Manama, Bahrain, 2nd September 2008...With two e-gov online services launched to the public and three more to come by year end, the Ministry of Works is opening more doors for citizens and residents in the Kingdom to make use of the Ministry's services.

For several years, the Ministry's Information Technology Directorate (ITD) has been working hard on an ambitious and massive plan to bring the Ministry's ICT infrastructure to the level where it is now one of the biggest and most advanced technology infrastructures of its kind in the Kingdom.

ITD's pioneering 5-year Strategic Information Systems Plan (SISP) 2004-2008 was based on the Ministry's current and future needs and ITD ensured that it was aligned with the Ministry's strategic business plan. SISP received the support of HE Fahmi Bin Ali Al Jowder, Minister of Works, Minister in Charge of Electricity and Water Authority, who personally chairs the Information Systems Steering Committee.

The benefits of SISP so far have been huge. The return on investment in improved technology has been increased efficiency, improved productivity and enhanced availability and business continuity.

The Ministry now has a robust, reliable and state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure that is secure, scalable, based on open standards, and easy to maintain -- and it puts the MOW in a position where it can better achieve its goals, one of which was to roll out online services to the public.

The plan has not only taken the Ministry from a paper office to the electronic age in a few short years, it has also achieved many technological firsts.

Arrangements are being finalized to implement a new Project Management Information System (PMIS), based on internationally recognized best-practices, across the Ministry to effectively manage the whole life cycle of a project. The system will use state of the art technology tools to automate and streamline the management of projects in the MOW.

The first Enterprise Document Management System (EDMS) is moving the Ministry into a paperless environment and automating many of its processes. To date, almost one million document pages have been digitized using cutting edge optical character recognition software in preparation for storage in the new digital environment.

A state-of-the-art Enterprise Asset Management System (EAMS) will soon be implemented to meet the requirements of rapid growth and the challenges of constructing, supervising, managing and maintaining large numbers of public infrastructure assets, in the roads, sanitary, and buildings areas.

As part of SISP, every MOW employee is now connected to the computer network and has access to the ICT resources. ITD services more than 1,700 employees scattered over more than 20 sites. Temporary project sites are also serviced with ICT capabilities on an interim basis.

"In 1999, when ITD took its first steps towards developing the Strategic Information Systems Plan, the Ministry did not have an IT structure and computer awareness and skills among the ministry staff were low," said Hisham Yousif Sater, Director of IT.

"One of the biggest challenges we had was to raise staff computer literacy levels. We provided IT training for hundreds of employees and implemented many innovative schemes to raise awareness about the new technology. "

"Now we have a computer or laptop on every desk in the MOW and every single employee is connected to the network as soon as they join the organization. We can implement gigabyte speed connections to any desktop if required."

With SISP 2004-2008 successfully reaching its conclusion by the end of 2008, ITD has embarked on an extensive planning exercise to establish a new SISP. Once finalized, it will guide ITD's steps over the next five years.

MOW is striving to be a major contributor to the sustainable development of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Information Technology Directorate is helping to achieve this goal by continuously bringing the latest technology to every desk in the Ministry.

-Ends- 

Issued on behalf of The Ministry of Works (Kingdom of Bahrain) by Hill & Knowlton.

For press information contact:
Salim Al Arrayed
Hill & Knowlton
Tel  +973 17 53 35 32
Mob +973 3945 3745
Salim.alarrayed@hillandknowlton.com

Afrah Faraj
Hill & Knowlton
Tel  +973 17 53 35 32
Mob +973 36 43 90 29
E-mail Afrah.faraj@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2008