On May 23, Microsoft unveiled an 'e-government' technology strategy in the presence of top government officials and industry leaders in Dubai, to undertake the challenges with which a government will be confronted in the future.
Pierre Dupont, Microsoft's senior e-government specialist for the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), announced at a Dubai seminar yesterday that, "Governments everywhere now realize both the need to provide better, more efficient public services and the cost-benefits of implementing electronic government systems.”
Dupont was in Dubai as part of a Middle East tour to promote the e-government initiative. “Due to the relatively low populations in their countries, some Arab governments are faced with an enormous opportunity to extend e-government more quickly and easily than other countries with infrastructures that must service much larger presentations," Dupont added.
According to Microsoft, the company has been active working with governments around the world to help them design and deliver e-government services for their administrations, companies and residents. This American software giant has provided governments with a growing line of business solutions software, sales techniques and marketing and service support.
Microsoft has a full range of initiatives that target e-government issues at a strategic level, allowing governments to plan for G2G (government to government), G2C (government to citizen) and G2B (government to business), Dupont told his audience during the seminar.
"Microsoft understands the demand on government to provide better service to citizens, in essence to become an electronic government or e-government," conveyed Bahram Mohazzebi, Microsoft Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean General Manager.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the world’s leader in software for personal computers, offering a wide range of products for personal computers. Microsoft opened its Dubai-based Middle East headquarters office in 1991, and since then subsidiaries have opened in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In 1999, the company opened offices in Lebanon and Kuwait and announced it would soon open new offices in Pakistan. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
