Sun concentrates on public sector: Sun Microsystems is setting up a new unit aimed at targeting government business and is appointing one of its high-profile executives to run it. The new Global Government Office, to be headed up by Executive Vice President Clark Masters, is charged with developing Sun's secure network computing architectures and focussing more research and development on the public sector. Sun is already involved in the US developing technology solutions for future Defense Department needs. "Government sales present huge opportunities for Sun with increased focus worldwide on security solutions, e-government projects and new compliance requirements," said Masters in a statement. Sun has also recently been trying to target governments outside the US; it now offers "per-citizen" pricing to developing nations that want to license its software.
France moves towards open source software: The French government has revealed that it wants to encourage the use of open source software, as part of a cost-cutting drive. In an interview with the Reuters news agency, French civil service minister Renaud Dutreil said the government is hopeful that open source software can help the administration reduce its software costs for public sector computers. It is estimated that the cost of licences for office suite software for the government could be over EUR300 million over the next three years. Dutreil said that the introduction of open source software such as Linux, OpenOffice, Mozilla, Apache, MySQL and Evolution is "very credible," and he estimated that the state software bill could be reduced by at least half by moving away from proprietary software. "We are not starting a war against Microsoft, or against American companies in the software sector," Dutreil noted, but he added that Microsoft "must return to being one supplier to the state among others."
Ireland hosts e-government conference: As part of its EU presidency, Ireland hosted a top-level e-government conference in Dublin on 17 and 18 June. The 4th European Conference on eGovernment was organised in collaboration with the European Commission and featured a speech from Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen entitled Understanding the Benefits of e-Government. "Productivity and efficiency in public administrations can...increase efficiency in the economy overall," said Liikanen. "Reduction of red tape, less waiting in queues, fewer errors and higher quality in public services obviously all reduce costs for businesses and citizens in their economic activity." Liikanen also pointed out that innovation is the key to long-term sustainable productivity growth for the economies of Europe. The conference was attended by over 300 delegates, including e-government ministers, representatives from academia and industry, and senior EU officials responsible for e-government policy.
Jordan reviews e-government security: Jordan's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) is undertaking a security review of one of the country's most important e-government programmes. The Security Assessment Project will assess the safety of the Secure Government Network, an IT infrastructure that supports the Prime Ministry and the Ministries of Planning, Finance, ICT, and Industry and Trade, as well as the Municipality of Greater Amman. The project, which is being undertaken by a joint venture formed by Intrah and Computer Associates, aims to raise the standards of existing security policies and procedures and to define the standards for future security projects. "The Security Assessment Project is crucial to the success of the e-Government programme," said Mahmoud Khasawneh, CIO and director of e-Government. "Addressing such critical security issues will raise the level of trust and user confidence in using e-services," he added.
New Zealand brings vehicle licensing on-line: New Zealand has launched an on-line motor vehicle licence renewal service for citizens. The Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) has set up a Web site especially for motor vehicle and driving licence transactions, www.ltsatransact.govt.nz. The site was developed in conjunction with IT firms Unisys and Intergen and in accordance with government guidelines developed by the e-Government Unit of the State Services Commission. "This facility is significant in that it is the first LTSA e-Government on-line, real-time transaction processing system allowing payment by credit card," said Bill Hawke, Unisys outsourcing manager. Currently, visitors to the site can re-license their vehicles or inform the LTSA of a change of address. Other services that are due to be incorporated into the site in the next few months will include booking practical driver's licence tests and applying for vehicle licensing exemptions.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: Electric News Net, 23.06.2004
