Ministry of Commerce and Industry signs two contracts with Gulf Business Machines Oman

Applications and the internal processes involved in registering and approving every commercial registration, industrial, tourism and mineral license requests will become possible online. Part of this includes the ability for MOCI to submit and receive information electronically from other government authorities that are part of its current One-Stop-Shop facility.

Gulf Business Machines (GBM) Oman is creating and implementing the solution, which as a strategic tool will contribute to MOCI's objective of creating a more transparent, easy and efficient government systems and procedures. This follows the recent signing of two contracts between MOCI and GBM. The first specifies the design, supply, implementation and management of the OSS IT infrastructure and solutions. The second calls for the design and implementation of Office Automation solutions.

The first phase of the project will be completed in twelve months and the second full web-based online services phase will be completed within 18 months of start of first phase.

The online facility will include e-filing of all 42 applications for different ministry related services and e-payment of the fee for them. Application filing, e-payment or cash payment services will also be available through kiosks, which will be set up throughout Oman. Part of the facility will also include the ability for the ministry to submit and receive related approvals electronically from other government ministries that are part of the One-Stop-Shop facility.

Through the Office Automation project, the front and back-end processes of the ministry will be computerized, where applications and file movements will become digital. By utilizing the latest IT tools web-based online facilities and electronic internal file movements will provide speedy, transparent and efficient services to citizens and businesses.

As a turnkey undertaking, GBM Oman is designing and creating the solution to meet MOCI's current and future needs. In order for it to enable MOCI to securely interact with customers, its employees and other government departments, the solution will feature leading IBM hardware and software components and will involve implementation and integration with the Ministry's front and back office operations as well as several other ministries.

The solution is based on industry leading products including IBM WebSphere Portal, WebSphere MQ Workflow, IBM Content Manager, Rational and Tivoli software running on the LINUX open source operating system.

The most important aspect of this project is extensive skills training and knowledge transfer, which will be provided for MOCI's Omani staff. In its unique delivery model, GBM will develop the solution and then provide operational services to run and manage the One Stop Shop IT infrastructure along with OSS/Ministry employees.

MOCI personnel will participate with GBM specialists to enhance the skills transfer experience through a three-year arrangement. Upon completion of the project MOCI employees will have acquired considerable knowledge, which may enable them to take on the full responsibility of managing the solution and infrastructure. They may also be able to assume a key role in future IT initiatives of the Ministry or even across other ministries in the Sultanate.

According to Dhananjay Bopardikar, Project Director - E-Government, GBM Oman, the end result of web-enabling MOCI's One-Stop-Shop will be to enable businesses and citizens to remotely access the Ministry and take care of their business licensing, registration and approval requirements conveniently from their fingertips from anywhere in the Sultanate.

"In the future, the solution will also offer flawless integration with the Government Nervous System (GNS) by enabling a single scalable entry point for citizens to access other government information and services online," he added.

"We believe that the choice of GBM to carry out this project is due to the fact that both GBM and IBM were key suppliers for national e-Government projects in Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE," said Olivier Mouries, General Manager GBM Oman.

"This project is a showcase undertaking for GBM Oman and we are particularly proud to be associated with MOCI in its contribution towards the ongoing development of the national economy. The easy-to-use portal will facilitate MOCI's swift, efficient and transparent delivery of essential business enabling services," concluded Mr Mouries.