After 23 years of work in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), there seems to be no end in sight for what an admirable professional like Deacon Orson Smith would pursue to fulfill his God-given purpose.
Deacon Smith is currently employed within the Public Sector at the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) as the Infrastructure Director. Some would consider this the pinnacle of his career, but for him, there is so much more he would like to accomplish, most of which has to do with giving back significantly to his country, Guyana.
Where it All Started…
Young Orson fell into the ICT field out of sheer curiosity and after taking up a challenge issued to him by a Mathematics Teacher in his senior high school years.
“I remember asking the teacher why we needed to waste time learning to manually calculate Sines and Cosines when we can just put Sin30 into a calculator and get the answer. His response was, ‘How do you think the formula got into the calculator in the first place?’ and I thought to myself, hmmm.”
Shortly after this Orson went on to pursue studies in Computer Science, which at that time was relatively new to Guyana. Today, Orson holds a Master of Engineering Degree in Computer Systems and Software Engineering.
His Work
In Church, he serves first as a Deacon on the Church’s board with an assignment to the Media Department. He plays a major role in supporting the technical aspect of the media ministry when it comes to online and visual presentations. In his current line of work, Deacon Smith is responsible for the Management and Maintenance of the Government of Guyana’s voice and data communication network infrastructure as well as the provision of connectivity and data storage services to government entities.
Before assuming this very important role, Orson worked for several years at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). One of the memorable moments of his career was in May 2000 when the first email was successfully sent from GuySuCo’s IT Office in Georgetown to its Head Office at Ogle.
“This was a culmination of months of research, planning and long hours of teamwork,” he stated. Orson was at the time part of a team tasked with building out the IT Network of the Guyana Sugar Corporation. For many years, this network remained the largest IT network in the Caribbean that was not owned by a Public Telecommunication Service Provider.
“We take things like email for granted now but at that time, it was a big thing. Back then, my company was the only non-Internet Service Provider entity in Guyana that managed its own email service,” he recalled with pride.
After nineteen years, he transitioned out from his job at GuySuCo and was immediately immersed into a new project at the NDMA which had the objective of providing internet connectivity to remote hinterland villages. Ninety (90) villages received internet/Wi-Fi for the very first time. Some of these villages had no phone signal but were now able to be connected to the World Wide Web, and villagers, including students and teachers, took advantage of its availability.
Orson highlighted that in late 2019 when he paid his electricity bill online from the village of Masekanari in the southernmost part of Guyana, it was quite a fulfilling experience. He had led a team from the NDMA which had just delivered internet service to the villagers. “This was inarguably the most remote village in Guyana. I had deliberately kept back that bill to pay online, which I did, lying in my bed in the village guest house just after 10pm,” he recounted fondly with a smile.
Transformation and Possibilities
During the interview, Orson’s enthusiasm toward his work manifested in this quote, “Since I love what I am doing, it is not a job per sé and it is easy to turn up to the office every day.”
He further expressed that his current job is a rewarding one since it directly impacts the lives of Guyanese across the country. For example, the aforementioned project to provide internet service to hinterland communities across all ten Regions of Guyana was one major undertaking at his job which has transformed the ICT landscape in Guyana. “Nearly all these communities had to rely on VHF radios or simply had to travel between villages to pass on messages,” he explained, “Connecting these villages to the information superhighway opens up the world of possibilities to the residents of these communities.”
Existing Gaps in Guyana’s ICT landscape
While there is much to celebrate, Deacon Smith has recognised that there is much work to be done locally to improve the public’s access to services and other facilities via the internet.
When it comes to limited access to online services, he explained that “this is a two-fold problem. Firstly, the services are not available online and secondly, in cases where they are available, many citizens, unfortunately, do not have online connectivity and/or the devices to access the service,” he lamented.
The solution, he explained, would require expanding connectivity services to at least 90% of the populated areas of Guyana. Citizens would also need access to affordable services and devices and be trained to use them. This would require interventions by both the government and the private sector.
Secondly, he highlighted that Guyana is still very much a paper-based society, with most service processes being very manual. This results in slow, inefficient means of accessing services and doing business. “There is the need to move in the direction of digitising records and processes as well as the integration of the various systems.
Presently, we would have to present the same information to different organisations, particularly for government services and this is the result of a lack of integration of the various systems. Apart from slowing the process down, it makes it more vulnerable to fraud since cross-referencing is not easily done in non-integrated systems.”
Once again, cooperation between the public and private sectors is required to overcome this challenge. “The more we digitise and integrate, the more services we can have online and that means we can access services and do business from the comfort of our own beds, hammocks, living rooms, or benabs,” Orson said.
Since I love what I am doing, it is not a job per sé and it is easy to turn up to the office every day.” Orson Smith
Advice to Persons Aspiring to Join the ICT Profession
Deacon Smith was keen enough to avoid the generic words of encouragement and sought to give more professional advice to persons in the field and those considering becoming a part of it. “I would encourage them to go to university and not settle for technical certifications…this can only get you so far and ultimately, the more senior professional jobs require you to provide a degree. So, seek to get yourself university qualified, get a degree, and do not prioritise getting technical certifications only.”
He detailed that when reading for a degree, apart from the technical elements, one is encouraged/forced to think outside the box. This is when management and analytical abilities are sharpened. There are many opportunities becoming available in ICT but it is only the passionate at heart that will obtain and excel in this profession.
