IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Majid Mowzer, divisional director sales of Metrofile Cape, part of the MGX Group, has warned that the transition to e-government will be challenging and will not happen overnight. Speaking yesterday at the opening of the government's three-day e-government conference in Cape Town, Mowzer said: “We must remember that the e-word doesn't mean an instant change from old systems to this new electronic world. This is an ongoing exercise whereby systems need to be evaluated, new architectures designed, processes modelled, infrastructure built and staff trained.”

Mowzer said that during this building phase, one of the challenges would be to adhere to governance requirements knowing that information may reside in a combination of legacy and new systems.

“Adherence to e-governance translates directly to availability of and access to all requisite information, regardless of where that information may sit within the various departments. E-governance also means ensuring that as new methods of conducting business are adopted, so the back-end processes must be implemented to secure and protect that information for the period required by legislation. The requirement to understand and then comply with corporate governance is a pressing issue.

Mowzer added that access to information would increasingly become a focus area, not only to be compliant, but also to service an increasingly computer-literate customer base.

“As government, business and private individuals become more computer-literate and -enabled, so the need for client self-service increases. An interesting challenge is to balance the demands of a few very literate, very demanding customers, with a majority who will still take some time to move to the electronic world. This may mean duplicate systems, with information stored in different forms - paper reports and invoices for many, electronic bill presentment and payment for some.”

Mowzer also pointed out that achieving e-governance would require a significant mindset change among employees and customers. “Implementing new systems is 10% about technology - the rest is ensuring that the people who will use the technology are adequately trained and comfortable with moving to the new ways. Technology change requires organisational change - new processes require buy-in from staff and other stakeholders.”

Another challenge, he said, would be to satisfy political agendas and social needs, at the same time as moving into a more technological world. “The process needs to be carefully managed to ensure that introduction of technology doesn't lead to reduced employment rates.”

Mowzer said that in spite of the major challenges facing the government, it was to be commended on the steps that had already been taken as far as legislation was concerned.

Quelle: ITWeb