On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 9:59 AM, Michuki Mwangi <michuki@swiftkenya.com> wrote:

@Aki,

Am going to play the devils advocate here :).

On 7/5/11 7:51 AM, aki wrote:
>
> Why would the govt promote cloud computing as a national importance when
> they gave out the digitization project to Google? Our data now sits on
> Google servers!
>

Why not?.

I've got nothing against Google but for someone like me, it's more about ownership. And how we can/could have done the project differently. How will Google integrate an SMS based query service for such a project, if there is a cross platform need?

> I believe that those interested in cloud services should shun these
> until the govt leads on such,

Please tell me is there any local company in Kenya that can provide
services that can compete or match Google's cloud services?.

There is no one in Kenya who can match Google, however we need a start and a beginning. We cannot keep recycling the ideas that the infrastructure exists elsewhere, thus there is no need to do it.

> I also think that before we proceed on any further discussions, we need
> to know why the Govt choose Google as the cloud service.
>

Maybe we should compare it to this. Why is the Govt going for VW Passats
yet we have the Nyayo Pioneer car idling somewhere or am i mistaken?.

In Indonesia, they are very proud of the cars they produce, though some run on Mitsubishi and Benz engines. In South Korea, KIA and the rest are also building cross platform vehicles. You know am a staunch supporter of doing as much as we can locally, the re-invention of the wheel has never bothered me.

But on a more serious note - has anyone build an infrastructure here and
am not talking about a Data Center with all the bells and whistles. Am
talking about a service framework that is scalable and robust enough to
make the GoK think twice about giving their services to that provider?.
Here am not talking about the scale of Google am talking small enough to
handle GoK but scalable to handle all of E.A Govts and more without
breaking.

Demand = supply. Without the demand, we will never create the systems. Now GOK took the demand and put it outside the country.

We are lacking in many extends from both technical expertise (and am
sure many folks will differ with me on this one) and more driven by the
$ than by the technology to care to know how to build it all together.

Do you remember when Cisco was such a respected sector that they had to fly in specialists to do configs? I remember 1994--on a rooftop--too well. How times have changed, we are now a leading Cisco market that cannot be ignored. ISPs and Telcos made Serial Ports/Frame Relays obsolete and mostly focussed on ethernet type of services. What is the cost of the cheapset broadband router = around Ksh 2400/-. Telcos and ISPs need a push by GOK, more involvement to core services and then see how things all come together, over time.

We have been quick to say that why reinvent the wheel in so many of the
forums here (including myself). However, the downside of not reinventing
the wheel is we take the wheel and use it without understanding why it
was built that way - we just know that we need it and we use it (see
Joomla discussion).

You are absolutely correct here. Am with you 100%, lets not even call it re-inventing the wheel but adapting to local needs. We need to continue doing this.

In conclusion, we have quickly to making revenues from a technology we
barely understand. As a result, those who understand it better will
always outcompete the rest of us.

Blame this on GOK and its terrible economic entrepreneurships mentality, where supplying products is easier and results faster. Everyone's on the fast lane, only some of us are on the same road for now.

If you think about it - long before there was cloud folks had something
called rocketmail and hotmail. Then came yahoo and even then their
business model was a mystery to many in actual sense online advertising
was still a distant concept in 1997 - 2000. But see what they lead to
today. So basically they made the wheel and improved on the wheel and
now its no longer a wheel but a mirage of a wheel.

Spot on Mich.

My 2 cents.

Michuki.

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