IT Solutions
Because the currently available IT skills, electrical power and connectivity in many developing countries falls short of those necessary to set up and maintain the data centers for web based applications, external assistance will probably be required for some years. Fortunately, there are skilled international groups who are willing and able to perform these services and the software, being web cloud based, is easy to administer remotely when installed in a reliable data center. (This is in stark contrast to the difficulty of administering software which must be installed and maintained on local computers at each site.)
Because of this
situation of limited resources and skills, a solution is required
which will make the best use of resources. This means focusing on
the goal and determining the best way to achieve the goal. The goal
of the health information system is to improve the operation of the health ministry by providing timely, accurate data about health status and
health facilities. The
issue is how to best implement this information system at least cost
and greatest efficiency in the low resource and skills environment.
An information system can be thought of as having three areas.
First, there is the requirement for connectivity, second, there is
the information system hardware and software, finally there is the
output of the information system which is high level analysis leading
to use of the data for decision making. The goal is not the
information system itself, it is the use of the data to make
decisions. We need to make it as easy as possible to implement the
information system so we can get to the goal of useful data.
Developing countries with weak IT capacity are
best served by focusing their limited resources on two areas. These
are the bottom layer of basic connectivity and the top layer of data
use:
- Maintaining the
basic Internet network functionality
- Developing higher
level data analysis and use skills
The “middle part”
is the set up and administration of the data centers. This is the
level between basic network functionality and high level data use.
This level requires specialized technical skills and equipment. It is
difficult to set up and maintain these data centers, especially in
resource poor countries. This is why it is best left to
international organizations who are experts in the software
maintenance and to Internet cloud data center providers who are
experts in supplying computing resources over the Internet.
Some people are
concerned that farming out this function will deprive the local
economy of the development opportunity to create their own data
centers and the skills involved in running them. This is a worthy
goal in its own right but it is not a core objective or function of
the ministry of health which has a goal of improving the
delivery of health services and it needs data in order to do that.
Setting up a data center is not the goal. Access to timely accurate
information is the goal. If the ministry can get more reliable and less
expensive access to its data using a rented international data
center, then that is the course to pursue.
A good analogy is the
situation with cars and roads. Most developing countries are dependent on
large industrial countries to supply cars. However, there is local
capacity to maintain roads and also to repair cars. The local population have been trained in the use of cars and can use them to
get wherever the roads allow. The same situation applies to the use
of computers and the Internet. Computers are the cars and the
Internet is the road. Developing countries are also dependent on large
industrial economies for the supply of computers. However, there is
local capacity to maintain the Internet and to repair computers.
Just as with roads, the Internet is better in some places than others
and there are places the Internet does not reach. The effort should
be to improve the Internet speed and availability to all areas of the
country. Internet technology is the most basic technology and the
most useful. Once it exists, then computers become useful.
What about Internet
cloud data centers? These require specialized technology and skills
which take time to develop and are very expensive to do properly.
Just as with cars and computer hardware, this is something that is
best left to large industrial economies who are happy to provide data
center services. No one is concerned that the developing countries do
not have the ability to manufacture cars or computers and no one
should be concerned that they do not have the
ability to build and maintain data centers. Even in large industrial
economies where you have good resources and high skill levels, many
companies do not build and maintain data centers. They outsource
this function to cloud service providers who have the specialized
skills and equipment to ensure reliable, efficient service. The
Solomon Islands should take advantage of these international Internet
cloud facilities just as they take advantage of the large industrial
country car and computer manufacturing facilities.
There is an additional
advantage of using large data centers and that is that you can “rent”
the facility as a service and you don't have to buy it. You can rent
the capacity you need for the time you need it and you do not have to
make the large investment in equipment, connectivity, and training
which is required to have these function reliably and efficiently.
You don't have to worry about equipment breaking or becoming obsolete
or backing up the data. The data center provides these services
cheaply and reliably since they spread the cost over a large number
of customers. A first class data center costs many millions of
dollars to set up and operate and requires highly specialized
technical skills. It makes sense to rent the capacity that you
do need for the time that you need it and not have to bear the entire
resource cost of the data center. Just as with a car, it is often
more economical and reliable to just rent it when you need it rather
than having the expense of owning and maintaining it full time.
It is most important
that government efforts be focused on these two areas. First,
maintaining the Internet (roads) as basic infrastructure and then at
the high end helping the ministry to develop the skills of data analysis
and use to improve services. You don't need to know how to
manufacture a car to use it to get somewhere. You just need to know
how to drive it. Similarly, the ministry should focus on learning to
“drive” their data and use it to improve health. Building a data
center is an unnecessary diversion of attention and resources when
you can easily buy these services. A data center is a tool like a
car or a computer. You don't make tools when you can buy them
cheaply.
When your goal is to
deliver vaccine to a village, you don't start by building a car
factory. You just go out and rent a car.
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