According to Google's global interactive tool, Consumer Barometer around 85% of UAE residents access the Internet through their smart phones or tablets, of this over 24% shop online, and 70% of smartphone users said they would choose to complete a task digitally if the option was available. Of those online in the UAE, 70% said they would carry out a task digitally if the opportunity existed. Knowing the mind-sets of their populace, the UAE Federal and Local Governments and their branches have extensive plans to digitize government services through apps or online. As part of these initiatives total of 37 government entities showcased their ready smart platforms and services at the recently concluded GITEX 2015. Against this backdrop, STME, the Middle East's leading IT solutions provider and systems integrator (SI), headquartered in Dubai is seeing increasing collaboration with government and public sector entities in the UAE. Considering demographic trends on the consumption of information and in everyday tasks migrating online, smart government initiatives are necessary. Yet, this comes with constant acceleration in the amount of data, and accessing the right information becomes challenging while users expect uninterrupted access. "At STME we are geared to handle these requirements trusting in our decades of experience to keep the client's data managed and secured, making sure that their critical online business runs at any time, and manage exponential growth in data,'' said Ayman Al Bayaa, CEO of STME. "Many organizations in the public sector need help satisfying rigorous Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and they typically require convergence, virtualization and cloud based solutions. With our partners, we have tailor-made solutions to comply with these SLAs," he added. To fulfill smart government plans outlined in government policies such as the Dubai Government 2021 Initiative, government agencies require end-to-end IT consultation on the designing, implementation, and support of the appropriate technology to improve standards and services of the government entities. "The most important aspect for all public sector organizations is the management, efficient storage, and protection of data which are our core competencies,'' Ayman further said. A major challenge for the IT organizations working with public and government agencies is the reluctance to use cloud based solutions. "However the benefits of using a cloud reflected in lowered costs in maintenance, easy management of the data infrastructure, and the less time involved when using a cloud to serve customers on the fly is convincing public and government agencies to use private or hybrid cloud systems,'' said STME CEO. Other challenges include completing projects as per the stringent SLA's and meeting tough timelines which STME through its excellent and dedicated team of engineers and project managers, and through tested strategies and processes is well-positioned to handle. The opportunities for IT companies in the public sector in the UAE are many, given trends in consumer our and government drives to meet provide efficient and effective services. — SG
