Jakarta. Ministries and government agencies across the archipelago today have 27,000 apps. They also have approximately 2,700 data centers and servers. With the data scattered across these facilities, it can be difficult for the government to find the information they need. This can eventually affect the outcome of the policies and the public services that they are trying to deliver.

The government is currently building a national data center -- aimed to integrate the existing ones -- in Cikarang, West Java. Construction of this facility is set to finish in September 2024. There are also plans to build similar facilities in Batam and the future capital Nusantara. The data center construction also follows the 2018 presidential regulation on e-government.

“The most important thing about building this data center is that we will know where we can find the information that we need, especially when making policy decisions. Because this digital era calls for data-based policymaking,” Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, the director-general for informatics apps at the Communications and Informatics Ministry, said in a recent BTV talk show.

“This is set to improve public services and make them more efficient. Government programs can become more accurate because they are data-based. For instance, the social safety nets can go to the people that need them. I do believe that well-managed data can deliver the best services for the community,” Semuel said.

Aside from better policy making, the national data centers are expected to halve the operation costs. The government spent approximately Rp 40 trillion (almost $2.6 billion) to operate the thousands of data centers as of 2018. The national data centers can cut the costs to just Rp 20 trillion a year, according to Semuel. 

Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, the acting head of the National Statistics Agency (BPS), also commented on the national data center plans.

“The national data center is pivotal to Indonesia’s digital transformation. … It bolsters our digital infrastructure, but at the same time, we have to prepare our digital talents, legal frameworks, and institutions. Indonesia will fall behind other countries if we don’t embrace digital transformation,” Amalia said in the same talk show.

“BPS is in charge of supporting the digital infrastructure with varied and quality data,” Amalia said.