IBM helps Saudi Arabia build smarter government with new national technical infrastructure

The multi-year eGovernment Service Bus (GSB) project delivers the core communication and security infrastructure for the Yesser eGovernment Program, the Kingdom's long-term modernization of all government services.

This program will eventually provide everyone in the Kingdom with access to government services from anyplace and at anytime, replacing the current system of time-consuming, manual processes.

"The importance of electronic communication in providing efficient public services is recognized in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Through our partnership with IBM, we have put in place the core infrastructure required to move the large majority of government processes in Saudi Arabia into the information society,"

said Engineer Ali S. Al Soma, Director General of the Yesser eGovernment Program.

This is the largest project of its kind ever achieved in the Kingdom. The solution includes key elements from the business portfolios of every division within IBM, including software, hardware, services and research, with POWER System and System x servers, and DataPower devices hosting IBM SOA middleware products at eight geographically distributed sites in the Kingdom.

Together, these products support the automation of business processes and the increased collaboration necessary to usher in a new era of efficiency in government services in Saudi Arabia.

IBM is helping Saudi Arabia reliably and securely host the high volume of transactions associated with the large-scale delivery of online services to citizens and enterprises, enabling access to government services in minutes and hours, rather than the days or weeks traditionally required.

The deployment of the eGovernment Service Bus paves the way for the organizational and governance structures required to support the delivery of online eGovernment services to the citizens of Saudi Arabia. This project will support a staged roll-out of nearly a thousand government processes that are currently delivered manually.

Over the next few years, these will be transformed into a system that supports online, voice, and mobile device access, fundamentally transforming interaction between the Saudi government and the people it serves.

Highlights of the project include:

- Delivery of large-scale core enabling (service bus) infrastructure enabling an extensive eGovernment transformation process.
- Establishment of a unified identity management system providing secure single sign-on access for individuals and enterprises to eGovernment services.
- Delivery of shared and core services necessary to enable the first generation of eServices, including university admissions, employment services, and work permits, government payments, and commercial registrations.

The solution is built upon a fully instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent IT infrastructure.

"This project is significant because of its scope and what it will deliver to the Saudi people, simplifying their dealings with government agencies and increasing overall efficiency," said Steve Mills, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, IBM Software Group. "This is among the best uses of technology, and it underscores IBM's commitment to helping the Saudi eGovernment Program realize its vision of smarter government."

With more than 8,000 client engagements worldwide, IBM is the SOA market leader. This leadership in SOA is further illustrated by 7,420 IBM SOA business partners, 300 SOA-specific technology patents, a community of greater than 120,000 architects and developers, and more than 2,000 universities advancing the SOA curriculum.

"Saudi Arabia, one of the world's oldest civilizations is emerging as a key player in the world stage of a new, globalized economy. Today marks an important milestone in the Yesser eGovernment Program where IBM has added true value and we look forward to extending our highly successful relationship in Saudi Arabia,"

said Takreem El Tohamy, general manager, IBM Middle East & North Africa.