E-Government Using Cloud Computing and Virtualization

The University of the West Indies

Department of Computing and Information Technology

INFO2400 – Information Systems Development

Individual Assignment 1

Moving Towards E-Government Using Cloud Computing And Virtualization

In 2008 the government of Trinidad and Tobago introduced legislation ‘to provide for the transfer of information and records by electronic means’ (ttparliament.org, 2008). By this time the move towards e-government, with the use of cloud computing and virtualization technologies were in the early stages of development. Since then these technologies have advanced to new levels in order to keep up with customer demands for more information and services that they need to receive in real-time. In order to meet these demands the government must incorporate these new systems into their strategic plans within the next two years for e- governance to be successful.

Firstly we will define the key terms listed above namely e-government or e-governance, cloud computing and virtualization.

E-government: ‘the process of bringing the Government closer to the people through major improvement in the delivery of government services and the provision of information in ways that are 

most convenient to citizens and businesses, while at the same time realizing efficiency 

gains, and streamlining Government processes.’ (iGovTT, 2011:2) All this is achieved through electronic means which is where the next two definitions would help when considering our move towards an effective e-government.

Cloud computing:

‘In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive. The cloud is just a metaphor for the Internet’ (Griffith, 2013)

Virtualization:

‘The term virtualization broadly describes the separation of a resource or request for a service from the underlying physical delivery of that service’ (vmware.com, 2006:3)

This “separation” is achieved through the use of...