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 sophistication and interactivity more users reached with
more devices industry taking over e-service development
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 connection between the source and destination. It increases the speed
of the network.
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 topology of the
overall architecture of the system.
 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.
 You can implement a firewall in either hardware or software form, or a combination of both. Firewalls
prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the internet, especially
intranets.
 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 services are delivered in a secure and manageable
way.
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.
 This group also provides backup & restore solutions that protect the data hosted within our data
centers.
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, services, and data contained within a data center, making it a focal
point and critical asset for everyday operations
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 center are:  Power Backup System

 Computing Hardware  Cabling System
 Racks  Environment control and monitoring
 Network and Security Devices system
 Connectivity  Fire Protection System
 Facility – like Height of ceiling , false  Physical Security
ceiling, raised access flooring  Monitoring and Network Operation
 Site – connection to grids, roads , Center
Networks , Proximity to market  (For more details
https://simplicable.com/new/data-
centers)
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(गहृ 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 identified at the beginning,
involved in the initial stages and kept involved throughout development and
implementation.
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
 Is efficiently organized and in control of its internal affairs.
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 interoperability is
of great value.
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 counterparts at other
agencies, with the
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 choosing the right set of technical standards and
policies that are suitable to the environment
 provide guidance for planning new e-Government systems and applications, ensuring
that new applications are able to communicate with existing systems and technologies.
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 time a vehicle encounters another vehicle.
 Standards like traffic rules will set the base to achieve common understanding and uniformity
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
common language.
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 organization. The efficient utilization of resources helps in the reduction of the
cost.
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, in order to reduce

the digital divide
 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
 Financial
 ICT Usage Scenario/Environment:
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?"
 This is the core computerization activity of any government process which may take
several years to reach this stage.
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 and regulations
required to permit and support the move towards e-governance initiatives in
place?
 E.g Digital Signature Act
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.
 Many countries still lack the institutional infrastructure.
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 all e-government
projects as the end users are to be appropriately trained and oriented for change
management from a manual government environment to e-governance environment.
 Such training will make them competent and capable of handling e-governance
projects at operational level
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

 This is a serious limitation to e-governance implementation.

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
Activities Start End Responsible Supporting Status Monitoring Perfor Remark
Date Date Organization Agency Agency/Pe mance s
rson Measur
eing
indicat
or
First Last NEA MOF, MOICT On MOE ,
Implement week of week MOE analysis OPMCM
Smart Bhadra of phase
Meter 2077 Ashadh
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 coordination and
feedback of information.
 The internal networking of various department of an organization linked e-mail is a prerequisite
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.