KUWAIT, April 14 (KUNA) -- Microsoft Kuwait announced on Wednesday its commitment to promote good government practices through the use of technology.
The company said in a press release on the occasion of concluding a workshop for senior technology executives from the Kuwaiti government in cooperation with the Central Agency for Information Technology, that a "series of presentations was made by Microsoft that demonstrated how technology can help improve performance within the Kuwait eGovernment framework thereby leading to improved governance practices." Microsoft Kuwait Manager Ehab Mostafa said that "The Kuwait Government has been a visionary in the development of the country's technology infrastructure. Microsoft is committed to working with governments to promote innovation and growth through technology solutions and partnerships that create economic and social opportunities." Meanwhile, Deputy Director General for Central Agency for Information, Qusai Al-Shatti said "the workshop was very informative, it has helped us understand the future technology trends and the new technologies that Microsoft is working on." "There are challenges, especially in the government sector, when it comes to technology readiness and the culture of change. This workshop has given us a view into the next generation of government services. This will help us plan ahead on how we can boost productivity and improve governance," he said.
Al-Shatti stressed that the agency looks forward to such events in the future, as it's a part of Government of State of Kuwait and Microsoft Strategic Partnership Agreement. (SPA).
On the other hand, Public Sector Director in Microsoft Gulf, Naim Yazbeck said "Our strategy for the public sector is to provide a set of solutions to modernize the level of government services." "This will help empower the government officials to quicken decision making process, make information more easily available and in turn offer more value-added services to its citizen," he affirmed.
"Today, people are in increasingly becoming more tech-savvy, especially with the use of internet, facebook and social networking; which creates a perfect climate for government adoption to host different technology solutions, " he explained.
Yezbeck added that Microsoft has launched a spectrum of cloud computing solutions for various sectors, with high level of protection and security for governments. Cloud based services helps the public sector to offer more value added services, benefits staff to effectively communicate and collaborate, while reducing costs and gaining a higher return on investment.
The event also addressed key issues that face the government today including privacy, security, information management and client uptake. - Kuna