Government: The country built on the cloud and how it’s revolutionizing the way we look at data & information
The Internet is something we use everyday to access essential resources needed for our survival as a civilization. From meteorology to google searches, the Internet is one of man’s greatest achievements. One country however is using man’s gift to create a digital society that is sustainable and efficient. The tech industry loves to use buzzwords like 5G, Big Data, and Internet of Things. In this article we will take a look at one buzzword that dominates the tech industry and how one country is revolutionizing how it’s being used.
What is the Cloud?
Well, the Cloud refers to servers that are accessed over the Internet, and the software and databases that run on those servers. The Cloud is believed to be invented by a man named Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider in the 1960s with his work on ARPANET to connect people and data from anywhere at any time. The Internet is what allows you to access the Cloud and the World Wide Web. The Internet however is believed to be invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee who is credited with creating the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web allowed for information to be linked together and was accessible to everyone. Before that, scientists used it as a way to share information about their experiments. From then on, the Internet grew to what it is today. From search engines to website advertisement, it all started with the World Wide Web. It was like the Big Bang for the Internet. Can you imagine the world without the Internet?
Cloud servers are located in data centers all over the world. By using cloud computing, users and companies don’t have to manage physical servers themselves or run software applications on their own machines. It allows users to access the same files and applications from any device because the storage is being placed in a data center, instead of locally placing it into the user’s device. Data centers are connected to each other through fiber optic cables that are placed under the ground or if needed at the bottom of the ocean.
The Cloud is what lets us do our daily tasks so efficiently. For example, for a weather station to accurately predict the weather, they need to know what the weather is next door, and so on for each and every weather station adjacent to that weather station. This calls for the whole world to be interconnected to have an accurate global weather prediction. Before the age of computers, hundreds upon hundreds of human computers were used to predict and calculate weather in real time. This way of processing data was very slow and inefficient however it was kickstarted the way for the use of the Cloud in meteorology. The Cloud made it easier for the world to process and sent data and information across vast stretches of land and water.
Now, the Cloud and the data centers that spread data all across the world aren’t really very environmentally friendly. Data centers need billions of gallons of water just to not overheat and explode. This water instead could help the people suffering in Africa from the Water Crisis. The Cloud itself is expected to produce close to the same or even more amounts of CO2 than the airplane industry in the coming years. One email has an estimated carbon footprint of 4 grams, while one attachment has an estimated footprint of 50 grams. With data increasing rapidly, data centers all across the world are expected to see 175 zettabytes of data traveling around the world by 2025. The question we should start asking ourselves is, which one should we save first? Internet or People?
Estonia
Estonia isn’t the most well-known country in the world. However it has increasingly been a top prospect in the tech world. Currently Estonia is seen as a tax haven, something that has attracted numerous people & companies. They also have one of the lowest debt-GDP ratios in the EU. It also produces more startups per head than any other country in the whole world making it a great place to start a company.
How is Estonia taking it to another level?
Estonia’s government is revolutionizing the Cloud by using it to do the government’s job. E-Estonia is the government’s way to move Estonia into a digital country and it has been working for some time now. Voting is done online and has seen no signs of fraud. Paramedics know what medicine you need during an accident and bring onsite medicine with them. 99% of public services are online 24/7. This has helped so much that the government of Estonia believes they have saved 844 years worth of work. E-Estonia provides the government with X-road, e-Land Register, e-Residency, e-Law, e-Ambulance, e-Banking, e-Tax, e-Cabinet, and more. X-road is the system that decides whether to pass information to various services or not, E-Cabinet allows the government to streamline its decision-making, and e-Tax is the government’s online way to collect tax. Well, you may be asking how does something like this actually work? Don’t people care about privacy? Well, they don’t. Estonians trust the government to do their job effectively and the government has done just that. Each Estonian citizen has a numerical name tag which is used to identify a citizen in their government’s Cloud. Each tag is solely controlled by the citizen. Citizens get to control who sees their information. This has allowed Estonians to have a lot of control on their information as they can choose which organizations & companies can look at their data & information.
Residency is really easy to do as a Estonian. Even people outside of Estonia can get a residency card & a citizen’s card. 94% of applicants that apply for residency get approved. Residency cards are growing in number as more and more people would like to have their residency card. Now it only takes close to 2–4 months to get your e-residency.
Besides their name tag, each Estonian has a citizen card. It’s just like a credit card, it can be used for both public & private services and resources, using documents, and encrypt files.
Should other countries do this?
Many countries should do this as it carves out a lot of work that needs to be done by paper these days. As technology becomes smarter & better, countries will most likely try to use a digital system to make their country better. It can help multiple countries make faster decisions in tough times. It gives citizen’s more time for other activities. With more time to do other activities, there is a high chance people can create more startups per head in their country. It might also be used in international organizations to sustain our rapid workflow during tough times like the one we are facing now.
It mostly takes a long time to get every country in the world to do this. For example, the citizens of the US love their privacy deeply. A system in which privacy is almost nonexistent is not compatible with Americans. Multiple other countries will have to tackle this same issue to get every one of their citizens onboard with this idea. This system requires every single citizen to accept the rules of this system, something that might not work for a country that as a collective has diverse opinions on privacy.
Conclusion
The Cloud is something we are heavily dependent on since the start of the Internet. It’s benefits are what brought us to where we are right now. We owe a lot to the Cloud. The Cloud is our rock to build upon. Estonia is truly changing how government’s are looking at the Internet & the Cloud. Many governments see the Internet as a bittersweet resource, however that is about to change soon. With Estonia’s system, the world can really change for the good.