Technologically enabling resource-constrained enterprises in developing nations through the implementation of E-Commerce on-demand service portals for a grid utility computing platform

In most developing countries, e-Commerce is being adopted in large scale organizations, but a large number of the resource-constrained enterprises such as the Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) especially in the rural areas are yet to enjoy the maximum benefits that e-Commerce technology offers. Some of the reasons as identified include inability to afford the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of e-Commerce tools and applications, and lack of Information Communication Technology (ICT) expertise, amongst others. More so, in order to reduce TCO, SMMEs could pay for just the services and resources used per time (pay-as-you-use), without being burdened with high operational costs and overheads. This mode of resource delivery and utilization is often referred to as Utility Computing (UC) or on-Demand Computing (ODC). This paper reports an investigation of and profiles the relevant requirements and implementation guidelines to facilitate the design and implementation of an effective e-Commerce on-Demand service portal for a Grid Utility Computing (GUC) platform. A service portal prototype for the Grid-based Utility Infrastructure for Small, Micro, and Medium Enterprises Enabling Technology (GUISET) initiative - a Utility Computing platform, is being evolved with the aim of technologically enabling the business activities of these enterprises by facilitating an affordable access to relevant technologies on a pay-as-you-use basis. An analytic functional evaluation experiment was undertaken to determine if the minimum set of identified requirements considered necessary for the design of usable service portal for GUC platforms are satisfied and fulfilled in the portal prototype using a set of benchmark requirements. The result shows that these minimum requirements were satisfied and fulfilled by the service portal.