Contract Signed With Sri Lanka’s N-Able Pvt Ltd to Conduct Feasibility Study on Network Project

The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology has signed a contract with Sri Lanka’s N-able Private Limited to conduct the needs assessment, feasibility study, and hardware requirements to strengthen the National Computer Network (NCN) service and increasing its capacity using Software Defined Wide Area Network (SDWAN) technology.

The consultancy is a technical assistance provided to the National Centre of Information Technology (NCIT) under the World Bank-funded Digital Maldives For Adaptation, Decentralization and Diversification (DMAD) project implemented by the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology. The study must be completed by N-Able over a four-month period.

SDWAN technology is a network technology used to securely connect branch offices across different regions over the internet. The Homeland Security Ministry said further research is necessary to ensure the technical and financial feasibility of adopting the technology to give councils access to individual government agencies, their branch offices and systems under a unified network.

The Homeland Security Ministry said N-Able will provide technical assistance to National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) in conducting the Proof of Concept (PoC) to determine if the technology can be used as per NCIT’s requirement.

NCN is a computer network set up by NCIT and the Local Government Authority (LGA) to provide island councils and branch offices with access to internal information systems, and to facilitate safe data transfers between entities.

The network was first established in 2000s using satellite technology. However, with technological advancements and changes to service prices, the network operation was changed to communication infrastructure established at telecommunication companies, Dhiraagu and Ooredoo. While this is also a costly service, especially with the increase in digital services available from offices, the network capacity has now been upgraded, according to the Ministry.

Acknowledging interruptions to network services due to network infrastructures getting damaged while carrying out development projects, the Ministry noted the challenges in resuming services in such cases.

According to the Ministry, the establishment of the new network will significantly reduce the current spending on the NCN, while increasing network capacity. The establishment and operation of the network will be easier to manage for NCIT, and will allow for more services to be provided collaboratively by the government and councils. Additionally, the system will also allow national computer services to be expanded to atoll schools and hospitals at little cost.