Governments must recognize their network infrastructure as the ‘New Utility’ and become the catalyst for Networked Virtual Organization highlighted Selim Eddé, Public Sector Vertical Manager, Cisco Systems, at the 12th annual GCC eGovernment Forum. Networked Virtual Society is a vision of how societies develop with members using networking and collaboration tools to influence how governments and enterprises sense and respond to citizen needs.
According to a Net Impact research carried out in 2005 by Momentum Research Group and co-sponsored by Cisco Systems, the use of technology had helped Saudi Arabian public sector departments boost customer satisfaction by 44 percent in the last year. The number of inquiries that employees were able to resolve had risen by 38 percent and the number of citizens using services had gone up by 34 percent, all higher figures than found in Europe.
“To reap the benefits of investing in information and communication technologies, public sector needs to work on positively transforming itself from within. The network is becoming very relevant to the business and it is the platform that will enable this transformation,” said Eddé. “Government bodies across the GCC should adopt best practices and align their business objectives with technology to provide citizens with ‘Integrated Citizen Centric Government Services ’. Technology is an enabler and when coupled with new methods of operations, can provide fundamental improvements in public sector efficiency, speed, citizen satisfaction and finances.”
Eddé added: “To be able to compete in the digital economy now and in the future, it is imperative to invest in the business and technical skills of a nation workforce. Cisco has created blended learning programmes such as the CNAP (Cisco Networking Academy Program) to teach students how to design, build and maintain computer networks and the IExec Business Essentials course to give rising business and government leaders the knowledge and tools they need to transform their organizations.”
Launched in October 1997, the Networking Academy program has grown to more than 11,000 academies in more than 151 countries. The curriculum comprises a variety of courses for careers in network design and administration, technical support, programming, software engineering, database development and administration. It is delivered in 11 languages to over 1.9 million students in academies in high schools, colleges, universities, technical schools, community based organizations and other educational programs around the world.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, this year celebrates 20 years of commitment to technology innovation, industry leadership and corporate social responsibility. Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
