The second e-government Conference and Exhibition has opened in Riyadh and will run through Dec. 9. Organized by the Saudi Computer Society and sponsored by Microsoft, this event aims to formulate suggested policies for building e-government in the Kingdom, defines challenges, addresses solutions, and provides a platform for information and experience exchange.
“Along with being the official sponsor for the event, Microsoft will be sharing with the champions of the Kingdom’s e-government projects, from both the public sector and decision makers in the industry, lessons that we’ve learned from working with many governments around the world,” said Saad Al-Qahtani, public sector manager, Microsoft Arabia.
“Microsoft engages with governments worldwide, not only as a provider of innovative technology, but also as a strategic partner helping public agencies use IT to meet their goals and reach their citizenry.”
Along with Microsoft solutions designed with government needs in mind, at the conference Microsoft will detail its Government Security Program (GSP) launched earlier this year.
GSP, according to Al-Qahtani, is a crucial element of Microsoft’s efforts to address the unique security requirements of governments around the world. GSP provides national governments with information to help them evaluate the security of the Microsoft Windows platform.
In 2001, Microsoft launched the Shared Source Initiative, expanding its long-standing efforts to make Windows source code more transparent to industry partners and customers. A year later, the company announced its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, placing security at the core of all Windows development efforts. T
he principles of these two critical directives are embodied in the GSP, a program built upon the cornerstones of transparency and partnership.