The ASP model may allow impoverished municipalities to start their own computerization initiatives without spending much on hardware and software components. In an ASP model, any kind of software -- such as for desktop publishing or for front-end database management -- is hosted in a remote server. This server delivers the software to a computer or what is technically called a “client.” Traditionally, software is installed directly on a computer.
NCC director general Tim Diaz de Rivera said an ASP model requires only minimum system requirements and is easier to maintain because all the applications are hosted in a remote server, thus it is more cost-effective for smaller municipalities and for the NCC.
In the ASP model, they might opt to have the servers hosted in a provincial or regional office that would server several municipalities.
For areas with no existing Internet communications infrastructure, they might employ a wi-fi (wireless fidelity) or wi-max (wireless interoperability for microwave access) wireless communications setup that can provide broadband connectivity up to a 30-kilometer radius.
“We’re already talking with the Advanced Science and Technology Institute to provide us with a low-cost wi-fi setup,” he said.
Diaz de Rivera said they might start with the ASP model early next year once they have completed identifying which municipalities are categorized as third or fourth level.
He explained that their categorization scheme is based on a municipality’s annual revenue generation. So far, they have identified 500 municipalities in the third or fourth levels.
Diaz de Rivera said the ASP project is estimated to cost between 40 and 50 million pesos and will be funded through the 2005 e-Government Fund.
Recently, a 1-billion-peso allocation for the e-Government Fund was included in the government’s General Appropriations Act.
Autor: Alexander F. Villafania
Quelle: INQ7.net, 30.09.2004
