News
Microsoft launches Citizen Service Platform for egovernment
31 January 2008
Microsoft unveiled its Citizen Service Platform (CSP) at the
Government Leaders Forum-Europe in Berlin last week. The platform is
Microsoft's strategy to support governments as they develop sustainable,
flexible and extendable IT infrastructures and Internet-based services
with citizen service in mind.
Microsoft has engaged partners to develop applications based on
existing technology platforms used by local and regional governments.
Features such as citizen portals, case management, intelligent forms,
community websites and document management emerged as strong priorities
for governments to focus their IT spending on, according to research
conducted by Capgemini.
Microsoft says that the platform is a result of experiences in
partnerships, programs and projects conducted with governments over
several years, and was developed to answer the needs seen across diverse
government offices and help deliver the best of these services across
different regions worldwide.
Initial offerings include a suite of online services that will be
available for customization and integration into existing government
solutions for their citizens later this year.
"Governments need to respond to the growing needs of their
constituencies and modernize the way they conduct business and engage
with their stakeholders," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of
Microsoft International.
"Technology can help local and regional governments increase efficiency
levels and offer modernized services, but many are ill-equipped to meet
citizens' needs due to a lack of funding, technical expertise or other
resources," Courtois said.
"CSP arose from a series of projects among Microsoft, our partners,
and local and regional governments. By incorporating past lessons and
achievements, we will be able to provide these governments with
technologies they can cost-effectively and easily deploy for the direct
benefit of their citizens."
A recent report conducted by Capgemini, on behalf of Microsoft, found
that although 80% of services to the public happen at the local level,
the governments responsible for delivering those services have found it
difficult to keep up with effectively increasing the efficiency with
which they respond to citizen needs. The goal of the CSP is to close
that gap through rapid solution development, customizable applications
and the industry knowledge to keep pace with the sophisticated
expectations of citizens in a technology-driven world.
Graham Colclough, global vice president of Cities & Regions for
Capgemini, said that solutions such as CSP can play a central role in
helping governments as they transform services: "There is clear evidence
of, and need for, root and branch public service reform — citizens are
demanding this so tax revenues must be stretched further. Public service
providers must lead change by building a bridge of trust with their
communities, and they are already starting that process."
"Technology that is flexible, affordable and scalable can go a long
way toward minimizing costs and ensuring that more of the resources make
it through the pipeline to the people who need it the most," Colclough
said.
|