[kictanet] Cloud computing - moving the country ahead

[wesley kiriinya]

Good Furahi-day Gentlmen & Ladies,
 
I believe the govenment, parastatals, related agencies and private organizations like financial institutions e.g. CMA, should consider cloud computing as a way to move Kenya ahead.
 
Why? I will answer that briefly with some examples.
 
1. Any organization (e.g. NGOs) who wants to transact with govenment can link with their Web Service applications. A Web Service application is a piece of software that runs on a server. It encapsulates the business rules of an organization and it is specialized in performing a particular function. More than one Web Service application can be used to create an entire business process. Institutions have rules and services that they provide and sometimes it's not really their interest to act on those rules i.e. they can create rules meant to be followed by other institutions/organizations, these are good candidates for Web Service applications. For example the ministry of immigration can host a Web Service application that simply maintains the records of people in Kenya, and any other institution (e.g. banks) that wants access to this information knows where the official place for getting the information is. Therefore software running in the bank meant
 should link with the Web Service application from the immigration department to obtain people's records. This point is very summarized. I would encourage you to open your mind and think of the possibilities. One of the basic ideas here is Separation of Concerns i.e. do what you are meant to do and do it well!
 
2. It is independent of the platform on which the Web services/cloud computing is taking place.
 
3. There is great investment in the local fibre connection and in the next few years it seems network connection will be very good.
 
4. Business for data centers.
 
5. It is local content!
 
6. It is cheaper to build and maintain.
 
One barrier might be whether the current software systems bought (by government) can be easily configured to work in a cloud computing environment, i.e. having the software run as web services. If these systems were done locally (apart from the obvious gains of employment, utilizing the country's knowlegable workforce, encouraging research in higher education institutions, etc) adjusting them to new technology is convinient and the client buying the software is bound to Kenyan law and not the laws of the country where the software originated. Another advantage of going local is that foreign companies that charge expensively for their software might be reluctant to adjust the software to work with technology that is cheaper for the client and in this case Web Services are probably cheaper as refactoring (changing) the software is less complex because the components are loosely coupled.
 
This is a big topic and I should probably write a proper/formal paper on this but due to time I cannot, though if anyone manages to write one have the courtesy to credit me (if u got the idea from this email).
 
Regards.
8~)

 


      
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