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UAE signs e-government project contract with IBM

The agreement was signed by Dr Khalfan Bin Kharbash, Minister of State for Finance and Industrial Affairs, at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance and Industry in Dubai yesterday. Senior representatives from IBM and a number of ministries and federal bodies, including the Ministry of Interior, the General Information Authority, Etisalat and the Civil Services Commission, were present. The ceremony was also attended by the members of Federal e-Government Steering Committee.

Musabeh Mohamed Al Suwaidi of the Ministry of Finance and Industry who is the project sponsor, said: "This project is integral to a number of transformation initiatives launched by the UAE Federal Government to achieve rapid and significant transformation in the provision and efficiency of federal government services. IBM is engaged in a number of successful e-government initiatives, both globally and in this region, and makes a strong consulting and technology partner in a project of this scale."

IBM Business Consulting Services, which has significantly expanded the resources and skills through its recent acquisition of PwC Consulting, was chosen by the UAE Ministry of Finance following the extensive evaluation and benchmarking of over ten competing companies.

During the first phase of the project, the world's largest information technology company will be responsible for evaluating the readiness of various ministries for the introduction and implementation of e-government services covering people, process and technology, as well as studying the functions of these ministries and identifying initiatives or e-government projects to be implemented.

The IBM team will also be responsible for prioritising various initiatives, including the identification of specific target performance measures for the successful implementation of various phases of the project, evaluation of technical infrastructure requirements to support the e-government initiatives, defining policies and procedures to support the e-government initiative, and developing a blueprint that will allow the Federal e-Government Steering Committee to monitor the implementation of the e-Government project.

The first phase of the federal e-government project will be followed by subsequent implementation phases, which will cover the provision of the required infrastructure, as well as the development and implementation of systems identified within the UAE Federal e-Government blueprint.

Rashid Wally, Director of Operations, IBM Middle East, said: "This project is strategic to the long-term development of this country. IBM has proven capabilities in assisting our clients around the world, including the Middle East, in transforming the effectiveness of their government services using e-government concepts and techniques."

As part of the agreement, IBM Business Consulting Services will evaluate specific target benefits and measures, identify critical success factors and risks to be managed during the implementation and provide best practices that are followed by leading e-Government service providers around the world.