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Southern California Looks To A Cloud From Chester County For Disaster Relief

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Chester County company is pitching in to help in the aftermath of the deadly mudslides and wildfires in Southern California. Relief is arriving by way of the cloud.

"Within about two days we had this up and running," says Guy Fardone of a hotline so people affected by the disasters could easily reach a mental health counselor.

The system is powered by technology from the cloud strategy company Evolve IP in Wayne, where Fardone is CEO.

"It's a distributed and cloud-based contact center, so that therapists and counselors can be anywhere, taking calls from the Montecito area and the Santa Barbara area," he explains.

Several dozen trained volunteers are on the other end. Evolve IP's cloud data centers around the world quickly route help to those who need it.

It's the kind of thing that might be overlooked even as monetary and clothing donations pour in. Fardone says it's one example of how tech gives back:

"It's part of our core values," Fardone says, "being involved where needed with non-profits and with the community."

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