New application to enhance e-government accessibility

A new mobile application will be released by the government soon that will cover, at first, the basic interactions with the government, and will eventually include all ‘e-government’ services including those currently provided through Hukoomi and the Ministry of Interior’s Metrash, according to an ictQatar official. ictQatar services delivery manager Mohannad Omar Naim said that new self-service terminals are also to be installed to support these initiatives, providing greater access to government services.

He believes that people need mobility, need to trust their government and need to be included in decisions through social network interaction. People also need to have access to all their government services through a single log-on access point with only one username.

For this vision to become reality, the government should provide accessibility, broadband, and other critical infrastructure. The idea of eGovernment in Qatar started in 2001 with 11 online services, mainly based around residence permits for individuals and businesses. Naim said that people resisted at first, with the government having to beg companies to use their online services.

Now, online systems have become so prevalent that companies and residents are now recommending services to be added. eGovernment is now in a “transformation phase” working towards a new “digital society” with “eparticipation”. Dr Alistair Erskine, chief of Medical Informatics at the Sidra Medical and Research Centre, said that “Qatar does not have a very well developed primary care network. There are significant efforts to do so, but those efforts will take time and they will take a change in the way the population thinks about primary care.”

Erskine said that just as people can now leapfrog credit card payments and go directly to mobile payments, soon patients will be able to skip elements of primary care and bring care directly into the home. Monitoring tools, disease surveillance, weight and other monitoring devices, as well as information portals for patients to learn about and understand their condition are some of the elements that can transform healthcare in Qatar.

Fibre network upgrades to the country’s broadband systems will play an important role in implementing these kinds of healthcare services. According to Erskine, Qatar’s vision for health care calls for a dramatic transformation in the coming years, not just in terms of personalised health care but also in overall health systems management. Flu outbreaks, for example, will be identified before health care providers even report cases, simply by the symptoms being looked up on Google by Internet users. Patients will have better monitoring and interaction from health care providers directly from the home, supported by the “decentralisation and democratisation of health information”. “People will be able to get a chip with their entire genome in less than 24 hours, for less than QR3,600,” Erskine explained.

He said that this breakthrough will allow healthcare professionals to identify patterns in recessive genes amongst the population that were previously unrecognised. Gamification, or making these services more entertaining and engaging, will also improve their success as people will be more likely to use them consistently. Mobile apps are also crucial in helping those with disabilities which is crucial because, as David Banes, CEO of Qatar Assistive Technology Centre (Mada) points out, 70% of people will acquire some disability in their working life. A number of inexpensive apps are transforming the lives of the visually and hearing impaired, whether it is through GPS navigation tools, access to books using kindle or other reading assistants, communication tools for the deaf or product recognition software for the blind.

Banes said that one way the public can help is by donating their second hand iphones and smartphones to Mada, who will provide them as living-assistance tools for those who need them.

gulf-times.com

Australia announces location-based emergency management system

Australia’s Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Robert McClelland, and Acting Victorian Premier Peter Ryan have unveiled an ambitious new revamp of the country’s national Emergency Alert telephone warning system. This revamp incorporates a “world-first” mobile emergency alert service, to be fully operational by November 2012, while tapping into carrier-class mobile communications networks.

The location-based mobile emergency alert service will send warnings to mobile phones that are physically in an emergency zone when a disaster strikes. Australia’s emergency warnings are currently limited to using a residential address associated with individual subscribers, as a result relying on outdated emergency notifications like radio warnings.

The upgraded mobile emergency alert will use location-based mobile communications services to send anywhere, anytime warnings directly to mobile phones using SMS. Minister McClelland says Victoria will lead the way by developing technology for a national location-based telephone emergency warning system. Acting Victorian Premier Peter Ryan says this new technology has no national or international precedent. The mobile emergency alert service, when fully operational, will subscribe to mobile communications networks through carrier arrangements.

This emergency alert upgrade adds another layer of safety to existing warnings across cities, towns and regional areas. This location-based warning system will use SMS as one feature of Australia’s emergency management services, enabling affected communities to get alerts in real-time, regardless of their location.

The new service will be complemented by traditional radio and emergency services website updates. In December last year, McClelland canvassed community feedback on its emergency messaging systems, including a Common Alerting Protocol.

This protocol would enable emergency messages to be sent out simultaneously over different warning systems including radio, television, smartphones, email and social media. Minister McClelland also launched a DisasterWatch app for iPhone and Android smartphones last year.

DisasterWatch offers communities up-to-the-minute public information about disaster via direct feeds from official state, territory and national sources. This week’s Commonwealth and Victorian Government mobile communications initiative comes in the wake of the Victorian bushfires in late 2009. More than 173 people died during these bushfires, leading to a Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission inquiry.

This inquiry recommended streamlining Australia’s emergency alert capabilities, while reaching out more quickly to widely dispersed communities. Telstra has been awarded a contract for the latest Commonwealth and Victorian government emergency alert upgrade – with negotiations underway with other carriers.

.futuregov.asia

Seoul Proves Value of Advanced e-Government

“Seoul City is pushing for ‘Smart Seoul 2015’ for the qualitative happiness of its citizens from 2011 to 2015,” says Dr. Hwang Jong-sung, Assistant Mayor for Information Technology (CIO) of Seoul Metropolitan government. “Seoul’s budget for informatization in 2011 stood at 129,501 million won, accounting for 0.63% of Seoul’s total budget. The Seoul e-government consists of a front office, a back office and additional infrastructure. The e-Seoul Net is an exclusive high-speed information and telecommunication network which links the Main Building of Seoul City Hall, its branch offices, affiliated organizations and Gu (district) offices with an aim toward realizing an e-government. u-Seoul Net is a telecommunication network that offers audio-visual and Internet (data) services such as traffic and CCTV information. The core of Seoul’s informatization project in the future is to carry out the Smart Seoul 2015 project.

The Smart Seoul 2015 project is a pre-emptive and active informatization plan as 80% of Seoul citizens are expected to use smartphones or smart devices and 30% are expected to purchase smart TVs in 2015. “We are planning to make Seoul the “best smart technology city” in the world in 2015,” Dr. Hwang continues.

The Smart Seoul 2015 project will expand Seoul’s smart infrastructure, help more people enjoy advanced IT services, provide Seoul City services through smart devices, create jobs, enhance the level of information security and realizing the finest e-government in the world.

“So, we expect that advanced IT technologies will be applied to all sectors in citizens’ life and even senior citizens will make use of smart devices and applications after receiving education in 2015,” Dr. Hwang adds. The city is also planning to reduce its crime rate by expanding CCTV monitoring.

“We are also planning to promote a Seoul-friendly application business industry and establish an incubator center in the Sangam-dong IT complex,” Dr. Hwang reveals. The Seoul Metropolitan government is providing various information and online services through the Internet and smartphones and is steadily upgrading services by collecting opinions of citizens.

The e-government service of Seoul City is divided into three major parts – strong communication with citizens, convenient services for citizens and addressing negative impacts of informatization. A main communication channel between Seoul and citizens is the official web site of Seoul City. The web site offers comprehensive services for citizens including electronic civil petitions, news of the Seoul government and the participation of citizens.

The web site is also connected to web sites of the central government and relevant organizations. Of late, the site has been renewed for three kinds of visitors (general citizens, business people, and tourists). In addition to the regular web site of Seoul City, the city is offering mobile portal services in eight sectors.

Furthermore, advanced smartphone applications of Seoul City provides citizens with information on restaurants, TBS broadcasting, travel, location of public rest rooms and taxi-call service. Moreover, the city is distributing PCs for marginalized people who do not have PCs so that they can use information services at home. For visually challenged people and the disabled, the city distributes magnifying devices and Braille terminals.

Other activities include repairing PCs, implementing projects to prevent people from Internet addiction, Internet counseling and free ubiquitous study programs. The excellence of Seoul e-government was duly recognized in the evaluation of e-governments by reliable organizations. For example, Seoul e-government came in first for four years running in the evaluation of the Evaluation of the World’s 100 Cities.”

“The Seoul e-government became a benchmarking object for countries and cities around the world,” Dr. Hwang adds. “Foreign public officials, businessmen and scholars have visited Seoul City to observe its e-government system and facilities.”

“We are planning to publicize the excellence of Seoul's e-government system and contribute to the development of other e-governments by exchanging and cooperating with cities around the world,” Dr. Hwang explains. “At the same, the plan is aimed at addressing a digital divide problem among people and helping Korean ICT companies make a foray into overseas markets.”

Seoul becomes chair of World e-Government Organization (WeGo)

Accordingly, the Seoul government has laid the foundation by holding its World e-Government Market Forum in 2008. Finally in September 2010, the World e-Government Organization (WeGO) was established with Seoul as chair city. Since then, the Seoul government is playing the role of the leader for e-governments in the world.

The number of the member cities of the WeGO is 50, including big cities of the U.S., Canada, France and developing countries in Africa. The members cooperate with one another via the WeGO. Of late, the WeGO has surged in popularity internationally.

For example, three cities have recently applied for membership. The Seoul Metropolitan Government suggests distributing its e-government standard framework to member cities of the WeGO in a meeting of the Managing Committee of the WeGO held in Barcelona of Spain in last October. The suggestion was adopted.

The Seoul e-government has become an excellent e-government benchmarking target for countries around the world. Over the past three years, 893 people from 155 countries came to Seoul to observe and learn about the Seoul e-government. The Seoul government signed MOUs on exchange and cooperation on e-government with 11 overseas cities with the purpose of promoting friendship and enhancing the value of its global brand through communication marketing for the Seoul e-government and laying the foundation for Korean IT companies’ making a foray into overseas markets on the foundation of its world-class information infrastructure and experiences in various informatization projects.

“In particular, we carried out feasibility studies on e-government with leading Korean IT companies in Hanoi of Vietnam, Nairobi of Kenya and Katmandu of Nepal, which helped the cities map out informatization master plans,” Dr. Hwang adds.

“These efforts have paid off. The Tanzanian government is building its own system by applying the e-government model of Seoul to it. We have also contributed to the informatization of developing countries and helped Korean IT companies make inroads into overseas markets. This means Seoul’s position is rising as an advanced IT city.” “We will steadily publicize the excellence of the Seoul e-government internationally and contribute to the development of e-governments around the world through MOUs and to addressing the digital divide problem.

At the same time, we will help Korean companies tap into overseas markets,” Dr. Hwang detailed. Of late, the inauguration ceremony for the new Seoul mayor Park Won-soon attracted eyes of people and mass media as it was done online.

The online ceremony was broadcast live through the Internet from 11:00 to 11:40 am on November 16 of 2011. During the broadcast, Mayor Park opened his office room, pledge allegiance to the nation, delivered his inauguration speech and took questions from citizens through SNS. About 75,000 people watched the Internet broadcasting live and 5,000 questions or opinions were sent to the mayor through SMS.

In addition, about 8,000 people watched the ceremony on their mobile devices. “The online inauguration ceremony was successfully held with a smaller budget compared to previous authoritarian and formal ceremonies, suggesting a new model of inauguration ceremonies for government organizations, companies and groups,” Dr. Hwang says.

koreaittimes.com

Booz Allen Reports Top Ten Cyber Security Trends for Financial Services in 2012

comtrec.com

Booz Allen Hamilton today cited increased cyber threats to senior executives, the impact of organized crime and mobile device security as among the Top 10 Financial Services Cyber Security Trends that will make 2012 a pivotal year for banks and investment firms as they try to stay ahead of the IT security curve. These threats have a trickle-down effect on every part of a financial services organization, with reputational and financial impacts that can be a huge risk to any organization.

  

“These trends highlight the fact that cyber security today is about living with and managing the risk in your network. It’s more than just preventing security violations,” said Bill Wansley, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton.

“Every day, it’s essential that the financial services industry – from small community banks to large Wall Street institutions – know what cyber security threats are on the horizon, and how the cyber and technology industries are meeting these concerns. 

Today’s business environment requires financial institutions to be more creative in meeting the demands of their customers, shareholders, and regulators,” Wansley said. The following list was developed from research by Booz Allen, which has years of experience in financial services consulting for federal, nonprofit and commercial clients:

Top 10 Financial Services Cyber Security Trends for 2012:

(1)The exponential growth of mobile devices drives an exponential growth in security risks. Every new smart phone, tablet or other mobile device, opens another window for a cyber attack, as each creates another vulnerable access point to networks.  

(2)Increased C-suite targeting. Senior executives are no longer invisible online. 
Firms should assume that hackers already have a complete profile of their executive suite and the junior staff members who have access to them. 

(3)Growing use of social media will contribute to personal cyber threats. A profile or comment on a social media platform – even by the CEO’s son or sister -- can help hackers build an information portfolio that could be used for a future attack.  

(4)Your company is already infected, and you’ll have to learn to live with it – under control. Security should remain a priority, but today’s risks and threats are so widespread that it will become impossible to have complete protection – the focus of cyber security tactics increasingly must be to analyze, detect and expunge threats inside your system. 

(5)Everything physical can be digital. The written notes on a piece of paper, the report binder and even the pictures on the wall can be copied in digital format and gleaned for the tools to allow a hacktivist-type of security violation, and increasingly this will be a problem.  

(6)More firms will use cloud computing. The significant cost savings and efficiencies of cloud computing are compelling companies to migrate to the cloud. A well designed architecture and operational security planning will enable organizations to effectively manage the risks of cloud computing.  

(7)Global systemic risk will include cyber risk. As banks and investment firms continue on the path to globalization, they will become increasingly inter-connected. A security breach at one firm can create negative ripple effects that greatly impact systemic risk in financial markets.  

(8)Zero-day malware (malicious software) and organized attacks will continue to increase. Like a vicious, insidious virus that mutates, the tools of cyber criminals adapt and change constantly, rendering the latest defenses useless. Firms need to be prepared to adapt quickly as well to zero-day malware and the tactics of organized crime and foreign adversaries that are increasingly used today.  

(9)Insider threats are real. The accidental insider breach will continue to be the primary source of compromise for the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) and other attacks. Organizations need to focus on security awareness training and internal monitoring to detect intentional and accidental insider access.
 
(10)Increased regulatory scrutiny. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission introduced guidelines that require companies to report incidents that result, or could possibly result in, cyber theft or a risk of compromised data considered material. 

More information on these trends is available here.

In its 2011 U.S. Cost of a Data Breach, the Ponemon Institute reported that the financial impact of hacks continues to rise, with the cost per compromised record now at $214 (up from $204 in 2009) and the total price tag for each data breach event averaging around $7.2 million. 

In August 2011, hackers were able to steal $2.7 million from 3,400 customers of a major financial institution, which contributed to the $48 billion in identity fraud losses in the United States each year. “As the list of companies victimized by hacking grows, it is clear that no network is completely impenetrable, but there are effective solutions that can help” said Wansley. 

“To thwart these attacks, one must embrace a dynamic defense that embodies the same aggressive, nimble, and methodical approach as our cyber adversaries use against us today. As the daily headlines remind us, cyber security isn’t something on which anyone can declare victory. Cyber security is now a relentless operational risk issue for every organization that develops or delivers value.” 

 fiercefinance.com

Mobile Government: The Future?

Research Analyst for Frost & Sullivan Jayashree Rajagopal promotes m-government as the key enabler to create a user-driven smart government 

The mobile penetration rate has surpassed 100% in almost all European countries. In order to improve the reach of services, many industry verticals such as healthcare and banking are utilising mobile communication as a major channel. Since governments now successfully use the internet as a channel for easy access to citizens, the next major means whose ubiquity can be leveraged is mobile communication.

Participation-driven government

e-Government has successfully helped to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations. The majority of these activities in Europe to date have been productivity driven, with a primary focus on cost-effectiveness.

A policy shift towards the implementation of user-centric and user-driven government has resulted in the adoption of the internet as a platform to communicate with citizens. This has enabled interaction between authorities and people, with the latter increasingly considered as customers, rather than just taxpayers.

The next level in the provision of government operations and services is participation-driven government. This can only be enabled if two-way interaction exists between government representatives and citizens.

The use of mobile and wireless technologies, devices and applications to improve government processes and citizen participation is known as mobile government (m-government). This has been largely accepted as an enabler of e-government services in developed countries.

In countries where e-government initiatives have been more limited, however, m-government is mostly viewed as a tool to enable integration between ICT and government activities. The use of ICT in this manner can be largely termed 'smart government', and currently involves the combination of e-government and m-government activities. Not only does this help to enhance interaction between governments and citizens, but it also improves the productivity of public service personnel by strengthening communication between various government departments.

m-Government and e-government interaction
Implementation of mobile technologies across industry verticals such as banking and healthcare has delivered fruitful results in Europe. In the various government interactions there are five main stakeholders involved: public administrators, government employees, business partners, citizens, and tourists.

In most western European countries, e-government infrastructure is well established, and m-government services will result in better utilisation. Various mobile technologies – such as cellular technologies, RFID, GPS, GIS, near field communication, WiFi and Bluetooth – will help to improve government transaction levels from basic access to fully interactive. Every year, European countries allocate a proportion of their budget to e-government, and as this infrastructure is now well established, investments in m-government are necessary to leverage those in established government infrastructure and services.

In order to ensure that m-government investment is justified, citizens must be made aware of the advantages of using mobile technologies when interacting with authorities. To encourage the use of m-government across all major European countries, a few services should be introduced to citizens that will enable them to understand the convenience of mobile technology.

This will also prompt them to seek similar services when undertaking future activities. For example, if a citizen files their income tax returns on the internet, an update can be sent to their mobile number. Another technique that can be implemented is the provision of incentives when specified applications and services are used.

This will help to drive the adoption of services and also enable citizens to derive benefits in the short term. m-Government is seen to complement the various e-government initiatives already present. Both of these tools need to develop simultaneously to improve efficiency of government-citizen interaction.

m-Government pilots

Generally, citizens have to go to government offices to apply for individual documents and services that are exclusively offered by public administrations. This can involve long waiting times for citizens and is often not very accessible for the elderly, disabled people, and those from rural areas. With m-government, services can be provided at locations such as neighbourhood centres, libraries, hospitals or shopping malls by civil servants through the use of mobile equipment with wireless networks.

This was the rationale behind the 'Mobile Citizen Services' (MoBüD) project in Germany, which was initiated and accomplished by the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, the Senate of the Interior of Berlin and other partners. In response to this, Citizen-friendly Trans-European m-Government Services (CIDRE) was launched in Sweden, Estonia and the Netherlands to discover how m-government services similar to the German MoBüD prototype service can be launched in the European market.

CIDRE involved testing activities such as taxation, social insurance and health services in these countries. Public services were implemented at convenient places such as public buildings, where there are fewer barriers to access and the administrative burden is reduced. One service that proved extremely successful was that which helped to create awareness of the e-government services already available via the internet.

During the CIDRE trials, it was observed that a direct transfer of services from the German pilots is not possible as there are a number of differences in terms of government set-up in each country. In the Netherlands, the pilots were successful as there are a lot of similarities between the government system there and that in Germany.

Meanwhile, due to a well-established e-government system – and as various public administration departments have a policy to not disclose information to other departments – the Swedish pilots were largely unsuccessful. Estonia has some established e-government facilities, with mobile technologies being used for those services that do not.

Challenges with smart government

Although smart government is the major step towards participation-driven government, there are a number of requirements that need to be satisfied for the effective functioning of smart government systems:

• Smart government infrastructure needs to be uniform throughout a country: only when all government organisations are equipped with similar infrastructure can services be used effectively and efficiently; 

• Smart government needs to enable every citizen to interact with the government: with the existence of the digital divide in many countries, it will be difficult for uniform utilisation since citizen participation will be limited. As a participation-driven initiative, smart government services need to reach every citizen in order to obtain unbiased views; 

• The government's policies need to be well-defined to enable coordination between various government departments: smart government initiatives will only be successful when the various government departments understand each other's roles and have a good communication channel to connect them; 

• Security and privacy issues of government information have posed a major threat: as there are no well-defined laws and regulations for electronic and mobile transfer of government information in any European country, people are reluctant to utilise the various services available; 

• The lack of IT skills among personnel in government departments and agencies is a major challenge: this has hindered successful implementation of many e-government and m-government projects. For any smart government initiative, there need to be huge investments for developing the IT skills of the personnel; 

• In many European countries there are a number of disparate e-government and/or m-government activities: although many of these may be successful, most have not been replicated at national level. Therefore a common platform needs to be established to analyse and realise such activities. This will be enabled by uniform laws and regulations that would support replicating the success of local initiatives at a country level. 

Success factors

In order to leverage the advantages of smart government, a mechanism needs to be set-up to accurately and securely identify each citizen. This will ensure that access to various smart government services is authenticated.

All government organisations and agencies must have online databases that cover information regarding their various services and activities. Since e-government is established in many European countries, the next step will be to enable e-government initiatives for all the services and activities of the government, bringing them onto a common platform.

This will be ideal for integrating mobile technologies, devices and applications into government activities and will work towards the achievement of participation-driven government. The key to performing all of these activities is the integration of the stakeholders involved in e-government and m-government initiatives, who should be aware of the administrative, legislative and regulatory environment in order to develop relevant services.

With the existing e-government environment in mind, stakeholders should develop user-friendly and innovative solutions. Furthermore, governments should consider the views of those involved, and prioritise the implementation of services accordingly. Awareness should be created among citizens to enable rapid and effective utilisation of services. Smart government is a country-level initiative and governments must assume a leadership role to ensure that all stakeholders act efficiently and effectively to enable the realisation of participation driven government.

PublicService.co.uk

India's ambitious m-government plans

The scale of transformation needed to migrate public services to mobile delivery is daunting. No coincidence then that, to date, the outstanding pioneer in e- and m-government has been Estonia, with a population of just 1.3 million and noted for its relatively “lean” public sector (OECD Economic Surveys: Estonia 2011). In contrast, India’s 1.55 billion people, of whom around 800 million are mobile phone users, present a whole different challenge. Nonetheless, central government has built an ambitious policy framework designed to make thousands of public services accessible from mobile phones by 2012.  
Since the launch of the National e-Governance Plan in 2006, hundreds of online forms and processes of each state authority have transferred online – such as tax filing and payment of utility bills. But with dismal penetration of home broadband, most citizens rely on public access kiosks, including some 100,000 Common Services Centers directly funded via a public-private partnership.

 Recognizing that it could reach 10 times the number of citizens on their mobiles, the Indian government opened consultation on a national Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG) in April 2011. The first services rolled out in September and around 25 should be live by the end of the year, supported by a national payments gateway.

An app store is due in March 2012 and public funds will be targeted to encourage applications innovation. So how is a country of India’s size and complexity able to move so quickly? The m-government initiative is built on four pillars: joined-up national policy, including support for open technology standards and interoperability; financial commitment; close regulation of telecom operators; and crucially, the digitization of public data during the first wave of e-government.

telecomasia.net

SCOTTISH COUNCIL TO SAVE US$2.2 MIL WITH MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Scotland’s Midlothian Council, governing the area from the south of Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders, is introducing a mobile system that will make it easy for residents to get help from builders, electricians, plumbers and joiners. The mobile technology aims to create a better system for repairing and improving residents’ homes. The new technology will save the council US $ 2.2 million (£1.4 million) over the next five years.

The software system that has been installed sends details of each job directly to the tradesperson’s new personal digital assistant (PDA) or handheld device. Jobs can be monitored in real time as workers send and receive updates through their PDAs. The worker can update their PDA which feeds information back to their headquarters. The software is constantly scheduling work in real time so it can allocate tradespeople and resources in the most efficient way. If there is an emergency, for example a burst pipe, the system can identify the nearest worker and get them to the job as quickly as possible.

Councillor Wilma Chalmers, Midlothian council cabinet member for property and facilities management, said: “The introduction of mobile working aims to modernise the service and improve efficiencies. Not only will tenants receive an improved repairs service but mobile working will save an estimated £1.4million.”

The new way of working will also help reduce Midlothian’s carbon footprint. Tradespeople will be able to go straight from job to job. This reduces the number of times they need to return to base to pick up supplies.
There will also be significant reduction in the use of paper as the system moves from being paper-based to digital.
futuregov.asia

Accela Opens 2011 User Conference With Focus on New Era of 'm-Government'

PlayBook the first tablet approved for Australian government ...

blackberryos.com

Accela, Inc., the leading provider of web- and cloud-based software for e-government, today opened its 2011 User Conference with a presentation by the company's CEO, who highlighted the emerging era of "m-government" -- in which smart phones, tablet PCs, and other mobile devices are opening up new methods of information sharing, worker empowerment and citizen engagement.

The Aug. 15-19 conference has drawn hundreds of government professionals from across the United States and overseas for speaker sessions, product demonstrations, networking opportunities, and dozens of hands-on training classes related to the company's Accela Automation(R) enterprise platform. This year's event features sponsors and exhibitors such as Esri, General Dynamics, Trimble Navigation, Motion Computing, Selectron, IK Consulting, Riva Modeling, and many more.

e-Government Becomes m-Government Urging attendees to "run amok with creativity" in how they perform their jobs and deliver services, Accela President and CEO Maury Blackman discussed how a new generation of role-based apps, connected to an enterprise cloud and accessible on any device, will lead to greater efficiency for governments -- and greater relevancy to and engagement by citizens. Blackman noted that nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population now owns smart phones, and many are leveraging multiple mobile devices and social-media tools to manage their lives and businesses -- leading to an expectation of anytime-anywhere information and interaction by both workers and the public.

"E-government is giving way to mobile government, or 'm-government,'" Blackman said. "Where e-government was about putting information and enabling certain processes on the web or mobile devices, m-government is about delivering productive, engaging experiences to workers and citizens alike. New mobile solutions and apps, coupled with new back-end and cloud-based technologies, are allowing us to optimize the user experience for the devices people are using, the exact places they're located, and the specific tasks they're trying to complete. m-Government will soon be a centerpiece of how government and citizens interact."

Blackman emphasized that "government is on the move" and cited examples of Accela's vision for how tailored apps, connected to an agency's mobile cloud, could streamline the worker and citizen experience.

istockanalyst.com

BBK Wins Middle East e-Government and e-Service Excellence Award 2011 for e-Banking

As part of the 16th Middle East e-Government and e-Services Excellence Awards 2011, BBK, Bahrain pioneer in retail and commercial banking, won the e-Banking Excellence Award from the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute (MEEAI). This prestigious award has been granted to BBK in light of its innovative and comprehensive web-based solutions catering to both retail as well as business customers.

Mr. Rashad Akbari, Assistant General Manager- Transactional Banking Division, BBK was presented with the award at the ceremony held by MEEAI on Wednesday 25th May, 2011 at Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, in the presence of decision makers, e-Government projects managers, media representatives and other invited guests.

MEEAI was established as a platform to recognize and honor the outstanding achievements of leaders and organizations who have contributed to the remarkable growth and development of the regional and global economy. The institute conducts field research and studies in government and private institutions in the Middle East to identify the best social, technological, economical, media, financial and leadership achievements based upon the modern knowledge economy and leadership culture to recognize their significant role played in the region. Recognition is also received by individuals who are able to bring about change and to consolidate the necessary leadership principles and qualities and to contribute to building the region’s future based on the international standards of competitiveness.

Upon receiving the Award, Mr. Rashad Akbari said: “After BBK won in 2011 the Bahrain e-Government e-Content award for the fourth consecutive year in the Kingdom of Bahrain, we are proud on winning also the e-Banking Excellence Award for the Middle East . BBK is always keen on achieving the highest levels of quality and to provide the best banking solutions that meet the customers’ needs, being one of the leading banks that offers the latest and best quality technologies.”

He added: “We have recently developed and enhanced the Bank’s website and launched our latest Corporate Cash Management Platform BBKCashlink which qualified the Bank to win such prestigious award and win our customers’ satisfaction. Winning this award is considered one of the Bank’s significant achievements, which motivates us to continue to use the latest and most sophisticated technologies for the convenience of our customers. We seek to win the MEEAI recognition yet again and wish to thank them for their appreciation.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Ali Al Kamali, Datamatex & MEEAI General Manager said the Award seeks to develop a climate of competition based upon the quality standards among individuals, government and business organizations throughout the region according to the international assessment standards. This will have a significant impact upon the growth of the IT industry and its growth in the region. The event coincides with new economic and technological developments in the region that will bring about a fundamental change in the regional and international technological and economic map, which will certainly help achieve economic development goals.”

Al Kamali added information technology and telecommunications have elements of power that can bring about change in work and management patterns in government agencies to enhance performance and to save money and efforts. They also provide an electronic boom that involves citizens and civil society organizations in discussing policies through direct dialogue and support to the decision making process and drawing up policies that provides better understanding of individuals and the economy.

BBK brings the operational convenience of banking to the door step of its customers. It enables both individuals and businesses to manage their finances effortlessly. Primarily any customer, be it a Retail or Corporate entity, can benefit from BBK’s wide range of secure, customized, cost effective and timely 24X7 Internet banking services. Striving to be at the financial forefront for all our customers’ needs, BBK has recently revamped its website www.bbkonline.com and launched the new release of Internet Retail Banking; it has been redesigned to incorporate better functionality and more advanced features to deliver customers a faster, safer and more convenient service than ever before. Further BBK has recently launched its suite of Cash Management products and services designed to cater to the needs of Corporate Customers through its latest offering BBKCashlink. The platform allows the customer to access a host of features and functionality from anywhere around the world and is built on robust technology, leveraging the highest possible security standards

BBK

Twitter as Police Scanner Draws Feedback in Seattle

A flurry of Twitter messages that began early Tuesday morning from the Seattle Police Department puzzled many Twitter users. Was there a sudden crime wave in Seattle? Was the city under attack? Had a computer gone haywire?

No. The Police Department in this technology-conscious city had started a 12-hour experiment of posting almost all its emergency calls on Twitter. It wanted citizens to see what a day in the life of the department was really like.

The experiment translated into an average of 40 Twitter messages an hour, for a total of 478 by the end of the day. The 140-characters-or-fewer fragments ranged from reports of car accidents and a suicide threat to hang-up calls and “suspicious person possible armed with sword.” (It omitted reports of domestic violence and child abuse, deeming them too personal, though suicide would seem to fall into that category.)

As readers began to understand what was going on, many became annoyed. They said the feeds were mundane and had clogged up their accounts, and they scolded the police for bad Twitter behavior. Within a few hours, hundreds of followers had become unfollowers.

“Ok,” wrote one irate reader. “I had to mute the @SeattlePD I don’t care about mental person panhandling too aggressive while jaywalking. Bad use of twitter!”

Linda Thomas, a local radio host and blogger, rapped the department for failing initially to explain what it was doing and for what she said was a waste of taxpayers’ time and money.

“The Seattle social media community is a family,” Ms. Thomas wrote. “Today, the SPD was a noisy uncle at the dinner table who was only talking about himself — in incoherent sentences at that — and refusing to acknowledge that there are others in the room.”

But others loved the feeds, praising the department for sharing so much and, as one put it, for “pushing the envelope.” Some were riveted by the unfolding mini-dramas, just as people first were enthralled decades ago when they began monitoring police scanners. (Such eavesdropping has not gone out of style; these days, there are even apps for that.)

Several Twitter users outside Seattle wrote that they wished their own police departments would post their calls. Those in Wichita, Kan., had their wishes granted when that Police Department announced Wednesday that, inspired by Seattle, it would try a similar program on Thursday, though for only one hour.

Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a spokesman for the Seattle police, declared the experiment a hit. “It got people talking about crime in Seattle, which is at a record low,” he said. Sergeant Whitcomb said the Twitter messages raised awareness that crime-fighting was a group effort and that the department relied on calls from citizens.

It was so successful, he said, that the department might start posting its 911 calls full-time, but only for readers who sign up and if the posts could be automated. By automation, he meant that dispatchers would press a button that would categorize the calls (“weapons” rather than “possible sword”), which would, alas, cost the messages some of their quirky flavor.

The Police Department will, however, start another experiment next month, with officers in the field sending out Twitter messages of what they did on their calls only, of course, after they have resolved the incident.

Meanwhile, the Twitter world (with some typos in its orbit) is still debating the value of the Seattle posts. One user took a philosophical approach: “Anyone upset over the @SeattlePD tweets yesterday needs to calm down. Twitter is 99% inane chatter anyway (and 1% important Beiber news).”

nytimes.com

Phl Digital Strategy launched at ICT Summit

CICT chairman Secretary Ivan John Uy

The National ICT Summit 2011 held recently at Edsa Shangri-La Manila showcased just how ready government and private Philippine stakeholders were in the area of technology solutions and information exchange.

With the theme, “Turning Hope into Real-ITY,” the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) mounted the event to launch the Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) 2011-2016.

The PDS is the Aquino government’s masterplan on how to actively use information and communications technology (ICT) in promoting economic and social growth, and in promoting efficiency in the delivery of public service

Special guests Wong Soon Nam, the group general manager of defense and homeland security, communication engineering, global business of Singapore, and Laurenne Garneau of the Canadian embassy were all praises for the PDS.

“Not all governments have a digital strategy,” said Garneau, pointing out how such governments – even in developed nations – are missing out on the opportunity to ride on the crest of the booming ICT industry to create a stakeholder-wide e-government system.

Garneau also represents the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), which was CICT’s main partner in the development of the PDS through its E3 (Egovernance for Efficiency and Effectiveness) project.

Wong, for his part, narrated that Singapore’s own e-government journey started in 1981 when the Singapore government invested S$1 billion to build a national broadband infrastructure.

He said this served Singapore well as it now has a consolidated hosting infrastructure for all its agencies and departments.

“Having a PDS is a step in the right direction for the Philippines at this point in the country’s burgeoning ICT growth,” Wong said.

He cited figures such as the Philippines ranking sixth in the world in terms of having the most number of active online users of 30 million on Facebook. Over 83 percent of Filipinos have a Facebook account and spend an average of 7.9 hours on the social networking site a day — usage that is ahead of even the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“Capitalize on this vibrant broadband industry that you have,” Wong said.

Secretary Ivan John Uy, chairman of CICT, capped the PDS launch by saying that having this five-year roadmap mainly “addresses the low awareness of strategic value of ICT in the government and in the general public.”

Uy said developing e-governments provide transparency and reforms in systems that almost immediately decrease opportunities for corruption – goals which are perfectly aligned to the Aquino administration’s professed vision of transformational leadership.

“Eradication of corruption and digital inclusion – giving every Filipino access to ICT and the knowledge and skills on how to use it – will make our nation stronger, more progressive and globally competitive,” Uy said. “The PDS brings us one step closer in being a digitally empowered Philippines.”

The National ICT Summit also featured the Government and New Media Conference organized by the Presidential Communications and Operations Office, and the Public Service 2.0 Conference led by the Chief Information Officers Forum.

philstar.com

Malta’s e-government programme achieves high security standard

The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) e-government programme recently acquired ISO 27001 certification, the international accredita-tion for security compliance. Re-certification to the ISO 9001 quality standard was also achieved.

These standards are deemed vital to ensure that Malta has the best systems in place to allow the government’s customer: the citizens and businesses, to access public services with the greatest level of security, MITA said in a statement.

MITA was first accredited with the ISO 9001 standard in January 1999 and by 2003 every process within the organisation was certified with this quality benchmark.

The e-government programme has been accredited with the ISO 9001 quality standard since its inclusion as part of MITA responsibilities in 2008.

MITA’s core services were accredited to the ISO 27001 standard in October 2010 and the agency said it remains committed to widen the scope of this certification to embrace other areas of business. The accreditation of the e-government programme is a result of an extension of scope of certification.

Although many commentators have different interpretations of e-government and different countries have adopted different approaches, the aim remains the same.

The goal is to deliver government services though an online presence; personalised for the customers’ needs rather than the convenience of public entities. This places the customer at the beating heart of the process which is what MITA strives to achieve in building a platform for the delivery of excellent e-government services.

Malta’s list of online services is constantly growing to cover a variety of services where clients traditionally had to physically present themselves at a government office. e-Government turns this situation on its head by allowing clients to apply for services at their own convenience without any restrictions to office hours. Moreover, the new platform is designed to allow future services to be accessible from one online port of call, from computers or mobile devices, and to be able to track the progress while the application is being pro­cessed. This is vital in Malta’s busy and increasingly mobile working environment and re­duces the barriers for those with reduced mobility, the agency concluded.

.timesofmalta.com

Agencies find mobile-first strategy covers a lot of ground

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Agencies looking for effective, innovative ways to solve problems or reach a specific population can benefit by thinking first of mobile solutions, according to several agency officials.

“Mobile has huge implications for content,” Haley Van Dyck, former director of citizen engagement at the Federal Communications Commission, said at the FedScoop MobileGov conference June 28.

For example, when the FCC held its Open Internet rule-making proceeding in 2010, the commission wanted to get comments from people who didn't have broadband Internet access or smart-phone access. Many of those consumers were accessible via their cell phones, so the FCC adopted a solution to facilitate consumers' comments on the rule-making by text message from their cell phones, she said.

“It was the first time we had considered mobile comments at the FCC,” Van Dyck said.

The FCC also created an iPhone application as part of its planning for the National Broadband Strategy. In writing the strategy, the commission was looking for ways to collect data directly from consumers about the broadband connection speeds on their home networks.

The agency developed the Consumer BroadBand Test in both Web, iPhone and Android formats, and more than 2 million consumers have taken the test to date, Van Dyck said.

“It has been a wonderful way for us to diversify the data we are getting, and to diversify how we are getting it,” Van Dyck said.

There was some resistance in the commission to collecting data directly from consumers, because of the need to protect the consumers’ privacy and locations. That problem was fixed by aggregating data at the census tract level to hide individual addresses, she said.

The “mobile first” approach also was considered is in the recent redesign of the FCC.gov website and is being used on an ongoing basis in preparation of agency communication materials.

The FCC.gov website went through a comprehensive redesign on an open-source platform, relaunching in May. “We made sure that FCC.gov was easy for spinning off mobile applications,” Van Dyck said. “We spun off mobile applications within six days after launch.”

The commission's external communications, such as news releases, are being designed for mobile use, with shorter sentences and simplified formats, she added. The communications that are designed for mobile applications can easily be transferred to online and offline uses, she added.

“If you go mobile first, it is an easy, inexpensive and efficient way to get content out,” Van Dyck said. She recently accepted a position at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

At the Health and Human Services Department, the AIDS.gov mobile website was designed specifically to meet the needs of a target population of people with relatively high rates of possible HIV infection. That target population also happens to be higher than average users of mobile phones, said Michelle Samplin-Salgado, new media strategist for AIDS.gov.

For example, one of the targeted groups is African-Americans, who as a group have higher rates of HIV infection than the U.S. population as a whole. About 46 percent of African-Americans use mobile phones to access the Internet, which is higher than the average rate, she said.

The content on AIDS.gov also reflects puts the needs of mobile users first, because it was designed based on an analysis of mobile-based searches of the Internet related to AIDS information, Samplin-Salgado said.

At the Agriculture Department, Kim Taylor, director of Web services for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said she has been advancing a more prominent role for mobile solutions at the agency by incorporating language into the agency’s long-term strategic plan. The strategy is intended to help shape future budget planning, she said.

The department in May started a mobile website for its popular “Ask Karen” application in which the virtual homemaker character Karen offers customized cooking and food safety tips based on consumers' questions. A five-person USDA team provides the information made available through the “Ask Karen” database.

unpan.org