TECOM Investments unveils new portal for delivering faster government service operations

The advanced technology will also allow TECOM's gradual transition from paper-based processes to a fully automated environment.

As the first point of contact for customers to interact with Government Services Operations within the TECOM free zones, the secure portal will provide key government related services including the issuance and renewal of employment permits and the processing of medical appointments for visa purposes.

Keross, a leading international consulting and technology services company, has custom-built the portal under a three-year renewable contract with TECOM Investments, the umbrella organization incorporating free zone clusters that seek to foster the growth of Dubai's knowledge based economy.

SmartPaper will allow TECOM to speed up the processing of over 900 daily transactions dispersed over multiple offices and provide its Business Partners with automated email and SMS notifications informing them of the progress of their applications and transactions.

Dr Amina Al Rustamani, CEO, TECOM Business Parks, said:

"SmartPaper will enable TECOM to expedite the delivery of a higher level of service to Business Partners through a more secure processing method. Maintaining the highest service standards is an integral component of our guiding principles to achieve overall excellence in our operations."

"TECOM Investments has implemented various measures to ease operations for our Business Partners. The simplified procedures and vital incentives have consistently ensured their sustained growth, allowing them to gain a larger regional market share and wider footprint through their presence in our free zone clusters."

Leveraging its in-house technology that allows real-time reconciliation between electronic transactions and paper documentation, the SmartPaper platform utilises a two-dimensional bar-coding that captures a large amount of information in a machine-readable format for faster data feeding and XML messaging to ensure non-intrusive integration with the client's existing ERP solution.

Ahmed Baghoum, Executive Director - Customer Operations, TECOM Investments, said:

"Customer satisfaction is of key importance to us at TECOM Investments and by providing our business partners with this advanced technology, we are enabling them to work smarter and faster to deliver a more professional service."

The barcoding technology also enables SmartPaper to feed information directly from an application printout into the Oracle ERP and other computer systems, thereby reducing the need for data entry while eliminating back office errors, and improving the quality of service with utmost customer satisfaction.

Sami Caracand, Head of Operations , Keross, said: "We are delighted to offer TECOM our next generation business process management (BPM) technologies using the SmartPaper concept. SmartPaper is a best-in-breed solution that will increase productivity, improve services, and cut costs, while allowing the management to focus on strategic initiatives, away from the day-to-day running of operations."

Under the terms of the agreement, Keross will also manage and operate the technology infrastructure of the BPM solution, enabling TECOM to focus on its core business and avoid a large investment in software and hardware.

TECOM Investments has recently announced a further initiatives aimed to support and encourage Business Partners to grow.

The TECOM Investments Pearl Awards aim to drive excellence and industry best practices within each Business Partner organization and throughout the TECOM free zones.