IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The goal of the awards is to increase awareness of the role that broadband communication and information technology play in economic and social development worldwide. Finalists from around the world, as well as senior representatives from governments, businesses and institutions, were on hand.

According to the '2010 UN eGovernment Readiness Survey,' Saudi Arabia has advanced from 70 to 58, and Kuwait from 57 to 50, and Oman from 84 to 82, which is attributed to the continuous investment in IT infrastructure by these countries.

The Foundation has confirmed that the growing efforts by GCC governments to promote digital transformation and literacy has helped further enhance the region's collective ranking in the 2010 UN eGovernment Readiness Survey, which presented various roles for e-government in addressing the global financial crisis. Bahrain and the UAE occupied the top two rankings respectively among Arab countries in the survey, followed by Kuwait at third, Saudi Arabia at fifth, Qatar at sixth and Oman at eighth.

The commitment by governments around the region to develop e-presence has also had a major impact on the regional Information Technology (IT) industry. "Through efforts to automate, integrate and streamline their services, regional governments have driven much of the demand for IT in the region," Bashar Kilani, manager of IBM's Middle East software group in Dubai, told OBG. For instance, in the UAE the government accounts for between 40% and 50% of the IT market.

The delegation was received by Ali Mehad Al Suwaidi, Acting Director General and Badryah Youssef Hussain, IT Director at the Ministry. GIA delegation included Salem Al Housani, Deputy Director and Ibrahim Al Badawi, Strategic Planning Specialist.

“ICT Sustainability: The Global Benchmark 2012 Report,” which summarizes responses from 1,200 CIOs and senior managers from eight countries, found efforts to improve ICT sustainability in organizations have reached a plateau. The global ICT Sustainability Index, or ITSx, declined slighting in 2012, falling to 53.1 from 54.3 in 2011 and a high of 56.4 in 2010.

Despite efforts over the past decade to develop information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure in developing economies, a new digital divide in terms of ICT impacts persists, according to the latest rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2012: Living in a Hyperconnected World, released today by the World Economic Forum.

Estonia was the highest ranked Central and Eastern European country.

The table of rankings for 2013 was topped by Finland, followed by Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, Denmark, US and Taiwan.

The government.ae portal won the 1stplace in the category of Best Government Website Award in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) within the Internet Awards contest held on the sidelines of the Internet and Mobile Show 2012 that ended recently in Dubai and was organized by Terrapin.

The digital divide is alive and well around the world, according to a new international survey.

A European Commission report on the results so far for i2010, the EU's digital-led strategy for growth and jobs, further showed that of this number, 80 percent have access to some form of broadband connection.

Public and private investment in information and communication technology (ICT) is bearing fruit, finds the Commission's annual progress report on i2010 -- the digitally led strategy for growth and jobs. Technology is fuelling innovation and productivity, and there are signs of fundamental change in markets and user behavior, as Europe moves toward a knowledge-based economy.

New statistics released by ITU show that information and communication technology (ICT) uptake continues to grow worldwide, spurred by a steady fall in the price of telephone and broadband internet services.

ITU’s ICT Development Index (IDI) ranks 155 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills, and compares 2010 and 2011 scores.

Realising the need for a change in ICT perspective, growth and jobs was chosen as central theme of the 2013 edition of Global Information Technology Report (GITR), which is the flagship ICT publication from World Economic Forum released in partnership with INSEAD. Since 2002, the GITR has been monitoring ICT advances worldwide, raising awareness for ICTs on competitiveness and societal well-being.

The Head of State introduced Estonia's e-governance opportunities, security and strengths to the participants of the conference, and noted that secure digital identity is the key issue for the development of well-working e-solutions. "We should strive to achieve a system of digital signatures that could be acceptable throughout the Nordic countries and Baltic states, as this would facilitate co-operation in the sphere of various e-services. Last year, Estonia and Finland entered into an agreement that will allow the citizens of both countries to enjoy similar digital services, among these the creation of a common e-prescription system," told President Ilves.

Chhattisgarh has been awarded ‘Best e-Government State Award’ by Computer Society of India twice before. Chief minister Raman Singh said that Chhattisgarh is one of the leading states in the field of information technology, and extended heartiest congratulations and good wishes to officials and employees of CHIPS.

The Dataquest-CyberMedia Research e-Readiness Assessment of Indian States 2013 revealed that Delhi, Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh had topped the rankings in the overall planning, implementation and outcomes generated from their IT policy initiatives, administrative reforms and roll-out of e-Governance programmes.

Key lessons

Ibrahim Ahmad, Group Editor, Dataquest, said: "Close to 66 percent of India's population is currently under the age of 35 years. This means that the aspirations and wants of the current generation of Indians are very different from those of their parents' or grand parents' generations. The advent and widespread adoption of Information Technology, particularly the Internet and mobile telephony have added a completely new dimension to the awareness and expectation levels of Indians from all walks of life."

Inaugurating a two-day workshop on Electronics and IT, Sibal said: "The Government will support the research and development of Indian Language based computer softwares in order to bring technology closer to the common man."

He said that his Ministry is proposing a new semi conductor policy to promote the indigenous computer hardware industry.