CASE STUDY was going to be costly to achieve a dynamic data sharing framework .
To address this issue in National Information Technology Authority , Uganda with support from the International Development Association , World Bank set out to implement a data sharing platform which was referred to as Uganda data integration platform , UgHub . technology over which UgHub was designed and developed . To achieve the primary objective of facilitating secure data sharing , the following WSO2 products were used :
• API Manager
• Micro Integrator
• Identity Server
• Analytics and dashboards
Implementation challenges
The following challenges were encountered during the process of system design and development and under operationalisation .
The design and development phase happened during the pandemic . During this period , many project management activities were not properly carried out , like stakeholder management and training . This affected the project since there are only a few skilled officials to manage the platform .
Some government entities had no systems at all , yet they had important primary data of interest to other entities . There were also systems for which no APIs were built to facilitate data sharing . Lack of a comprehensive e-consent system is still a limiting factor to share all information , including personal data in custody of the government required by the private sector .
Modernisation and implementation
Originally , the plan was to integrate 12 government entities within the first year after rollout . Due to the need for data sharing among government entities , 28 entities were integrated by the end of the first year of implementation . Since the government does not exist in isolation of private entities , the platform was also open to private entities as well .
By the end of the last financial year on 30th June 2024 , a total of 71 government entities and 76 private entities were on-boarded to the platform . Since its rollout , more than 150 million transactions have gone through the platform .
The most sought for services include the verifications of persons from National Identification and Registration Authority ; company verification through the Uganda Registration Services Bureau ; payment of public services through the Uganda Revenue Authority ; SMS services from NITA and land verification services from the Uganda National Land Information System .
Top five government entities using the platform are :
To address the challenges highlighted above , National Information Technology Authority , Uganda considered the following specific requirements in identifying a suitable data integration platform :
• An integration platform that abstracts technology differences that exist among the different government entities .
• A platform based on open-source standards that will guarantee sustainability and protect the government from vendor lock-in .
• A platform that can be deployed on-premises in the national data centre , due to data sovereignty .
• A platform that is highly secure meeting all the minimum-security standards due to national cyber security standards .
• For performance assurance , a platform that has been rated by global research organisations in Magic Quadrants like Gartner and Forester was key consideration .
All the above minimum requirements were found in WSO2 and as such it was chosen as the underlying
• National Information Technology Authority , Uganda
• National Identification and Registration Authority
• Uganda Revenue Authority
• Ministry of Public Service
• Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development
The private entities utilising the platform include eKYC providers , telecommunication and insurance companies , credit reference bureaus , microfinance institutions , banks and fintech , among others .
Benefits and achievements
UgHub has helped to bridge the gap and abstract all technological differences among the participating entities .
The platform now has the following technical capabilities :
• Ability to integrate anything to anything and the capability of transformation of data formats , protocols and technologies .
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