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In an age in which private companies make it easy for consumers to shop, manage accounts and request services online, people now expect the same from their governments. Internet-savvy citizens want their governments to act more like businesses, and governments around the globe are rising to the challenge.
With information technology as the enabler, public agencies are giving citizens new tools to access information and services, while at the same time introducing new efficiencies in their own operations.
From implementing free city-wide WiFi networks for municipalities in the United States to helping countries like Bulgaria and Argentina implement national identity systems and e-voting platforms, HP is well positioned to help local and national governments plan and deploy e-government solutions. Based on best practices learned from around the world, the HP e-Government Framework is a portfolio of people, processes and technologies that can help government agencies serve their citizens better.
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According to Enrique Barkey, HP’s worldwide director of Civilian Agency Solutions, the foundation for an effective e-government solution includes more than new technologies. In creating the e-Government Framework, HP pretested and integrated key hardware, software and services components, and then layered in portals, integration technologies and Web services along with proven methodologies to form an enterprise architecture for the public sector. It’s a model that’s already working for agencies of all kinds in many countries worldwide.
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For example, in Hong Kong, when local governments wanted to deliver information and services to 6.8 million citizens around the clock, HP responded with a joint venture that delivered the infrastructure, services and solutions for a far-reaching Web portal. Citizens now turn to the Hong Kong Electronic Service Delivery portal (www.esdlife.com) to access more than 200 types of public services from more than 50 government departments and public agencies. Hong Kong’s portal is one of the most advanced of its kind, with a special business-to-business section for companies doing business in the area.
One of the pillars of the e-Government Framework is a set of shared services that allow agencies to share key parts of their infrastructure, applications and business processes within the agency, with other branches of government and with citizens. Shared services may include improved security features for e-mail, geographical information systems, electronic funds transfers, government directories, citizen databases, disaster databases, business databases and large data centers. “When many agencies share the same IT services, you can attain new and significant economies of scale,” Barkey explains.
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Although many citizens say they want the convenience of interacting with governments online, they also need reassurance that the personal information they share can be safely guarded. The viability of e-government technology ultimately depends on trust.
“Providing for the safety and security of personal data is paramount if you expect to gain citizens’ trust,” Barkey says. HP helps agencies meet short-term needs and long-term security goals in areas such as security assessment and planning, solutions for trustworthy infrastructure and identity and access management.
The ultimate test of e-government security and privacy may be electronic voting. In contrast to the obstacles of paper-based elections, e-voting allows citizens to vote via mobile device or electronically at a polling station. In Madrid, HP and Scytl teamed up for two electronic referendums in 2004. Approximately 135,000 citizens of Madrid voted on local issues via the Internet and mobile phones in an event that became Europe’s largest e-participation experience to date.
With a broad and deep portfolio, integration and consolidation expertise and commitments to open standards and public sector innovation, the HP e-Government Framework forms a more perfect union between citizens’ needs and the services their governments provide.
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