Open Source Content Management Software Customization for the Ethiopian Government
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Date
2004-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Most Ethiopian government organizations maintain and exchange documents
traditionally. This method of document management is time consuming, costly
and unsecured. However, managing documents electronically, greatly
improves the internal operations of an organization, raises community
satisfaction, and simplifies document management and exchange. In this
project, OpenCms which is one of the open source content management
software is adapted to enable the government organizations to manage their
documents.
Language is another barrier for the growth and development of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country. This is because most
software systems are developed in English language but a small percentage of
the population understands that language very well. However, by localizing a
software product to the country’s locales, i.e. languages, cultural norms and
standards as well as needs and expectations, the users can interact with the
software in the settings that feel natural to them. In this project, OpenCms is
localized to Ethiopian locales.
Open source software are appropriate technology for Ethiopia. This is because
they can be acquired free of charge and allow users to redistribute, modify and
resell the software. However, they are not widely used in the country, there are
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many reasons for this some of them are piracy of proprietary software, lack of
awareness about open source software and shortage of open source software
experts.
Description
Keywords
Ethiopian, Government