The article mentions: you defeat Ebola by meeting it where it is now, not where it was. You can only beat it by stopping the spread of the infection, so it's very critical to move with speed and accuracy. Dashboards and reporting aren't very glamorous, I know, but we're really dealing with the flow of information to stop the spread of infection.

Intelligence is the ability to predict, and we need information to do it. It wasn't directly said in the article, but the information allows you to see patterns and predict spread, and meet it 'now'. As in, position yourself in a spot where you predict the disease will spread, and then be ready beforehand so you have every advantage to stop the spread of the disease.