information. “We solved a multi-million dollar problem by allowing employees to simply aim their phone at an HR sign. Our app automatically pulls up information about that employee, allowing them to quickly find what they need,” added Hubbard. Hubbard continues by saying it’s not just for HR. “Every enterprise department has an AR opportunity, from streamlining Disaster Recovery processes, to enhancing training, to requesting access to secure areas by pointing your phone at a door. We are limited by only our imagination as to how AR will improve every company, their process and profitability. We have so much to learn, create and deploy.”“IT’S ALL ABOUT EXPERIENCE”Tribes realize the need to continually attract and retain customers. They need new and better games and features, or other amenities like golf, laser-tag and cinema. Tribes embracing this reality understand that they have evolved from a gambling destination to an entertainment destination. And with that evolution comes a need to better understand what their customers want, and to design experiences that address those customer desires.Arrianne Hoyland is a Digital Strategy consultant at Grant Thornton and a specialist in Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design methodologies. Hoyland helps clients transform digitally by using new and emerging technologies. Her passion is around the experiences delivered by technology and how to best design those experiences. “It’s all about experience,” Hoyland explains. “If you’re truly selling an experience, you need it to be the most human-centered experience it can be.”The importance of knowing your customers — and which experiences matter most to them — cannot be overstated. Hoyland continues, “The experience has to be created, tested and prototyped with people. Because if you’re going to invest in building a new experience, you need to take the risk out of it.”WHERE TO START?Knowing where to begin with AR starts by answering important questions, including What are our goals?, What is our strategy?, Who are our target customers?, and What capabilities will we need to win in the future? Consulting firms specializing in Digital Transformation services can help answer those questions. They create technology roadmaps — undoubtedly including AR solutions — prioritized to enable your strategy while delivering a meaningful ROI.With regards to the prerequisite of having your enterprise data in order, Hubbard explains that “In AR, you are tapping 20, 30 — even 40 databases in real-time. It all must work together to deliver an experience that is seamless and comfortable. You’ve got to have that in place ahead of time. And you must also have a user-experience platform that delivers an interesting AR world.”IDEAS FOR AR POSITIVELY IMPACTING TRIBES• Enterprise Applications: HR, Facilities Management, IT Infrastructure, Healthcare, Education• Hospitality and Amenities Applications: Wayfinding (Basic, Personalized, Space-Utilization Optimized); Personalized Gameplay Instruction; Golf Course AR• Culture Immersion Applications: AR-enabled Folklore (experience tribal cultures in new and amazing ways)With AR, you are not just delivering a better experience — you are also collecting data about your customers. So, as your expertise in data management and experiential design grows — so too will your returns on your AR investments.Could Augmented Reality be a Game-Changer for Tribes?FIGURATIVELY, LITERALLY, AND VIRTUALLY — YES!TECHNOLOGY | AUGMENTED REALITYtribalnetonline.com |61TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018FEATURE | TRIBALNETONLINE.COM| tribalnetonline.com62TECHNOLOGY | DISASTER PLANNING & PREVENTIONOver the years I have worked in many different places. However, working for the tribal government has been the most interesting and challenging part of my career. In this article I would like to talk about disaster prevention. This subject has been covered plenty of times so what I am going to be focusing on most are the aspects regarding challenges with geography and environmental disasters that matter to many tribal governments across the U.S.Recovering from a disaster can be challenging with a lot of downtime, which is unacceptable for government facilities. To prevent possible disasters, you have to first study your environment and figure out what could possibly happen. Human error is probably the biggest issue that you might face, whether it is caused by your staff or the end user. Clear policies and regular training can help mitigate potential issues for end users. We isolate our Wi-Fi from the rest of the network and only allow sanctioned devices on. Removing all unmanaged switches and properly setting up an STP root to deal with broadcast storms is other solid advice.BYHAMED HEMMATI DIRECTOR OF IT, PALA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS As for your staff, trust is the most important factor — even more critical than knowledge and experience. You have to be able to completely trust the people on your team. After all, we are government entities and we deal with confidential and sensitive information. Anyone working on your team can potentially have access. You will need to build a positive environment so anyone who has made a mistake feels comfortable enough to come forward and let you know rather than hide it. Otherwise, we would be spending hours or days trying to figure out what went wrong. Hold regular trainings to keep up with the development of new technology and schedule regular meetings so your staff can keep each other informed about what is happening.Infrastructure failure is another issue we have to deal with. Remote tribes may only be able to get one Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the area and have a power grid that does not extend to cover all facilities. Downed poles, natural disasters and other mishaps can bring down both Internet and power services at the same time, and because tribal land is often isolated, restoration of service can potentially take a long time. In these situations, downed Internet service is probably your biggest problem since everything relies on the Internet. In general, power outages are easier to deal with than Internet failure since you can produce your own power. There are plenty of grants that your tribe could utilize to put up solar panels and in some cases wind generators. You will need a decently sized battery to store the energy produced by sun or wind in order to have enough to use when the grid goes down. You could also invest in a diesel generator for your critical facilities.Some tribes (like Pala) are situated in areas that are susceptible to lightning storms, For tribal governments, disaster prevention is critical since most of our landscape is fairly spread out with small IT teams handling all areas. Our physical and personnel resources can be limited. Therefore, we have to adjust our disaster prevention and recovery plans accordingly.Weathering the StormDisaster prevention planning is crucial!Hamed Hemmati is an expert in the fields of IT and Electronics with over 18 years of experience. Currently working as the Director of IT for Pala Band of Mission Indians, covering all aspects of tribal technological needs.ABOUT THE AUTHORtribalnetonline.com |63TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018statically charged winds and other sources of electrostatic discharge. Being in open areas with widespread networks means that static charges are likely to build up and cause all kinds of weird issues. I never had to deal with these issues at any of my previous jobs and have only recently been able to identify them after extensive testing and assistance from Cisco; another geographic challenge.In order to avoid problems with electrostatic charges, you have to make sure you have proper grounding at each of your server rooms and equipment closets. You also have to make sure each individual piece of equipment is grounded by itself - don’t rely on the rack grounding. Most pieces of equipment have a grounding lug nut on the chassis somewhere. If you are using radio equipment, you have to make sure you are using the correct shielded cable with the proper tip. In some extreme cases, the grounding becomes saturated and it will no longer discharge the buildup. I had to deal with that issue during the last major solar flare. In this situation, the only thing you can do is to have unplugged standby equipment that you can plug in while you fix your main equipment.I hope what I have shared with you ends up helping you with prevention planning. I am always available if you have any question or need my assistance. I would also be happy to hear from you about your experiences with any unconventional disaster that you had to manage. the StormFEATURE | TRIBALNETONLINE.COMTRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018CHAIR OF AN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL PROSPERITY (E.O. 13790). The task force was directed to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes that would promote prosperity in rural America. The resulting report highlighted the expansion of high-speed broadband e-connectivity as fundamental to achieving many of the suggested action items.Following the release of the report, USDA Rural Development (RD) unveiled a customer-focused effort to help facilitate the task force’s recommended action items. This effort is supported by three pillars: infrastructure, partnerships and innovation. Concurrently, the USDA created the Rural Development Innovation Center, whose goals include building partnerships, streamlining service delivery and capturing evidence on the reach of RD’s programs. Within the RD Innovation Center, a partnership team will focus specifically on connecting federal, state, tribal and local agencies with lenders, businesses, educators, healthcare providers and not-for-profit entities to promote rural prosperity.With the passage of the recent Omnibus Appropriations, Congress authorized an additional $600 million for the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and deploy a new broadband loan and grant pilot program in underserved rural and tribal areas. While Rural Development works to develop the best ways to get these funds out, input from rural communities throughout America, including tribes, is welcome. Congress also provided the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program with an additional $20 million to help address the opioid epidemic in rural America. Consequently, this fiscal year and beyond will be filled with ample opportunities for tribes and tribal entities to apply for broadband, telecommunications, distance learning and telemedicine funding.In total, since 2009, USDA has awarded nearly 250 loans and grants to both tribal and non-tribal organizations serving American Indians and Alaska Natives. For example, USDA Rural Development awarded a $2 million Community Connect Grant to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to fund the construction of a fiber-to-the-premises system that will provide new, cutting-edge high-speed broadband services to residents and businesses within the Big Lake area of the Fond du Lac Reservation. This system will enable tribal members at Fond du Lac to access improved economic development, education, healthcare and public safety opportunities.The Rural DevelopmentInnovation CenterAGENCY UPDATE: USDAWith the passage of the recent Omnibus Appropriations, Congress authorized an additional $600 million for the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and deploy a new broadband loan and grant pilot program in underserved rural and tribal areas. AGENCY UPDATE | UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)USDA Rural Development is committed to partnering with tribes across the country to improve broadband access and rural prosperity. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR EXISTING AND UPCOMING PROGRAMS, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: RD.USDA.GOV.Telecommunications 7 $85,801,494Infrastructure ProgramCommunity Connect 4 $7,519,684Grant ProgramDistance Learning and 20 $3,409,384 Telemedicine ProgramGRAND TOTAL 31 $96,730,563 Telecom Program NameProjects ApprovedTotal Funds Serving Tribal AreasUSDA Rural Development continues to support Indian tribal organizations with our Rural Utilities Service (RUS) programs by providing resources to tribal and non-tribal organizations serving American Indians and Alaska Natives. In the fiscal year 2017, over $500 million was invested in 107 broadband and broadband-related projects across rural America. Through the hard work of tribal and USDA Rural Development staff, approximately 20% of those funds went to projects that proposed to serve tribal areas:| tribalnetonline.com64tribalnetonline.com |65TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018FEATURE | TRIBALNETONLINE.COM| tribalnetonline.com68Next >