Tech behemoth IBM said it has committed P40 million ($860,000) worth of technology, services, and expertise as part of its contribution to the disaster rehabilitation and preparedness efforts in the Philippines.

IBM, through its Philippine subsidiary, said it collaborated with the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) for the implementation of its Emergency Response Network (ERN) - Sahana Go Kit.

Sahana is an integrated set of free and open source Web-based applications that provide solutions to large-scale humanitarian problems in the aftermath of a disaster -- from finding missing people, managing aid, managing volunteers, tracking camps effectively between government groups, the civil society (NGOs), and the victims themselves.

The ERN is an emergency/disaster system designed to yield a core communications infrastructure for restoration of basic local voice and data communications across a small defined area.

IBM and NDCC said they will be exploring ways to customize Sahana, with the tech firm saying that it is prepared to provide its technology to enhance NDCC’s existing IT infrastructure and complement it with necessary skills and services.

The coverage of the assistance may include the provision of IBM servers and storage, project management services, a review of NDCC’s IT network infrastructure, provision of software developers to customize Sahana, ERN related services and volunteers from IBM On Demand Community and the IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC).

In the near term, IBM said it has plans to deploy a CSC volunteer who is an IBM certified senior project manager who has managed various types of Linux projects for the past six years.

In 2010, IBM said it will deploy two additional CSC teams to Metro Manila to assist NDCC, its member agencies, and other NGOs in the rehabilitation of local communities.

The tech giant also said it will adopt at least 40 affected schools in the National Capital Region and Northern Luzon by donating computers, software and training through its KidSmart program.

KidSmart is IBM’s Learning Program designed to support children from preschool up to grade 3.

As the damage caused by the typhoons is unprecedented, IBM said it is tripling its annual KidSmart donation to the Philippines to support schools in need.