eGovernment Authority Sign Agreement with GBM to Upgrade National Portal
Upgrade to increase capacity of portal tenfold
The eGovernment Authority of Bahrain (eGA) signed an agreement with Gulf Business Machines (GBM) to upgrade its information technology infrastructure. The upgrade will increase the efficiency of its National Portal (www.bahrain.bh) by increasing its capacity tenfold.
In addition, the upgrade will keep pace with the wide range of planned eServices to be added to the portal - which is expected in the end to exceed 167 services - by increasing the portal’s ability to handle these additions with the final aim of fully integrating all government services in one platform capable of handling all of Bahrain’s different sectors around the clock.
Since its initiation in 2007, the eGA has consistently devised innovative methods to accelerate public service delivery and move the country forward in line with the Bahrain 2030 initiatives. One of these is the creation of the National Portal www.bahrain.bh which offers convenient, user-friendly Government services available online 24x7.
According to Mr. Mohammed Al Qaed, Chief Executive Officer of eGA, “This agreement is in line with the goal of preparing the eGA’s National Portal for future strategic plans which the eGA will soon execute, in addition to increasing the portal’s capacity to host a multitude of new eGovernment services and enabling as many users as possible from browsing and using the portal’s services at any one time.”
“This step was undertaken in response to the increased usage of eGovernment services, especially after adding a number of important services such as health appointment registration and others. The services which have been added since the portal was launched in 2007 has increased the average daily traffic threefold, a number expected to increase after we add the new eServices,” Al Qaed added.
Mr. Abdulla Ishaq, General Manager of Bahrain Business Machines, the GBM operation in Bahrain, explained, “GBM has partnered with governments in the region for almost
twenty years and is a leader in the provision of eGovernance solutions. We are proud to work with the eGA team in their role to facilitate the delivery of public services and encourage public acceptance of the benefits of information technology.” Ishaq also said that “GBM has modified its technological solutions to match the eGA’s high standards in performance, operation, and upgradability, which also enables us to ensure the availability of this service through the eGA portal.”
Currently, the National portal offers 67 eServices and is expected to add 100 more in the near future, a step which requires an upgraded IT solutions platform. In order to reach this goal, the eGA looked to GBM to come up solutions that ensure the required increase in operational capacity and ability are reached to meet the current and future demand for the eServices available on the National portal (www.bahrain.bh).
