Jakarta. Indonesia is currently pursuing what it calls the national data center strategy, which is expected to bolster the country’s data sovereignty.

In 2018, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inked a presidential regulation on e-government, in which Indonesia wants to make use of technologies to provide public services. The establishment of a national data center facility that integrates thousands of existing data centers is a key pillar of this policy. The construction work for a national data center in Cikarang, West Java, is currently in progress and is slated to finish in September 2024. The government also plans to build similar data centers in Batam and the future capital Nusantara.

According to Yudho Giri Sucahyo, a professor at the University of Indonesia’s computer science faculty, there is currently a digital gap across sub-national governments. Some regional governments have their own data centers thanks to adequate funding, while others are still unable to have such facilities. 

“A national data center will provide cloud computing for the sub-national governments. This data center will store all data, making it easier for governments to share their data with one another. This will improve their policymaking,” Yudho told a recent BTV talk show.

“Without big data, it will only lead to sporadic [or isolated] decision-making that only looks at one aspect and neglects the others. We would not be able to achieve inclusive development,” Yudho said.

According to Yudho, a national data center also has to meet 3 principles to gain the public trust, namely confidentiality, integrity, and availability.  

“Confidentiality means the data does not get leaked. By integrity, all the data stored in the facility must be valid. As for availability, the data should be accessible at all times. … If the government’s national data center can meet these principles, it all comes down to responding to a citizen’s inquiry or request within an agreed response time,” Yudho said.

Likewise, cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya said that the national data center could make it easier for the public to access government services. The facility can also facilitate the government in managing their data.

“With data being centralized [in one center], we can easily have uniform standards and encryption. … [The data center] can enable the sub-national governments to learn from one another and this can spur equality,” Alfons told the same talk show.

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