"E-government is thriving in Asia," says West. "Governments have made rapid progress at integrating technology into the public sector. Both citizens and businesses appreciate the convenience of online government and value the opportunity to transact government services 24/7."
According to West a primary enabler of recent e-government development in the region has been the degree of political leadership and support for IT-enabled government.
"Leaders in this region deserve credit for making electronic government a top priority," he says. "Several Asian countries are ahead of the United States and Canada at bringing broadband service to their people. This makes it easier and quicker to access new applications. It is harder to put interactive technologies online when access speeds are slow."
However although the region has made great strides in shifting information and processes online, more remains to be done. North America as a region still ranks higher than Asia in the latest E-Government Rankings.
"What some Asian countries can learn from North America is the importance of privacy and security in online transactions. Citizens want to be reassured when they use electronic government that their transactions are confidential. There also needs to be greater attention in some places to making websites accessible to the visually impaired. Web sites should be designed to further access by all people, regardless of physical condition."
Quelle: Public Sector Technology & Management, 23.09.2004
