Etisalat and Microsoft help UAE Ministry of Economy reduce physical processes by 60%

Etisalat and Microsoft's joint expertise has helped the Ministry reduce physical processes by 60% and is paving the way for closer cross-governmental cooperation. Etisalat is the strategic partner of the Federal Government for e-government services.

The Ministry has surpassed its target of offering 50% of services online by 2008 with 60% of services ready for launch. In addition, many e-services are now available and are helping the public and businesses to transact very conveniently and effectively with the Ministry. For instance, the solution has eliminated 50% of the physical steps required for 'trademark' and 'certificate of origin' applications and users no longer have to attend Ministry's offices after the original documents have been submitted. These services are now available 24 hours a day.

Internally, the solutions have helped different government departments work more efficiently by providing greater transparency of data and have helped them to collaborate more effectively.

According to Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz, Undersecretary, Ministry of Economy, 'The technology which has been implemented with the help of Etisalat will support the Federal Government's vision for shared business systems and the reuse of intellectual property across all UAE ministries. The transformation process which is underway will greatly increase the competitiveness of UAE throughout the world and help support the country in making it a destination of choice for local and foreign investors.'

'We used our experience to build a solution roadmap for e-government services', said Ahmed Abdulkarim Julfar, Chief Operating Officer, Etisalat. 'Our plan was to implement workflow and optimize access to information by linking the network to the online applications. Ultimately, these initiatives will lead to a more integrated, user friendly government -to- business, government- to- citizen and government -to- government e-services.'

Khalid Lootah, Public Sector Lead, UAE said: 'We are happy to be selected as the technology partner in this program. This partnership is a true demonstration of a successful, long-term relationship that Microsoft plays with the region's Governments. Microsoft's Connected Government Framework is purpose built for governments to deliver services efficiently and quickly and is adding real value in the UAE.'

According to the UAE Federal government's mandate 50 % of government services need to be online by 2008 with the number increasing to 90 % by 2010.This has resulted in a transformational initiative across the government with various initiatives being undertaken to make information more transparent to civil servants and citizens.