The federal government has indicated interest to partner with IBM Incorporated, an American multinational technology and consulting corporation, on how to facilitate the adoption of Smart Government solutions in document management in the public service in Nigeria.
Addressing the press during the Smart Governance Forum in Abuja, IBM Software Group Executive, Middle East and Africa, CherifMorcos noted that in the public service presently, information are captured in an analogue way, hence the need to automate the process.
He said, “This is very common all over the world,in the U.S., Singapore and China. There should be no reason for governments to be analogue today. When the processes involved in handling documents from the beginning to the end is automated, it brings efficiency, reduces cost and is more secured.
We have seen this happen in the banks, the banks are more progressive than the public sector. We have seen this more progressive in the public in the ministries of defenceand interior because they handle a lot of documents that need security. What IBM is doing is to encourage this initiative for the benefit of the citizenry.”
“We have heard from them the challenges they have. All government agencies face similar challenges; they all have instructions on how they handle things. With the new technology, we don’t need to change the process, they process can remain as it is but we can automate it to enhance efficiency.
We need to invest more in creating awareness and solicit support from government. In most countries, people are afraid of change but we want them to understand that it is not difficult to effect the change.”
Morcos said that IBM had implemented such systems solution in the federal ministry of defenceand Interior with high level of security. With effective document management, return on investment is huge.
Also speaking IBM Software group manager West Africa, LadiFabiyi noted that IBM has the technology to assist government officials become more efficient in the way they handle their documents and processes behind those documents.
According to him, “The overall goal is to look at the process of moving documents efficiently and storing the data so that they can be used in future to drive efficiency within their environment of business.
He said, “We discovered overtime that in most of the sessions we had with those in government establishment the first thing they complain of about was how IBM can help them become more efficient. We had discussed with those working in the government sector on how government can become efficient in managing data.
‘’We have had several discussions with the Minister of Communication Technology. We want to ensure that ICT take the government to the next level. We are looking at the challenges government is having and use our solution to the challenges, we have solved these problems in other places, and we are not going to reinvent the will. IBM using its solutions would proffer solutions faster.”
