Networking And E-governance

One billion health insurance claims in France are filed electronically,

Brazilians vote electronically for national and local elections and 75 percent

of Australians file their income tax returns electronically. An e-taxation

solution implemented by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore resulted in

cost savings in excess of $500 million.

Incidentally in 1998 it was also the first e-filing systems in the world for

filing personal income tax. And just one more fact to excite you–the

implemented system reduced the tax return processing cycle time from a massive

18 months to just four months.

E-governance is a reality that is waiting to happen in our country too. More

and more state governments are implementing projects that will usher them into

the e-governance era sooner than expected.

And this presents an immense opportunity for the partners to make good of.

However, not too many partners in the country are aligning their energies and

business processes in the direction to best exploit the opportunity.

E-governance: The basics

What exactly is this word that seems to have captured the imagination of one

and many in the corridors of power? E-governance solutions will enable the

government to reach out to its citizens with minimal number of mediation points.

Connectivity across geographical locations will be the key component in an

e-governance solution. An infrastructure that will ensure the contact will be

built by four major components: hardware, software, training and support.

The hardware component will include PCs and kiosks that provide the interface

and the network that will form the backbone of this infrastructure. The main

issues that could plague the efficient implementation and utility are

infrastructural investments and creation of IT awareness and usage at the

grass-root level.

Broadly the benefits that e-governance promises to deliver are more than one.

While it will reduce cost, there is expected to be a marked improvement in

efficiency, convenience and citizen satisfaction. And there have been precedents

even in India that have delivered as promised.

Build the skills

Where exactly is then the opportunity for channel partners whose presence

sometimes do not extend beyond the realms of their region? Software and training

may not hold too many opportunities for partners to explore considering

limitations posed by size of their organizations and expertise that dwells

therein. And the domain expertise to design and deliver a wide area network may

also not reside with the SME; they enjoy a definite cost advantage in the

support and maintenance of this massive infrastructure.

A reach that the channel enjoys is not only unmatched but extremely difficult

to replicate. "It is very important for channel partners to develop strong

network integration skills," says Alekhya Talapatra, Large Project Manager,

Compaq India. They need to build skills on leading technologies so as to

understand complexities of integration.

And in the same vein adds, Alok Ohrie, Country Manager - Channels, IBM India,

"System integrators by virtue of the business model that they run, which

is, integrating various platforms and technologies to offer an end-to—end

solutions, are best positioned to address opportunities in government

sector."

Partners will however need to address a number of business issues too, before

they are able to really do a good job. A strong integration skill alone may not

earn them that ticket.

Feels Talapatra, "Aligning the organization to be able to work closely

with a government department or organization is another key skill that the

channel partner must learn." Adds Ohrie, "Partners need to approach

the government sector with an end-to-end solution perspective."

Apart from the development of skills, partners also need to address the

resource issue. Says Ohrie candidly, "It is important to have adequate

resources to cover all influencers and buyers in government sector." Adds

Talapatra, "The partners need to equip themselves to be able to shoulder

the longer credit cycles."

In simpler words, a greater working capital requirement comes to the

forefront in dealing with the government. Most of the contracts are high value

and need fair amount of cash flow planning. Partners therefore need to

anticipate the collection and cash flow cycles to be ensure smooth roll out of

the projects.

The solution mindset

Initially, the solutions could revolve around knowledge management or

information access amongst various government bodies. There are quite a few

vendors who have open tie-ups. Tie-ups can help the doors for offering solutions

to the government sector.

Says B Kalyan Kumar, Manager (Technical), HCL Comnet, "Today there

exists a solution to every possible situation and we are open to the possibility

of working with partners who approach us for a solution." So it is the

solution-thought process that the partners need to make a part of their

organizational mindset to be able to effectively address this very lucrative

market.

The acceptance of the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer or the BOOT model by the

various sections within the government makes networking solutions a viable

business proposition for partners to venture into. A particular state government

is planning to network the eleven odd ‘mandis’ (food grain exchanges) in the

state.

While the entire implementation and design may not come to a partner, but

they are best equipped to keep the network up and running and promise an uptime.

"Similar such opportunities are waiting to explored and exploited at the

taluk and the district level", feels Talapatra.

Adds Kumar, "Partners are best equipped to tell us about solutions that

can be implemented in areas where our reach is not viable but uneconomical

too." An example in case is the VSAT based telephony solution that HCL

Comnet has implemented for the northern command of the Indian Army. A similar

solution he feels has a lot of business potential in rural areas, which are

inaccessible due to unfriendly terrain.

With the availability of these solutions, partners need to build skills and

maintain networks that allow free flow of information at every point, for that

will be the essence of a successful e-governance solution.

Mohit Chhabra in New Delhi