Dunkin' Brands, the coffee-and-doughnuts chain with locations in 60 countries, is using a predictive analytics tool to help keep employees safe during international conflicts.
John Sullivan, Dunkin's director of corporate security, uses software called Recorded Future to look for global danger signs. The software scans Web sources to anticipate emerging threats to corporate security.
Sullivan learned of a planned protest in Bogota, Columbia, thanks to the software, before employees were scheduled to travel there. "We would've sent a dozen employees into the heart of the protest," he says. "You just don't know if it could spin out of control." Sullivan had employees reschedule the trip.
The current Middle East conflict prompted Sullivan to develop better emergency escape routes for employees there. Workers in Beirut can no longer travel through Syria due to the danger of roadside bombs; they now have instructions to go through Cyprus.
Sullivan says: "We have to be ahead of what's about to happen so we can keep employees safe and out of those areas."
Lauren Brousell is a staff writer for CIO magazine. Follow her on Twitter @LBrousell. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn.
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