Virtualization technologies in transnational DG

ABSTRACT

Naïve deployments of digital government (DG) systems across organizations in different countries inevitably face severe technical, sociopolitical and economical barriers. Some of these barriers are the result of independently created IT infrastructures with distinct use-policies, varying functional capabilities and different interoperability requirements. In general, IT heterogeneity is inevitable as it results from differences in economical and technical capabilities of the countries, differences in agency missions, distinct regulatory contexts (which may, for example, specify what kind of software must be used) and unequal human IT resources. Deployment of an available DG system into an existing infrastructure may require use of new and/or existing hardware and/or software at different locations, processing and accessing data located in distinct agencies, and communication among many IT entities. In this context, heterogeneity can lead to several forms of incompatibilities, namely hardware, software, communication, data, security and accessibility. A small subset of aspects of IT infrastructures where there might be important differences includes the following: operating systems, hardware, firewall mechanisms and policies, software applications and authorization procedures.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.4 System Management

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.4 Systems and Software
      H.3.5 On-line Information Services

General Terms:
Design, Management