RAK eGovernment adopts BEA WebLogic Platform for enhancing deployment of eServices Project by Microsystems

The decision to deploy BEA WebLogic Platform follows RAK eGovernment's move to upgrade its portal to support the 'Quick Wins', quick-return services essential to individuals and the business sector.

Dr. Hashem Ar Refaei, RAK Government Advisor, Director General of the Electronic Government authority (EGA), the Project Manager, said, "In line with the wide-ranging vision of RAK's leaders, above all H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasmi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, we have been focused on perform high quality information and communication technology solutions within Ras Al-Khaimah eGovernment, to enable the delivery of efficient and value-added services to our clients. Development of electronic services is a major step for us and we want to make use of the most advanced and reliable IT solutions in the market to guarantee excellent performance levels.

Dr. Hashem, added, "the high scalability, reliability and ease of use of BEA's WebLogic Platform made it the best option for us. Further, this platform offers enhanced technical specifications and requires shorter implementation time."

Diyaa Zebian, General Manager, Middle East and Egypt, eSolutions BEA, said "BEA is glad to be a part of RAK's eGovernance initiatives and we are confident that our WebLogic Platform will provide them with the required IT support to make its eServices portal more comprehensive and user-friendly, in the process, putting RAK eGovernment on the eGovernment map of the world," he added.

Sufian Barakat, Business Development manager, Microsystems, said, "Ras Al-Khaimah has been making rapid strides of progress in all sectors, and the emirate's economic growth in the recent years has been noteworthy. Ras Al-Khaimah has rightly stepped up its focus on eGovernance and electronic services, which is a reflection of the farsightedness of its leaders, paving the way for a digital society."

RAK eGovernment's portal is divided into three different levels - Public Portal, Secured Portal and Internal Portal. The Public Portal contains all public information available for public users, like tourist services, real estate service, job applications, Etisalat bill payment, driving license renewal and payment of traffic fines.

The Secured Portal serves private users who get access from RAK-Government to use some or all of the e-services based on their business categories or any other category determined by RAK Government. The services include, tracing and tracking transactions and documents at RAK Courts, at the Economic Department and the Lands Department; business license renewal, building permit request, electricity connection and disconnection, health certificate service, complaints service and inspection and fines service.

The Internal Portal allows all government employees to have one framework with single sign on facility to get all information they need from a central repository. The portal facilitates sending and receiving emails by integrating the portal with the Microsoft exchange server, offers discussion forums to provide a platform for RAK employees to share thoughts and ideas and provides easy access to all applications that are required to serve 'Quick Wins'.

Microsystems is in charge of the entire project as a Turn Key Solution to implement eGovernment solution at Ras Al Khaimah. Prior to the implementation, a specialised team from Microsystems under direct supervision of the Electronic Government Authority (EGA) conducted a study to assess the requirements of the project based on the previous experiences of other eGovernment projects implemented in several countries, particularly Dubai eGovernment.

"BEA WebLogic Platform delivers application infrastructure technology in a single, unified, easy-to-use platform for application development, deployment, and management.
WebLogic allows enterprises to achieve faster time-to-value for critical business applications using open standards, web services and service-oriented architectures," concluded Zebian.