Mena region spending $6.52b on IT systems

Middle East government spending is expected to hit $6.52 billion (Dh23.9 billion) on upgraded information technology systems this year, an increase of 10.5 per cent over the amount spent in 2010, a report says. The study, issued by market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC), says that the figure demonstrates a massive increase in government services on to the internet. \"Much of the spending in this sector is driven by e-government initiatives,\" it says. \"Government departments are overhauling their IT systems as they look to bring more services online,\" the report says. A 2011 UN report on e-governments ranked the UAE and Bahrain on the top two of countries with e-government readiness over a five-year period. Joe Baguley, chief cloud technologist at tech company Vmware, said that the UAE benefits from a high level of internet service compared to other Mena countries, hence the high ranking. He said that with the rapid expansion, it is inevitable that more money will be spent by governments on IT. \"Such changes will help accelerate citizen usage of government services as they will now be able to access services via fast and convenient methods and through reduced effort and time investment,\" he said. Ali Al Khoury, Director-General of the Emirates Identity Authority, said that while the UAE was pushing forward with e-government, more needs to be done to promote its services to a wider audience, inside and outside the country.