Cloud Powered Rural Telecenters – A Model for Sustainable Telecenters Osman Ghazali, Baharudin Osman, Azizah Ahmad, Azizi Abas, Abdul Razak Rahmat, Mohamed Firdhous ITU-UUM ASP CoE for Rural ICT Development Universiti Utara Malaysia

Brief Outline  Setting the background  Role of telecenters in rural ICT  Introducing cloud computing  Cloud powered telecenters  Conclusions Slide 1 of 16

What is Rural?  What do we think of when we consider the ‘rural’?  Low density  Extensive production Forestry Agriculture Mineral extraction  Generally poor Why else would people migrate to towns?  Limited services Slide 2 of 16

Development info projects, programs, schemes & feedback Procurement of Produce Supply of inputs Supply of consumer produce & services Knowledge & info useful for economic activities Entertainment & info for social needs Issue of Certificates and Licenses Delivery of health & educational services Education, training to enhance employment & economic opportunity Access to Markets Rural Citizen Issues Related to Rural Folks Slide 3 of 16

Bridging the Digital Divide NGOs and grass root organizations that catalyze and manage the community building process Applications that draw a large clientele that pays for the service, ensuring economic viability of the kiosk Content that empowers rural citizens and enables formation of communities Technology that makes rural access inexpensive and robust How ICT Can Help? Slide 4 of 16

Telecenters Slide 5 of 16

Telecenters  An integral part of rural ICT development.  Help provides access to ICT services from a public place.  Can help large audiences (customers) at affordable cost.  Has limited capacity in terms of capital, physical and human resources.  Has sustainability issues due to various reasons. Slide 6 of 16

Typical Telecenter Architecture Slide 14 of 16

Issues with Telecenters Slide 7 of 16

Cloud System Slide 8 of 16

Cloud Computing Characteristics Common Characteristics: Low Cost Software Virtualization Service Orientation Advanced Security Homogeneity Massive Scale Resilient Computing Geographic Distribution Essential Characteristics: Resource Pooling Broad Network Access Rapid Elasticity Measured Service On Demand Self-Service Adopted from: Effectively and Securely Using the Cloud Computing Paradigm by peter Mell, Tim Grance Slide 9 of 16

Cloud Service Models Software as a Service (SaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Google App Engine SalesForce CRM LotusLive Adopted from: Effectively and Securely Using the Cloud Computing Paradigm by peter Mell, Tim Grance Slide 10 of 16

Advantages of Cloud Computing  Lower computer costs  Improved performance  Reduced software costs  Instant software updates  Unlimited storage capacity  Increased reliability  Universal access  Easier group collaboration  Device independence Slide 11 of 16

Deployment Models Public cloud  Public cloud (off-site and remote) describes cloud computing where resources are dynamically provisioned on an on-demand, self-service basis over the Internet, via web applications/web services, open API, from a third-party provider who bills on a utility computing basis. Private cloud  A private cloud environment is often the first step for a corporation prior to adopting a public cloud initiative. Corporations have discovered the benefits of consolidating shared services on virtualized hardware deployed from a primary datacenter to serve local and remote users. Hybrid cloud  A hybrid cloud environment consists of some portion of computing resources on-site (on premise) and off-site (public cloud). By integrating public cloud services, users can leverage cloud solutions for specific functions that are too costly to maintain on-premise such as virtual server disaster recovery, backups and test/development environments. Community cloud  A community cloud is formed when several organizations with similar requirements share common infrastructure. Costs are spread over fewer users than a public cloud but more than a single tenant. Slide 12 of 16

Cloud Powered Telecenters Slide 13 of 16 Telecenters issuesCloud computing answers Lack of FinancingLow cost computers can be used Lower software costs Lower infrastructure costs Savings in up-front costs Lack of qualified human resourcesPlatform responsibilities managed by providers Centralized management Fewer maintenance issues Instant software updates by provider Lack of good internet connectionCan be accessed with reasonable internet connection Broadband access becomes widespread with 4G systems

Cloud Powered Telecenter (Model) Slide 14 of 16

Conclusions  Rural communities have special needs and problems.  ICT has been identified as the bridging technology.  Telecenters play an important role in rural ICT implementations.  Telecenters face with various sustainability issues.  Cloud computing can provide a viable solution for overcoming these issues. Slide 15 of 16

Questions Slide 16 of 16