IBM Helps Saudi Arabia to Modernize Delivery of Government Services

IBM reportedly has completed the deployment of an infrastructure that will modernize the delivery of government services for Saudi Arabia.

 

IBM (News - Alert) officials said that the multi-year eGovernment Service Bus (GSB) project delivers the core communication and security infrastructure for the Yesser eGovernment Program, Saudi Arabia’s long-term modernization of all government services.

 

This program, which is the largest project of its kind ever achieved in Saudi Arabia,  is aimed at providing everyone 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," said Engineer Ali S. Al Soma, director general of the Yesser eGovernment Program, in a statement. “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."

 

IBM officials said that the company 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.

 

Officials said that 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 Saudi Arabia citizens.

 

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.

 

"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, in a statement.

 

Mills said that 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.