Model Metrics to deliver Mifos to Central Africa via Amazon Web Services

Microfinance Focus, March 11, 2010: Model Metrics, the leader in cloud computing services for the enterprise and an Amazon Web Services Solution Provider, announced on Thursday it has partnered with Global Business Assist and Grameen Foundation’s Mifos™ Initiative to migrate the Mifos platform to Amazon Web Services to support Global Business Assist’s microfinance programs in Africa.

The Mifos platform is a centralized open source technology platform that provides microfinance institutions with the technology they need to reliably and securely process, track and record the flow of funds, and maintain accountability to their borrowers and investors.

Model Metrics donated its time to work with Global Business Assist volunteer Stephen Kaufman to migrate the application from a web hosting service to the cloud. With web hosting service providers, Kaufman had encountered challenges in delivering Mifos cost-effectively, consistently and securely to micro financiers in developing countries around the world. Kaufman turned to Model Metrics for assistance in taking the Mifos platform to the cloud to provide a greater level of security and reduce the downtime required for offline testing, repairs and management.

Model Metrics utilized Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) to provide block level storage volumes for use with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances. Elastic IP addresses and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) enables bundled Amazon Machine Images (AMI). Multiple instances mean that additional bandwidth can easily be added if needed.

“Amazon Web Services strengthens the delivery of this one-of-a-kind technology solution,” said Adam Caplan, Model Metrics chief executive officer. “Amazon Web Services positions Global Business Assist for future growth and evolution so it can continue to deliver its remarkable, innovative services for the good of the people.”

Kaufman, who serves as chief technology officer of a global brand development firm in addition to his work as a volunteer and board member for Global Business Assist, says, “Donors want to know exactly where their money is going, and Mifos helps Global Business Assist ensure that level of accountability and visibility. People expect a certain level of transparency. Now they can easily follow their funds to the end user, and see how it is being used and how it is being repaid.”

Mifos is led and driven by the Grameen Foundation, and extended by the Mifos community of microfinance institutions, IT professionals and software developers. A global community of paid and unpaid developers and IT specialists collaborate to write code, conduct peer reviews, find and fix bugs, and build new features into the platform, while a network of locally-based Mifos deployment and support specialists assist with implementation.

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