Automation and modernization
>> Tuesday, June 21, 2016
BANTAYGOBYERNO
By Ike Señeres
Hands
down, it could be said that automation will always result in modernization, but
modernization will not happen without automation. Similarly, computerization is
the first step towards automation, but what is computerized will not
necessarily be automated. Strictly speaking, automation is not an end in
itself, because it is only a means to an end, the end goal being modernization.
It goes without saying that what is modern
should be new, but it does not necessarily follow that it is good for the
common good. An extreme example of that would be weapons of mass destruction
that could certainly be modern and new, but is definitely not good for world
peace. Add to that any machine that could be modern, new and intended for the
common good, but are instead used by not so good people for not so good
purposes. An example of that could be medicines that may be intended to restore
good health, but are abused by users for not so good purposes.
Just to put our discussion in the right
perspective, all technologies are merely tools that could give us better ways
of doing what we used to do. What I mean by better is that it should be
cheaper, faster and easier, among other advantages. Putting hubris aside,
mankind should first recognize that we could survive even without technology as
we have done so for millions of years, except that our old ways would be
costlier, slower and harder. In the final analysis, the ultimate barometer for
measuring the advantages of technology would be economics.
In an earlier article, I wrote that growth
can happen without development, and that development could only happen with
advanced planning. What that means is that growth could happen even by chance,
but planned development should happen without leaving anything to chance. As of
now, the Philippines is still considered to be an undeveloped country, and we
could extend that reality to mean that there are still many municipalities and
provinces here that are still underdeveloped also. That said, we should now
make it a goal to make our country develop in the overall, and the best place
to start is to develop our municipalities and provinces.
It goes without saying that the best and
fastest way for our municipalities and provinces to develop is to automate and
modernize their information and communications technology (ICT), starting with
their municipal halls and capitol buildings, and eventually to go towards the
automation and modernization of their local justice, education, wellness,
employment, livelihood and shelter services. Since it has been a long time
since ICT arrived in this country, it is about time that by now, most if not
all of the local public services should already be computerized. As a matter of
fact, ICT is now used for customer relations management (CRM), and that is the
right direction to take.
In theory, the government should be able to
automate and modernize in the same way that the private sector does. In reality
however, the private sector has gone ahead in this regard, but it does not mean
that the government could not catch up. As it is now, it is easier for the
government to catch up more than ever, because it is cheaper now to automate
and modernize more than before. I am saying that because nowadays,
municipalities and provinces could already computerize without putting up their
own data centers and without buying expensive software licenses and that could
mean a lot of savings for them.
In the old days (not too long ago), the
prevalent computer infrastructure was client-server, and that is why it was
necessary to put up servers and to house them in data centers. In the present
times, the computer infrastructure is now web based, and that is why it is no
longer necessary to put up local servers and data centers. What is now known as
the app based infrastructure in mobile phones is similar to the web based
infrastructure, albeit with a different approach. In web based, a browser is
needed to access the information in the websites. In app based, an app that is
native to the device is used.
Regardless
of whether it is web based or app based, what is important is that the citizens
(who are also the customers, voters and taxpayers) could transact with both the
national government agencies (NGAs) and the local government units (LGUs) via
electronic means, using any device that is available to them, such as desktops,
laptops, tablets, phablets and phones. Since the private sector has already led
in using CRM, it is now up to the NGAs and LGUs to also use CRM, and by doing
that, they will also be able to improve their services.
In reality, CRM is only the frontend, because
a strong backend is still needed in order to support the frontend. To cut a
long story short, the NGAs and LGUs should now have their computerized
accounting systems (CAS) and human resource information systems (HRIS) in
place, preferably bundled together in one enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system that should already include electronic commerce and electronic payment
systems. At the LGU level, many services are already computerized internally,
but these systems are not yet available online, either as web based or app
based.
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