Gov’t ends ‘system e down’ syndrome
Customers and investors will no longer suffer online downtime challenge currently experienced in most government institutions, derailing e-commerce and digitalisation efforts anticipated to improve ease of doing business.
According to the Communication and Innovation Minister, David Tshere, the new Botswana Fibre Network (BoFiNeT) Digital Delta Data Centre (DDDC) will improve the government’s online service delivery.
DDDC is a vendor-neutral facility expected to accelerate the country’s digital transformation, connecting enterprises, content providers and network operators to a secure ecosystem where data applications and business converge. Tshere said the new facility has been certified by the Uptime Institute, a global standard for design, construction, and ongoing operation of data centres at Tier 111 level. He said the rating signals to investors, customers, and markets, that the facility meets the highest standards for infrastructure functionality and capacity. “This is how we bury system e down,” said Tshere.
He announced that the Department of Shared Digital Services is migrating most of the data it hosts to DDDC. “We are migrating our systems to this more reliable environment and resilient systems in place to enable full efficiency of the data centre and stimulus service delivery to every Motswana,” the Minister said. He said the migration comes after government’s realisation of aging infrastructure that needs to be overhauled. “This process of migration is a very delicate one.” Tshere said the data centre will not only power digital transformation, but also improve the lives of Botswana through innovation and employment creation.
He said the centre will serve current and future needs of the country while taking advantage of Botswana’s strategic position in SADC to serve the needs of the region with benefits such as the reduced latencies to countries north of Botswana. “That desire to create a world-class facility culminates in a decision to go for a global recognition certification.”