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Government of Canada Internet Guide
This section will help you identify possible IT needs, resources and
other considerations related to your Web initiative.
This section has five parts:
Web Capabilities
Features on your site, and required hardware and software considerations
Site Services, Support and Hosting
Where the site will be hosted, and what services and support you will need
Programming and Content Management
Staffing considerations for programming and content management
Other IT Expenses
Other IT expenses that may arise when planning your Web initiative
Other Considerations
Additional requirements you may need to consider
You may need to consider the following hardware and software elements in
relation to your Web initiative:
- databases (large or small);
- interactivity (chat rooms, surveys, customization, VOIP);
- e-commerce (PKI, financial transactions);
- security (privacy, e-commerce);
- capacity and performance (size of site, databases, bandwidth);
- usage and performance metrics (reports and analysis);
- file transfer protocol (FTP) access for others (security, password management);
- service standards (response to e-mail, updating);
- search engines, forms and additional browsing services augmenting
basic features of the Web; and
- browser compatibility.
You may need to consider the following issues in relation to your Web
initiative:
- whether to use in-house hosting services, a service bureau or a mix of
both (e.g. GEDS);
- whether you need a WWW server to host your HTML documents;
- whether you should establish an independent site, which must be staffed and managed;
- whether you should incorporate Web services into your departmental
infrastructure (shared management);
- whether you should acquire central services from Public Works and
Government Services Canada (priced service bureau);
- whether you should acquire services from the private sector (priced service bureau);
- when to supply supported services (five days a week or around the clock, for example);
- how to manage e-mail;
- whether to provide toll-free support (North America, international); and
- how to supply LAN support and troubleshooting.
You may need to consider the following issues in relation to your Web initiative:
- in-house expertise
- whether to do original coding, and
- whether to modify outsourced coding, if you have obtained ownership of coding;
- how to staff appropriate resources (cost and management); and
- how to comply with policies, legislation and standards.
You may need to consider expenses in the following categories in relation to
your Web initiative:
- software licences, including expensive licences for back-end software
to handle such tasks as managing databases;
- hardware;
- human resources (programmers, technicians);
- toll-free and e-mail client support; and
- maintenance and operations.
You may need to consider the following issues in relation to your Web initiative:
- security requirements;
- privacy issues;
- server requirements, such as
- how powerful the server should be,
- whether a staging server will be required for development and testing, and
- what platform the server should run on.
- bandwidth requirements (for streaming audio/video, for example);
- server side issues (for instance, whether standard changes can be made
only once, for the whole site);
- outsourcing, which will require you to
- obtain ownership of coding (even if you currently have no in-house coding expertise),
- get technical documentation for the site, especially for features such
as photo galleries and databases, and
- ensure that the contract allows you to make at least three alterations
to the delivered product.
- training related to the site's functions, especially such features as
interactive platforms; and
- the lifecycle cost of ownership, not just the cost of primary development.
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