CHAPTER 3

E-GOVERNMENT
INFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOPMENT

HPP
Syllabus Topics

 Network Infrastructure;
 Computing Infrastructure;
 Data centers;
 E-Government Architecture;
 Interoperability Framework;
 Cloud Governance;
Syllabus Topics

 E-readiness;
 Data System Infrastructure;
 Legal Infrastructural Preparedness;
 Institutional Infrastructural Preparedness;
 Human Infrastructural Preparedness;
 Technological Infrastructural Preparedness
E-Governance Infrastructure

 A set of basic services and tools that enables the development and
execution of electronic public services ( e-services).
 It provides services that are typically used by many services (e-

services).
 It is foundational and its usage spans several agencies.

 A platform for facilitating the interoperability of e-services.

 It provides services that are typically used by many services (e-

services).
Need for E-governance Infrastructure
 The likely future for e-Government growing number of offered e-

services a web of relations emerging between e-services more

agencies involved, more complex services increased level of
Nationwide Infrastructure for E-government

 National E-Governance Infrastructure should primarily

involve ,setting up following facilities as follows:

 Nationwide Communication Infrastructure/Government Backbone Network

 Data Centers

 Interoperability Framework for E-Government

 E-Government Architecture

 Computing Infrastructures
Network Infrastructure

 Network infrastructure is the hardware and software resources of an

entire network that enable network connectivity , communication
operations and management of an enterprise network and establish
the connectivity to all the entities of digital governance.
 Network infrastructure is typically part of the IT infrastructure found in
most enterprise IT environments.
 The entire network infrastructure is interconnected and can be used
for internal communications, external communications, or both.
Network Infrastructure

 It Provides the communication path and services between users,

processes ,applications, services and the internet. The entire
network infrastructure is interconnected and can be used for internal
communications, eternal communications or both
 A typical network infrastructure includes
 a) Networking Hardware

 b) Networking Software

 c) Networking Services
Network Infrastructure

 1. Networking Hardware:
 Networking hardware, also known as network
equipment or computer networking devices, are
electronic devices that are required for communication
and interaction between devices on a computer
network.
 Specifically, they mediate data transmission in a
computer network.
 Units that are the last receiver or generate data are
called hosts, end systems, or data terminal equipment.
Different Networking Hardware is described below:-
Network Infrastructure : Networking
Hardware:
 a) Routers : A router is an electronic device that interconnects two or
more computer networks and interchanges packets of data between them.
Each data packet contains address information that a router can use to
determine if the source and destination are on the same network, or if the
data packet must be transferred from one network to another. If you have
a LAN that you want to connect to the Internet, you will need a router to
serve as the translator between information on your LAN and the Internet
 b) Switch : A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices
on a computer network. A Switch contains more advanced features than
Hub. The Switch contains the updated table that decides where the data
is transmitted or not. The switch delivers the message to the correct
destination based on the physical address present in the incoming
message. A Switch does not broadcast the message to the entire network
like the Hub. It determines the device to whom the message is to be
transmitted. Therefore, we can say that switch provides a direct
Network Infrastructure : Networking
Hardware:
 c) LAN cards : A LAN card connects a computer to a network. LAN cards
are typically built into your computer. You can connect to the network via
an Ethernet cable, usb, or wirelessly. LAN cards also make it possible to
connect many different computers together through the LAN.
 d) Hub : A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network connection
among multiple devices. When a computer requests some information
from a network, it first sends the request to the Hub through cable. Hub
will broadcast this request to the entire network. All the devices will
check whether the request belongs to them or not. If not, the request will
be dropped.
 e) Cables : Network cables are used to connect and transfer data and
information between computers, routers, switches, and storage area
networks. These cables are essentially the carrier or media through
which data flows. There are different types of communications cables,
and the appropriate type to use will depend on the structure and
 Network Infrastructure : Networking
Software
 Networking software is a foundational element for any network. It helps
administrators deploy, manage, and monitor a network. Traditional networks are
made up of specialized hardware, such as routers and switches, that bundle the
networking software into the solution.
 a ) Network operations and management : It manages, automates, and
ensures compliance for Physical, Virtual, and Software-Defined Networks. It is the
first heterogeneous network management solution to provide unified management
for modern networks.
 b )Operating systems : An operating system is the most important software that
runs on a computer. It manages the computer's memory and processes, as well as
all of its software and hardware.
 It also allows you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak
the computer's language. Without an operating system, a computer is useless.
 c) Firewall : A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or
from a private network.

 Network Infrastructure : Networking
Services
 A networking service is a low-level application that enables the network to perform
more than basic functions.
 a ) T-1 Line : A TI line is a communications transmission service that uses 2
twisted pair copper wires to transmit and receive data or voice traffic. A T1 line can
transmit data at a speed of 1.544 Mbps.
 b) DSL : Stands for "Digital Subscriber Line." DSL is a communications medium
used to transfer digital signals over standard telephone lines. Along with cable
Internet, DSL is one of the most popular ways ISPs provide broadband Internet
access.
 c) Satellite : A satellite is an object in space that orbits or circles around a bigger
object.
 There are two kinds of satellites: natural (such as the moon orbiting the Earth) or
artificial (such as the International Space Station orbiting the Earth).
 Network Infrastructure : Networking
Services
 d) Wireless Protocols : Wireless communication protocols are used
to connect computers, laptops, and smartphones. The more
widespread and standardized protocols are wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11)
or Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15. 1). The implementation of these protocols
in a device requires high processing capacity and big energy
consumption.
 e) IP addressing : An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a
numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer
network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP
address serves two main functions: host or network interface
identification and location addressing.
Computing Infrastructure

 Computing Infrastructure provides the hardware and

services that other systems and services are built on.
 Computing Infrastructure provides management and
support for end-user computers, servers, storage
systems, operating systems, databases, middleware,
and ERP systems.
 There are three groups that make up the
Computing Infrastructure team:
 Database and ERP Administration
 End-User Computing
 Server & Storage Services
Computing Infrastructure : Database
and ERP Administration
 The Database and ERP Administration group manages
and supports the main database infrastructure for core
applications used by staff, faculty, and students, based
on Oracle Database software.
 It also manages and supports Oracle and MySQL
databases for a variety of administrative and academic
needs.
 The group is also responsible for installing, configuring,
building, and recovering processes, securing, and
monitoring the health of the database infrastructure.
Computing Infrastructure : End User
Computing
 The End-User Computing group consists of two teams that provide personal
computer management, support, and assistance to faculty and staff, in addition
to academic computer labs and classroom management.
 The End-User Computing hardware team is the "hands and feet" for CCS. This
team provides guidance, recommendations, and assists, faculty and staff, with
personal computer, printer, and other device acquisition needs. The team also
provides personal computer operating system imaging and application setup
and support, including hardware installation and connectivity to the network.
 The End-User Computing infrastructure team provides back-end management
and support for a number of key applications, including Microsoft Active
Directory, used to provide authentication and rights access to services such as
network shares and other services. This team is responsible for managing the
printing infrastructure for administrative networked printers and academic/lab
printers.
 The End-User Computing group, as a unit, works very closely with other groups
within CCS and other departments, to ensure that the best solutions and
Computing Infrastructure : Server and
Storage Services
 The Server and Storage Services group is responsible for the CCS-managed data
centers, servers, and storage systems that provide infrastructure resources to
applications and services used by staff, faculty, and students.
 The Server and Storage Services group is responsible for optimizing the
operations within the data center, including the power distribution from UPS
systems to allow power redundancy sources to data center equipment, as well
as efficient cooling within the data center.
 The Server and Storage Services group is also responsible for establishing
standard server and storage platforms and for the management of the hardware
and software required to integrate these platforms to deliver an efficient,
scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure capable of supporting layered services
that consume server and storage resources, including core applications.
 The Server and Storage group also manages the virtual server infrastructure
which is a very scalable platform used to deploy virtual servers for a variety of
core services delivered by CCS, as well as for many departments throughout the
University.
Data Center

 A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building or a

group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated
components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.
 Since IT operations are crucial for business continuity, it generally
includes redundant or backup components and infrastructure for
power supply, data communication connections, environmental
controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression), and various
security devices. A large data center is an industrial-scale
operation using as much electricity as a small town.
 A data center (or datacenter) is a facility composed of networked
computers and storage that businesses and other organizations
use to organize, process, store, and disseminate large amounts of
data. A business typically relies heavily upon the applications,
Data center

• Data Centre is the centralized location where a group of computing and

networking related equipment are concentrated for various purpose like
collecting, storing, processing, distributing or allowing access to a large
amount of data in a very organized manner.
• a data centre is a physical facility that organizations use to house their
critical applications and data.
• A data centre's design is based on a network of computing and storage
resources that enable the delivery of shared applications and data.
Key components of a data centre

• The key components of a data centre design include routers, switches,

firewalls, storage systems, servers, and application-delivery controllers.
Together they provide :
• Network Infrastructure,
• Storage Infrastructure and
• Computing Infrastructure
 Core components of a data center

• Data center design includes routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems, servers, and
application delivery controllers.
• Because these components store and manage business-critical data and
applications, data center security is critical in data center design.
• Together, they provide:
• Network infrastructure. This connects servers (physical and virtualized), data center
services, storage, and external connectivity to end-user locations.
• Storage infrastructure. Data is the fuel of the modern data center. Storage systems
are used to hold this valuable commodity.
• Computing resources. Applications are the engines of a data center. These servers
provide the processing, memory, local storage, and network connectivity that drive
applications.
 Core components of a data center

The Major Components of Data  Power Backup System

center are:  Cabling System
 Computing Hardware  Environment control and
 Racks monitoring system
 Network and Security Devices  Fire Protection System
 Connectivity  Physical Security
 Facility – like Height of ceiling ,  Monitoring and Network
false ceiling, raised access Operation Center
flooring  (For more details
 Site – connection to grids, https://simplicable.com/new/da
roads , Networks , Proximity to ta-centers)
market
GIDC (Government Integrated Data
Center)

• GIDC is without a doubt the leading hosting service provider in Nepal.One and only
one government data center of Nepal to date.
• It is a government-owned server that hosts government websites portal, MIS, and
other.
• It was set up with the collaboration of the Korea International Cooperation
Agency(Koica) and World Friends Korea in 2008 AD.
• Nepal Government has this primary data center inside the Ministry of Home
Affairs(गृह मन्त्रालय) in Singha Durbar.
• Disaster Recovery Site is located in Hetauda and this site is established with the aim
to increase security and availability of government and citizens data.
Objectives of GIDC

• Minimize investment cost by using GIDC based common facilities

• Improve stability and efficiency through concentrated central
management within Data Center that provide Internet access and
management for e-government
• Minimize operation cost by means of centralized GIDC
Offer easy expansion and upgrade for increasing demands
• Offer basic environment for government co-location and integrated
government mailing service
Features of GIDC data center

a. High End Computing Infrastructure

b. Storage Area Network (SAN)
c. High Speed Local Area Network
d. Multi-Tier Security
e. High Speed Internet Connectivity
f. 24*7*365 Help Desk
g. Multi level redundant power back-up
h. Air Conditioning Management
i. Fire Detection & Control System
List of Data Centre in Nepal

1)GIDC - One an only one government data center of Nepal

2) Data Hub Pvt. Ltd
3) Data Space Pvt. Ltd
4) Ohm Data Center
5)Access World (AWT) Cloud Services Nepal
6)Ncell Data Center
7) Cloud Himalaya
8)Syntegrate
9)Gurkha.Host Datacenter
10)CAS Infra
11)EastLink Technology
12)Silver Lining
E- Government Architecture

Fig: Overall
E-Government
Architecture
Structure
E- Government Architecture

 1) Presentation layer
 The presentation layer identifies and describes the system
users, who require access to government information at
different capacities, and the channels through which
information can be accessed.
 During system development, one is required to explicitly
identify the government user, the system is intended to
serve, and also the means through which this information is
to be accessed so that the system can be tailored to meet
these requirements.
 It manages the user’s interface with the system. If a pro-
project is to be successful, different stakeholders need to be
E- Government Architecture

 2) E-government layer : E-government public

services utilize very specialized applications that are
only available to certain agencies and not all agencies
participating in the consortium. The main goal of the e-
government layer is to achieve a government that;
 does not ask for information it already has
 Is focused on better services towards
 counties and national governments
 Will not allow its facilities to be misused
 Is well informed
E- Government Architecture
 3) Business architecture layer
 The business layer provides a functional rather than organizational
view of the government’s lines of business; including its internal
operations and services for citizens, independent of the agencies,
bureaus, and offices performing them.
 The business layer describes the devolved government around
common business, thus promotes agency collaboration and serves as
the underlying foundation for government process redesign and e-
government strategies. Each business function is analyzed for the
potential for streamlining in order to facilitate optimization via
collaboration and sharing.
E- Government Architecture
4) Information architecture layer
 This layer can be divided into two;

 a) Service classification sub-layer;

 The service classification sub-layer classifies service components

according to how they support business and performance objectives
e.g ERPS, CRMs. It serves to identify and classify horizontal and
vertical service components supporting government and their IT
investments and assets.
 It is organized across horizontal service areas independent of the
business functions, providing a leverage-able foundation for the
reuse of applications, application capabilities, and business
services.
E- Government Architecture
 b) Data standardization sub-layer
 The data standardization sub-layer is flexible and standard-based to enable
information sharing and reuse across the government via the standard
description and discovery of common data and the promotion of uniform data
management practices. It provides a standard means by which data may be
described, categorized, and shared. These are reflected- ed within each of the
three standardized areas;
 Data descriptions:- Data descriptions provide a means to uniformly describe
data, thereby supporting its discovery and sharing.
 Data context:- Data facilitates the discovery of data through an approach to
the categorization of data according to taxonomies.
 Data sharing:- Data sharing supports the access and exchange of data; where
access consists of ad hoc requests (such as a query of data access asset) and
exchange consists of fixed, recurring transactions between parties, enabled by
capabilities provided by both the data context and data description
standardization areas.
E- Government Architecture
5) Technology architecture layer
 categorizes the standards and technologies that support and

enable the delivery of service components and capabilities.

 It also unifies existing agency technologies and e-government

guidance by providing a foundation to advance the reuse and

standardization of technology and service components from a
government-wide perspective.
 So, an e-government architecture model for a devolved

government is developed. It shows clearly how government can

redesign their business processes based on the information and
government policy to develop software. For a devolved
government that operates through consultation and collaboration
GEA(Government Enterprise Architecture)

architectural framework which provides

 guidelines,
 architecture principles,
 architecture development methodology,
 content metamodel and
 the reference model
from business and technology services perspective defining the
principles of interoperability between departments
for
better and efficient service delivery to the citizens and businesses in
a country.
Enterprise
Architecture
 Interoperability

 Interoperability is one of the core ingredients for effective eGovernment.

 It refers to the ability to communicate, share information, and, ultimately,
integrate business operations across multiple organizations that share
stakeholders, have different internal processes and technologies, and retain
control of data and finances.
 It facilitates the use of data across horizontal organizational boundaries, such as
sharing within a ministry or department or within the federal government as a
whole, as well across vertical boundaries, such as between federal and provincial
governments.
 Interoperability is a policy issue that requires “whole-of government” attention,
usually through the central coordinating e-Government body.
 It can yield substantial cost savings by pushing agencies to rely on off-the-shelf
products and open or commonly accepted standards.
 Requiring managers to address interoperability forces them to talk to their
Interoperability
 three Level /Element of interoperability:
 Organizational: focused on the workflows and other organizational
processes involved in delivering eGovernment services. May involve
creating agreements on how organizations will interact with each
other; Like Process Re-Engineering including Government Orders,
Process Changes, Organizational Structures
 Semantic: using meta-data terms and taxonomies to identify
information and make it easier to access; Enabling data to be
interpreted and processed with the same meaning
 Technical: ensuring interoperability among different IT systems
and applications through commonly accepted standards
Interoperability
e-Government Interoperability Frameworks (e-GIFs)

 defines the architecture and standards for interoperability.

Interoperability Framework is Set of standards and guidelines which
describe how organizations have agreed, or should agree, to
interact with each other.
 E-Government Interoperability Framework (E-GIF) is a set of
guidelines and standards to be followed by public sector information
systems and processes, to achieve technical, organizational, and
semantic interoperability during service provision.
 provides a framework to share, collaborate and integrate
information and organisation processes by use of common
standards.
 Increasingly the use of open standards to enable such
interoperability is the key for success of any eGIF framework and
e-Government Interoperability Frameworks (e-GIFs)

 eGIF provides the know how to achieve interoperability of data and

information within and outside the government.
 It enables any ministry/agency to provide and receive information and
integrate its processes with other agencies using a predetermined
framework.
 Many people and bodies (industries, standards organisations, software and
hardware vendors, analysts etc.) have different views on standards for
ensuring interoperability.
 The success depends on choosing the right set of technical standards and
policies that are suitable to the environment. However technical standards
in eGIF alone cannot ensure interoperability.
 Each organisation‘s process, collaborative environment, common
applications, development of semantics are other key factors to ensure
interoperability. An analogy to eGIF is the road /traffic rules. It would be
inefficient and cumbersome to adhere and agree to road/traffic rules every
e-Government Interoperability Frameworks (e-GIFs)

 IFEG would encompass an agreed approach to be

adopted by the public agencies that wish to work
together towards the joint delivery of public services
using ICT, to achieve the above-mentioned goals,
namely the exchange of data, the meaning of
exchanged data, and agreed on the process.
 An IFEG involves a common structure that comprises a
set of standards and guidelines; the public agencies
can use the structure to specify the preferred way that
all stakeholders interact with each other to share the
information. It is synonymous with speaking a
Key Principles of Ne-GIFs

 The various dimensions of NeGIF covered in this report are:

 Business process or organizational interoperability;
 Information or semantic interoperability; and
 Technical interoperability
 Business process or organizational
interoperability:
 It is concerned with collaboration between entities in the development,
deployment and delivery of eGovernment services, and to the interaction
between services, and supporting processes.
 Information or semantic interoperability:
 Semantic interoperability is concerned with the communities of practice and
to the negotiation of meaning that occurs within them
 Technical interoperability:
 Technical interoperability is the most common and basic aspect of
interoperability.
 This is necessary to ensure that all the hardware and software components of
the network and information system can physically communicate and
transfer information successfully.
 It includes key aspects such as open interfaces, interconnection services,
data integration and middleware, data presentation and exchange,
accessibility and security services etc.
Key Principles of Ne-GIFs

 Interoperability - Standards and specifications recommended

be relevant to recommended use of OSS applications and the
use of open standards for Information Access.
 Share, Re-Use and Collaborate -The standards proposed
may be shared, reused and collaborative in nature for entire
government to use
 Scalability - The proposed standards be scalable for future
needs as well.
 Adherence to open standards - The standards, where
available, be recognised and adopted by internationally
recognised bodies
Benefits of Interoperability Framework

 The major benefits of e-GIF are as follows:

 It will improve collaboration across Agencies within the governance
and encourage the adoption of Whole of Government IT projects;
 It will facilitate Interoperability between governance systems;
 It will reduce duplication of effort and resources, saving cost for
governance;
 It will help identify common data and systems to be shared within the
governance;
 It will help identify new opportunities for ICT development and align
the ICT initiatives of every agency towards common national goals;
 It will facilitate decision-making with respect to ICT’s role in
development.
 Overall, it will further improve public service delivery through
the effective use of ICT.
Cloud Governance

 Cloud Governance is the people, process, and technology

associated with your cloud infrastructure, security, and
operations.
 Governance involves a framework with a set of policies and
standard practices. This could include policies for cost
optimization, resiliency, security, or compliance.
 Is a framework to govern the use of cloud services, not block
them from using these services
 A Cloud framework includes people, process, and technology
while ensuring security, cost management and deployment
acceleration
Cloud Governance

 Cloud Governance refers to the structures, policies, and systems

for the direction, control, and activity monitoring of the company.
 It is the system that defines the roles and responsibilities of all the
level of management, considers the regulatory framework and risk
management.
 Cloud governance is the system directed towards controlling
business activities by providing data security, data management,
and authorized access and modification of the data to avoid
operational and financial loss. It also assists in risk management
associated with cloud computing.
 Cloud governance provides the set of principles to the
management for the effective and efficient functioning of the
system. It enables the achievement of the objectives of the
Cloud Governance framework: Key
Benefits
 Controlled Access
 By selecting who owns each area of asset and software management
cloud governance plan will build necessary limits on who can access and
impact
 Reduce Security Risks
 Help us to identify vulnerabilities in our system and establish metrics to
measure the impact of security measures
 Enhanced Compliance Readiness
 Allows us to build compliance review and standards into our processes and
architecture
 Lower Costs
 Automation of Works , automated workflows reduces manpower and
reduced manpower means reduced cost
Cloud Governance : Risks

 Cloud Security Risks

 Cloud Integration
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 Cloud Vendor Lock- In
 Cloud Applications Governance
 Lack of Incidents for consumers
 Shadow IT and Hidden Clouds
Cloud Computing

 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that work on cloud

computing in America defined it as follows :
 “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient to access to networks

and applications quickly, common set of configurable computing resources

(e.g., networks, servers, storage and applications) that can work with little or
interfere with the service provider to provide or be released immediately.”
 EEE Computer Society defined Cloud computing as:
 “A paradigm in which information is constantly stored in servers on the
Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops,
entertainment centers, computers, notebooks, handhelds, etc.” .
Cloud Computing
 Characteristics of cloud
computing
 Broad network access:
 Resources are virtually accessible via the Internet regardless the location and the device used
(i.e., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations).
 On-demand self-service:
 Computing capabilities, such as server and processing time, and network storage, are provided
automatically as needed.
 Resource pooling:
 The resources are pooled to serve different clients with physical and virtual resources
dynamically appointed and reassigned as per client request.
 Measured service:
 Controlling and optimizing resource use by assigning a measured capability appropriate to the
type of service (i.e., storage, processing and bandwidth).
 Rapid elasticity:
 Resources can be provisioned and to be scaled rapidly outward and inward commensurate with
demand.
 Cloud computing service models

 Cloud computing provides three fundamental service models

 Software as a Service (SaaS):
 Software application is offered as a service where the client doesn’t control or manage
any cloud infrastructure, i.e. applications like customer relationship management (CRM),
Email, Instant messaging (IM), office productivity applications that are offered as a
service by a cloud vendor.
 Platform as a Service (PaaS):
 Provides required platform to develop and customize applications.
 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
 Provides hardware infrastructure (servers, O.S, storage, network on demand).
 Cloud computing models

 Public Cloud:
 all customers can share the same infrastructure pool with limited configuration, security protections
and availability variances. The customers take benefit from economies of scale, because
infrastructure costs are spread across all users.
 Private Cloud (also known as internal cloud):
 cloud infrastructure dedicated to a particular organization which it is not shared with other
organizations. It will require the organization to reevaluate decisions about existing resources.
Private clouds are more expensive but also more secure when compared to public clouds.
 Hybrid Cloud:
 These Clouds are a composition of two or more clouds to take the advantages of multiple
deployment models such as increasing the flexibility of computing.
 Community Cloud:
 means sharing computing infrastructure by organizations of the same community.
 Cloud computing and E-Government

 Cloud computing is used to help the E-governments in providing best possible services to
its stockholders i.e. citizens and businesses, and to reduce the costs by reducing
repetitive operations and increase the effective use of resources, in the global arena.
 Cloud computing technologies have many benefits in different parts of E-government.
These benefits discussed in the following points.
 Scalability: Cloud computing resources such as CPU, servers, hard drives can be
purchased automatically in any quantity at any time to fit growing number of users
 Availability and Accessibility: cloud computing applications and information are
hosted online therefore it has high availability and citizens can use them at anytime and
from anywhere
 Cost Saving: cloud computing systems do not need to purchase and install the ICT
equipments and software on their own building
 Cloud computing E-Government

 Backup and Recovery: Since all the data is stored in the cloud, backing it up and
restoring is much simpler than traditional way [50]
 Unlimited Storage. Storing information in the cloud gives you almost unlimited
storage capacity.
 Green technology: Cloud computing is relatively good in energy consumption and
provides eco-systems through virtual services
 Due to cloud computing benefits as mentioned above, many countries have launched
E-governance services using cloud computing.
Cloud computing in Government of Nepal

 Government Cloud is a cloud platform which provide free cloud infrastructure facilities to the
government bodies.
 GCloud provides the tools and technologies to abstract the underlying infrastructure in an easy and
standardized consumption model.
 GCloud manages virtual and physical Compute, Network and Storage technologies. It provides APIs and
tools to access these resources in an agile and programmatic manner.
 This standardized abstraction helps prevent users from being locked into a specific technology or tool.
 Cloud computing is actually working to help break down the barriers of many governments to enter new
phase of collaboration and partnering, sharing services, and pooling of resources.
 It offers an effective way to share information between citizens, reducing efforts in providing services,
budget management and cost effective.
 Cloud computing in Government of Nepal

 Government of Nepal has also established a Government cloud-GCloud operating by

Department of Information Technology (DOIT] –
 Department of Information Technology (DoIT) is a cloud service provider
 https://doit.gov.np/en/spage/g-cloud
 https://portal.gcloud.gov.np
 Also
 NITC has providing virtualization and cloud service to the Nepal’s government
agencies
 Nepal Government Cloud is facilitated inside the Government Integrated Data
Center (GIDC) and looked after by National Information Technology Center
(NITC) and DOIT
 Cloud computing in Government of Nepal

 How can Nepal Government Agencies benefit from

Government Cloud?
 Traditionally, Nepal Government Agencies hosted their systems
and applications either on government owned & operated
GIDC’s servers or on private company’s servers.
 There has always been an issue of scalability with the traditional
hosting system.
 Benefit from Government Cloud is mainly the scalability it
provides.
 Hence, government agencies need not worry about up scaling or
down scaling their server requirements.
 They just need to focus on their information systems.
 E-Readiness
 Is defined as degree to which a country’s economy may be
ready ,willing or prepared to obtain benefits which arise from ICT.
 The maturity of citizens, businesses, NGOs and governments for
participating in the electronic world (e-commerce, e-government
etc.)
 E-readiness refers to a country's capacity and state of
preparedness to participate in the electronic world.
 Measure of the quality of a country’s ICT infrastructure and the
ability of its consumers, businesses and governments to use ICT to
their benefit
 E-Readiness
 E-Readiness is the ability to use information and communication
technologies (ICT) to develop one's economy and to foster one's welfare.
 Is the ability to pursue value creation opportunities facilitated by the use of
the Internet.
 Is a measure of e-business environment, a collection of factors that indicate
how amenable (willing) a market is to Internet-based opportunities.
 is not simply a matter of the number of computer servers, websites and
mobile phones in the country, but also things such as its citizen's ability to
utilize technology skillfully, the transparency of its business and legal
systems, and the extent to which governments encourage the use of digital
technologies.
E-Readiness
 The concept of e-readiness is important because its level can be a strong
predictor of how well a country can perform in the new economy.
 An e-readiness assessment would provide policy makers with a detailed
scorecard of their economy’s competitiveness relative to its international
counterparts.
 Further, a breakdown of indicators allows policy analysts to pinpoint
areas of strengths and weaknesses, thus providing a balanced
perspective in guiding a country through the digital transformation.
E-Readiness
 E-readiness (electronic readiness) is defined as a degree
to which to a country or economy may be ready, willing
or prepared to obtain benefits which arise from
information and communication technologies.
 This measure is often used to gauge how ready a country
is to participate in electronic activities such as e-
governance.
 Nepal is ranked at dismal 132th position in UN E-
Government Survey, 2020 (Telecom and Information
Infrastructure, Human Resource Capacity , E-Services )
E-Readiness
 As a composite indicator, the EGDI is used to measure
the readiness and capacity of national administrations
to use ICT to deliver public services. [UN Report 2020]
 This measure is useful for government officials,
policymakers, researchers and representatives of civil
society and the private sector to gain a deeper
understanding of the relative position of a country in
utilizing e-government for the delivery of public
services.
e-Readiness indicator/factors for e-Government
 Political Readiness
 Regulatory Readiness
 Organizational Readiness
 Human & Cultural Readiness
 Financial Readiness
 Communication Readiness
 Infrastructure Readiness
 Data & Information Readiness
E-Readiness: Domains and clusters
E-Readiness: Domains and clusters

Infrastructure -
Human Resource
Services
Importance of e-readiness
 Using an e-readiness model:
 Will Help formulating strategic plans based on identified
parameters.
 Justify projects and their dependencies
 Upgrading to higher levels of maturity
 Unify criteria to assess and compare the readiness
 Avoids delays and disappointments
 Identifies any lack of preparedness of a community to
implement a virtual response at an early stage.
 Avoids huge losses in time, money, and effort.
 Can prepare remote communities in developing countries,
 E-Readiness Framework
 Since the various assessment tools follow different
parameters and the countries may adopt any one of them as
per their demographic, political and socio-economic
conditions.
 Though a country may take any of the approaches, we
however suggest that the E-readiness Assessment
Framework should essentially cover the following
aspects:
 Political and Regulatory Environment:
 Infrastructure:
 Application And Services

Political and Regulatory Environment:

 Commitment of the top leadership

 ICT Policy
 Communication Policy/ISP Policy/Broadband Policy
 E-Gov Policy/Action Plan
 IT Act
 Legal recognition of Digital Signatures
 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection
 Security Standards
 Privacy Policy
Infrastructure:
 Hardware  National/State level Network
 Availability of High End Computing Backbones
Infrastructure  Network Operation Centres
 Internet Gateway
 National and State Level Data Centres
 Security Infrastructure
 Community Information/Internet  Service Gateways/Payment
Access Centres
Gateways etc
 Networking  Last Mile/Rural Area
 Fibre Optic/Satellite/Wireless/Wired Connectivity
Networks
Application And Services
 Websites/Portals
 Back-end Automation
 Application Software
 Electronic Delivery of Services
 Localization of Standard Commercial
 Technology Standards
 Data/Metadata Standards
 Interoperability Framework
Financial
 Financial Institutions
 Financial Resources
 Budgetary Allocation
 Through Partnerships
 Foreign Investment
ICT Usage Scenario/Environment:

 ICT Usage by Citizens

 ICT Application in Government
 ICT Application in Business
 PC Penetration
 Internet Reach
E-Readiness: Infrastructural
Prerequisites
E-Readiness: Data System
Infrastructure
 The core of e-governance is e-MIS and holds the entire database of
any organization .
 The data that were managed manually need to be computerized or
brought into electronic form which means that the preparedness of
computerized database or data warehouse is required.
 Data quality and data security are of prime concern here as most
of the government infrastructures are not up to the mark in
developing countries.
 The major question that arises here is " Are all the
requisite management information systems, records,
databases and work processes in proper place so as to
provide the quantity and quality of data to support the
move to e-governance?"
E-Readiness: Legal Infrastructure
 The manual processes in government are usually obsolete,
inefficient and bureaucratic.
 Though they have transformed to computerization practices, they
continue to have poor and inefficient performance and this is due to
lack of administrative reforms and lack of business process
reengineering.
 They lack requisite legislation and legal infrastructure to enable
such reforms or reengineering of the existing business practices,
rules and regulations within the government at various levels.
 This seems to be accentuated in developing countries while
developed countries have been significantly successful in
administrative reforms and business reengineering.
 The fundamental question that arises here is " Are the laws
E-Readiness: Institutional
Infrastructure
 For any government to implement a successful e-
governance project, the required institutional
infrastructure must be in place which most of the
government lack.
 The government body has to establish a separate IT
department which basically coordinates with facilitators
for e-government projects within the nation.
 The IT department works out for the hardware selection
and procurement, network or software development
and implementation and also the training of staff at
various levels of the government.
E-Readiness: Human Infrastructure

 Human resource development by training is an essential

requirement which comes from well trained manpower both
technical and non-technical.
 The technical manpower resources are essential for all the phases of
e-governance and related information system life cycle comprising
systems analysis, design, programming, implementation, operation
and documentation.
 Both private and government institutions should play a major role in
this regard.
 Apart from technical human infrastructure, there is a need for the
crucial training and orientation of user personnel i.e. government
staff in e-governance project.
 The government employees and staff who are the stake-holders in
E-Readiness: Technological
Infrastructure
 Technology is fast changing in ICT domain and there is a rapid
obsolescence of software as well as hardware which require great
financial support time and again.
 Government organizations encounter this situation especially as
their procedures to procure hardware or software are very
inefficient and slow.
 The technological infrastructure in developing countries including
computing and telecommunication is absent. As a result software
and hardware may not be compatible.
 The major reasons are
 cost of technology
 Adaptability
 Obsolescence
E-Readiness: Leadership and
Strategic Planning
 Leadership - The ability to positively influence people
and systems to have a meaningful impact and achieve
results.
 Strategic Planning - The process of envisioning an
organization's future and developing the necessary
procedures and operations to achieve that future.
E-Readiness: Leadership and
Strategic Planning
 Action Plan
Activiti Start End Responsible Supporting Statu Monitor Perfo Rema
es Date Date Organization Agency s ing rman rks
Agency/ ce
Person Meas
urein
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indic
ator
First Last NEA MOF, MOICT On MOE ,
Implem week week MOE analy OPMCM
ent of of sis
Smart Bhadr Ashad phase
Meter a 2077 h
2078
 10- Step process to e-government readiness

 Step1: Articulate the e-government vision and strategy. Prepare a five-year perspective plan
 Step 2: Review the Telecommunication policy, to promote an open, competitive environment for
creation of national and sub-national networks.
 Step 3: prepare a list of G2c and G2B services that citizens and businesses need to be provide
 electronically.
 Prioritize the services.
 Announce a policy on electronically services delivery.
10- Step process to e-government readiness
 Step 4: Design Functional and Technology Architectures that are aimed at delivering
the
 e-services
 Prescribe standards for security.
 Step 5: Initiate statewide e-government projects adopting the pilot approach.
 Ensure these are part of the ‘big picture’ developed in step 4
 Step 6: Design and implement an appropriate CIO program.
 Implement change management programs across all major government agencies.
10- Step process to e-government readiness
 Step 7: Ensure that all government agencies earmark 2-5% of their budget to e-government.
 Announce a PPP policy for e-government and take up a few projects adopting the PPP Model
 Step 8: Establish a government –wide WAN for data, voice and video for G2G applications, adopting a PPP
model.
 Step 9: Enact a cyber law that gives a legal validity to all electronic transactions and records and permits use
of digital signatures for authenticating messages and documents
 Publish polices on security and privacy for e-government.
 Step 10: Establish data centers for e- government using the PPP model.
 Design and establish an e-government gateway at the Static Data Centre.
 E-Government Readiness Index (ERI)

 A composite index comprising three sub-indices:

 Web Measurement Index (WMI)
 Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), and
 Human Capital Index (HCI)
 Web Measurement Index (WMI)

 Ability and capacity of governments to deliver online

services to their citizens by assessing the websites of
ministries of health, education, welfare, labour and
finance of the country by considering a five-stage
model:
 Stage I – Emerging,
 Stage II – Enhanced,
 Stage III – Interactive,
 Stage IV – Transactional,
 Stage V – Connected
Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII)

 A composite measure
 PCs
 Internet users
 Telephone lines
 Cellular subscribers and
 Broadband per 100
 Relates them to a country’s infrastructure
capacity as they relate to the delivery of
e-government services
 Assigns each variable a 20% weight
 Human Capital Index (HCI)
 A composite of
 The adult literacy rate (2/3 weight given) and
 The combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross
enrolment ratio (1/3 weight given)
 Shows to what extent the citizens are ready for e-
transformation as a result in the education of their
citizens to embrace the e-government transformation
process
Evolutionary stages in E-governance
 Stage1: Use of e-mail and setting up of internal networking
 Stage2: Use of internet by connecting internal activities to
internet
 Stage3: Allowing public access to information
 Stage 4: Allowing two-way interactive communications with
stakeholders to enable internet enabled transactions (including
financial transactions)
 Stage5: Allowing online transactions by citizens
 Stage6: Enriching digital democracy
 Stage7: Electronically integrated or joined up government with
legislative and judiciary
Stage1: Use of e-mail and setting up of internal networking


The most fundamental, cheapest and easiest ICT tool is e-mail. E-mail has now become

common in all urban areas and some rural areas. Within the government, it is the easiest of all

options available for implementation. Official orders to accept e-mail communication as valid

have been issued in a large number of government, judicial and legislative organizations.


E-mail can reach outside organizations via the internet; most government organizations adapt

e-mail for internal messaging. Due to increased lateral and bottom-up communication .


E-mail break the official hierarchy of communication as anyone can send to e-mail to any other

breaking the hierarchy and other barriers.


They allow person to person communication can improve information sharing, exchange
Stage2: Use of internet by connecting internal activities to
internet

 while e-mail provides the very fundamental mode of communication

, the basic and personal use of internet from offices and personal
use of internet from offices and houses in now generally a reality in
all urban areas and limited surgical areas.
 It has been noticed that most government employees spend a few
hours a day surfing the internet whether for official purpose or
personal benefits or for pleasure.
 The internet has inculcated an information culture in the people in
general and government employees in particular to surf the internet
in general for all purpose of information retrieval.
 Stage3: Allowing public access to information:

 Public access to information can be viewed in multiple

dimensions:
 1. Web pages, citizen charters and application
forms: If the government department concerned puts up
a web page on the internet, describing all functions of the
department, it can be accessed by citizens and general
public interested .
 The web pages can be dynamic, the contents changing
with time.
 The website updating process can take place dynamically.
Stage3: Allowing public access to information:


2. General information services: E-enabling of the basic functionality of the

government department concerned, there could be much greater scope, content, and

depth of information that can be of interest and use for the people and the citizens at

large that is the general public information requirement.


The general information requirement of the public, in general, can be broadly defined to

a very large extent or scope and coverage. In wide-ranging sectors such as education

and Tourism, a part from information from information from census and the statistical

information pertaining to various sectors of economy.

Stage3: Allowing public access to information:

 3. Work flow: Another dimension of public access to information

can be in terms of providing access to integrated workflow in
different divisions of the government department can be viewed in
terms of the ability to move images ,files, documents form on
workstation to another using specific relevant rules of business to
review , authorize authenticate , validate , enter and edit data and
assign tasks. Once the workflow is automated in a government
office, The related subject functionalities concerned also used to be
automated and integrated with simple workflow automation .
Stage 4: Allowing two-way interactive communications with stakeholders
to enable internet enabled transactions (including financial transactions):


Once a website is operational, correspondences from the citizens can be allowed

through e-mail by providing them the appropriate e-mail address.


For examples: In china, the Beijing city government websites provides e-mail section to

citizens apart from other important information, such as government regulations, rules,

laws or information about services offered by the government.


In this e-mail section, the citizens are asked to express their suggestion is to permit

citizens to celebrity some queries and response to such queries will be posted on the

website itself.
Stage5: Allowing online transactions by
citizens
 In stage 4 the citizens interacted through kiosks obtained services
through online or the internet but made payments manually . But
now in stage5 in addition to permitting single online inquiry access
to information, citizens may be enabled to make payments of fees
and taxes, lodge complaints, file applications and perform and
other transactions online through citizens kiosks installed at busy
public locations .
 This is a much more advanced stage in e-governance not yet
reached in the developed world.
Stage6: Enriching digital democracy

 Democracy can be strengthened and enriched by ICT in

multiple ways and modes.
 At least two important sets of ICT applications that can
potentially support participatory and democratic
processes, especially in the developing countries have
been identified.
 There relate to applications that enrich and further
empower the citizens to express themselves by voting
in democratic processes through internet or by any
other electronic means.
Stage7: Electronically integrated or joined up
government with legislative and judiciary

 A comprehensive web portal and smart card integrators information and

services from various responsible government agencies.
 Both horizontal integration of services across departments and vertical
integration of service delivery is expected to take place.
 As already available in Singapore and also being experimented in many states,
on a web portal users can obtain services across different geographical levels
level of government within the same functional area and access different
functions.
 A citizen could submit a change of address on driving license and such a change
would automatically be effected in all other sectors such as health, education,
elections, taxation etc.