The Arab Region symposium on e-Government & Internet Protocol hosted by Etisalat in conjunction with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) concluded with the Dubai Declaration being formulated to set the agenda for enhancing e-government services in the Arab region. Delegates from 13 countries in the region attended the four-day event.
The Dubai Declaration includes the procedures and mechanisms for implementation of the declaration in the Arab region. Significantly, the declaration has laid out a policy framework for e-Government and Internet Protocol (IP) implementation in the region. The main highlights include establishing a regional Arab team of officials to ensure coordination in information exchange and knowledge sharing, cooperation in the area of training to prepare specialized personnel in e-business, identification of work to be done in unifying specifications and certificate categories in e-signatures and coordinating e-signature terms and electronic communication systems.
The Dubai Declaration also calls for more cooperation between the International Postal Union and the ITU to support Arab countries in delivering electronic services to remote cities and towns to ensure the right of every citizen to communicate electronically.
The declaration has also accepted the call of the UAE Network Information Center (UAEnic) for technical and administrative coordination between domain name registration centers in Arab countries with the cooperation of the ITU. Such an initiative would help the countries in the Arab region benefit from efforts regarding Arabization of domain names through participating in experimental projects in this area. In conclusion, the declaration also stated that the Arab region office of the ITU will establish a task force to observe the execution of the recommendations of the symposium.
Commenting on the symposium, Miloud Ameziane, acting head of the ITU Arab Region Office in Cairo, said: “The symposium was truly a gathering of committed individuals who came together to set a road map for rolling out e-government in the region with in-depth and exciting discussions, which acted as a catalyst for an active debate on assessing our progress till date on e-government. The Dubai Declaration formulated here today reflects the nature and scope of our task and has given us a common set of objectives to guide us.”
Mahmood Al-Bastaki, business process re-engineering consultant, Dubai e-Government, added: “Having the ITU as a driving force of this symposium is very important for the success of e-government in the Arab region. We have witnessed a high degree of acceptance and willingness among the Arab region countries to learn from each other at this symposium. I would strongly urge them to focus on the main building blocks of e-government, which we have done successfully here in Dubai. These include the Centralized Payment gateway, 24/7 customer support for customer inquiries, common website content management tools, mobile channel of delivery, Common Library System and Online Recruitment applications.”
HP Tops Desktop Market
HP has once again ranked first in the desktop and mobile market in the Middle East. According to IDC’s Middle East figures released for the third quarter of 2004, HP dominated the desktop and mobile space pulling in a 13 percent market share. For the mobile market alone, HP captured 22 percent for the Middle East demonstrating a 49 percent growth rate from last year Q303.
According to Canalys, HP also stole the limelight in the handheld space — coming in at over 45.3 percent market share for Q304 figures for the Middle East and Africa. The year on year growth from Q303 to Q304 was 55 percent.
In Saudi Arabia, HP had the lion’s share of the desktop and mobile space ranking at 23.5 percent. Considering the desktop space alone, HP achieved a 26 percent market share, recording almost double that of the next runner-up. In the United Arab Emirates, HP led the market across all form factors. Their market share for Q304 was 32 percent in the desktop space and 25.5 percent in the mobile space.
Speaking at a press briefing in Dubai yesterday, Christoph Schell, Solutions Partner Organization Manager (ISE) and General Manager, Personal Systems Group, HP Middle East, said: “The IDC and Canalys report figures say it all. HP’s leadership in the region is testimony to our commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to the Enterprise, SMB and Consumer segments. HP has also captured the PDA market and is now an active player in the mobile phone industry. By introducing our new line of quadriband GPRS handhelds, namely the HP iPAQ h6340 portfolio, we are now a force to watch out for in the mobile phone arena.”
New Program From Symantec
Symantec’s improved comprehensive set of training and communication tools has come to the Arab market. Fully Arabized, the Symantec Security Awareness Program is designed to help companies meet regulatory requirements for employee security awareness training while reducing vulnerabilities and creating a more security-conscious work force.
Many employees in today’s work force are not aware that they play an important role in their organization’s security. According to META Group research, 75 percent of organizations identify a lack of user awareness as moderately or severely reducing the effectiveness of their current security program. Additionally, 66 percent cite executive awareness as a concern.
The Symantec Security Awareness Program gives employees the knowledge they need to better protect critical corporate information and other valuable assets. The program provides a series of interactive computer-based tutorials and supplemental communication tools such as screensavers and ready-to-print pamphlets, reference cards, and posters. These strong supporting materials allow customers to tailor the program to meet their specific needs. Organizations can insert their own logo in all of the program materials to reinforce an official identity with their security awareness program.
Based on security industry best practices and international security standards embodied in ISO 17799, the program includes robust user administration and data management, with testing, tracking, and reporting functions to help measure employee participation and knowledge retention. Administrators can easily determine when employees need additional training, as well as specific topics that should be emphasized.