Even as many countries in the world are still struggling to provide the benefits of a modern approach to digitalised governance to the people, a notable exception is the Sultanate of Oman for its transformation into a sustainable knowledge society by leveraging information and communication technologies.
It is now three decades since Oman set out on its ambitious journey. The digital Oman strategy got its approval at the beginning of 2003 as part of the country’s economic vision that called for economic diversification and job creation for nationals in addition to its emphasis on e-literacy.
The strategy aimed at building d a knowledge-based economy by developing world-class e-government services that will facilitate more streamlined interaction between the corporate sector, the government and the people.
Digital transformation will form a significant part of the progress that the country is going to witness over the coming years thanks to Oman Vision 2040 - an ambitious roadmap for transition into a knowledge-based society under His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.
The vision, through a number of national projects and initiatives, will not only facilitate connections between different government and private establishments to ensure data quality, but will also provide a reliable and coherent source of information, and help decision-makers monitor performance, improve the quality of services and set new goals and strategies.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in cooperation with all government institutions has already prepared a framework and an integrated national roadmap for the digital transformation of the government.
The blueprint takes into account the trends and future ambitions of Oman to complete the digitisation of government services and benefit from the use of emerging technologies in the empowerment and development of the working environment in the public sector, as well as working with various entities to determine the strategic direction of a thriving digital economy in keeping with the Vision’s strategies.
Oman’s digital economy, through which the country will be able to achieve several goals, will contribute to building and developing a prosperous digital economy responding to the requirements of the future.
In the 2020 UN e-government Survey, Oman was ranked 24th internationally and second in the Gulf and Arab in the electronic services development index, and salary. In the 50th international e-government development index, and in the Network Readiness Report, Oman ranked 44th out of 134 countries in 2020, and in the International Cybersecurity Readiness Index, Oman ranked 16th in the world out of 175 countries in 2020.
According to the fourth annual edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index, the Sultanate of Oman is ranked 65th in the world in digital well-being.
The cybersecurity company Surfshark evaluated 117 countries based on five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars: Internet quality, e-governance, e-infrastructure, Internet affordability, and e-security.
Out of the five fundamental digital life pillars, Oman’s best score is for e-governance (36th), while the worst score is for e-security (ranking 91st globally).
Oman’s e-infrastructure services come 51st, while Internet quality and Internet affordability rank 74th and 85th, respectively. ‘In the face of waging inflation, fixed broadband Internet has become less affordable worldwide for the second year in a row, prying the global digital divide even further,’ stated the index report
The e-initiatives taken by the government are pretty futuristic and fairly result oriented. It is the right step, at the right time and in the right direction. It is obvious that the government intends to transform Oman into a hub for doing business in the Middle East.
The e-initiatives in Oman have already given a boost to foreign investments in the country. The e-Oman initiative has worked wonders for the country in making it more competitive and transparent!
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