Dubai to go virtual on October 26, 2017

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) On October 26, Dubai will take yet another step into the 'smart future' by going virtual on the day in a bid to encourage residents to use smart channels to obtain governments services. All service transactions provided by government entities will be available only online and physical offices will be closed for the day.

The day, which will be observed as 'Day without Service Centres, 'aims to educate customers and government employees on using smart apps and online services, said a senior official. However, transactions that require residents and visitors to be at a service centre in person, will function as usual.

Abdullah Abdulrahman, director of Dubai Municipality (DM) centres, said: 'Day Without Service Centres' scheduled on Oct. 26 comes a week after Technology Week that takes place during mid-October. During the Technology Week, the civic body will display its online and smart services that customers can use without having to visit the municipality offices.

"The message we want to get across through the day is that the government is spending millions on the smart infrastructure and online services. It is the future," said Abdulrahman.

Abdulrahman said this will enable the department to train its employees to use smart services, as well as provide information to customers on the types of services they can do online without visiting the municipality centres. While the municipality already provides most of its services to residents and establishments online, there are instances where customers still have to visit centres to perform services that require attachments or contracts. These services will turn smart, he said, by the end of 2018.

"Our services are either online, or almost-turned online. We want to tell customers that this is the future," said Abdulrahman. "We want to tell them that they will not have to visit centres to finish their transactions anymore."

The government has been moving fiercely towards making the city one of the smartest cities in the world by 2021. In April, Dubai Government announced its services will go paperless by 2021 as it launched its Dubai Pulse online portal that will enable Emiratis and expats to access hundreds of government services.

Earlier this month, Dubai leaders also announced the launch of the new Service 1 Centre that provides 14 government services to customers with the help of a single employee using artificial intelligence technology.

To achieve the government's smart vision, Abdulrahman said training will have to be provided to government employees. The challenge in going smart, he said, is having to continuously teach new employees joining the government entity.

"You can spend a lot of time training an employee on providing smart services, but once he/she is gone, you have to hire someone new and teach them all over again," said Abdulrahman.

Additionally, going smart will require providing employees with the tools deemed necessary to achieve the government's goals, which according to Abdulrahman is an investment for the future.

Customers' fear is another challenge government entities will have to work on overcoming. Abdulrahman said: "When you change the way people are used to doing things, there will definitely be fears and uncertainty. People fear the system would be too abrupt or slow or that they would lose their money, but the government has been tackling this through smart programmes to provide the best services."

The municipality will coordinate with government entities including Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs among others to mark the 'Virtual Day'. He added that going smart will not happen without the cooperation among all entities.

How the virtual day will be like on Oct 26 On October 26, service transactions provided by government entities in Dubai will be available only via smart channels.

The day will be titled "A Day without Service Centres" to encourage customers to use smart channels to pay fees and complete transactions and will be held annually.The Dubai Department of Finance (DoF) initiative - which was approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; will see service centres across the emirate shut their doors and move into the 'smart' realm of the Internet and mobile phones.

Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh, director general of DoF, said that the main message of the occasion is to educate the people of Dubai - Emiratis and expats alike - can conduct their day-to-day transactions through the myriad 'smart' services that the government has provided in recent years.

"Customer service centres will dedicate their efforts on Thursday, October 26, to spread awareness among customers of the importance of transformation to smart channels to complete transactions, whether via smart apps or the web. On that day, all transactions requiring payments will be stopped for one day at the centres but will remain available through all smart channels."

Service transactions provided by many government entities on that day will be available only via smart channels, including 'Dubai Now' app and other government apps available for smart phones.

There will also be the web-based channels via computers, and centres will resume normal operations after that date.

Smart' services help preserve environmental resources, cut down on fuel consumption and even reduce carbon emissions aside from saving time, effort and money and the eliminating the need to travel on often-crowded roads and spending time at service centres.

Jamal Hamed Al Marri, executive director of the central accounts sector at DoF, said that the ultimate aim is to begin a transformation that will change the way people interact with the government on a daily basis. "I invite Dubai residents and visitors to use smart channels so it becomes part of the day-to-day cultural evolution, thus keeping up with the digital transformation drive in Dubai. We will announce the names of the centres and services that will be suspected on October 26, so that everybody will be ready to use smart channels on that day."

Some smart services Smart Palm stations that provide free wireless internet access in parks, beaches and other locations

Montaji app that allows to help identify fake health and beauty products

Smart Gates on public parks that enables residents to access parks using their Nol card

Al Mawashi app that enables residents to order home delivery of meat

Green Ticket that issues virtual tickets and inquire about services offered in municipality centres

Kharetati app that enables mobile customers to request access to the land maps without having to visit Dubai Municipality offices

Countries with virtual government services List of the top 10 economies making the most of the digital age

1-Finland tops the rankings for the second consecutive year with more than 90 per cent of its population using the Internet and high levels of innovation.

2-Singapore remains in second place supported by a government with a clear digital strategy which offers an ICT infrastructure and the best online services and highest-quality education systems in the world.

3-Sweden stays in third place, reflecting its world-class yet affordable digital infrastructure and stable pro-business environment.

4-The Netherlands This service-based economy has quickly and skillfully recognized the importance of ICTs. Nearly everyone able to access a computer and home internet connection, and a large number of government services available online.

5-Norway Digital uptake is almost universal among Norway's population: 95 per cent are internet users and more than 90 per cent have access to a personal computer and internet connection at home.

6-Switzerland benefits from an excellent, if expensive, ICT infrastructure and a strong education system that provides the necessary skills to create a knowledge-based, technology-rich economy.

7-The United States has already strong business and innovation environment and ICT infrastructure, notably in terms of wider access to international Internet bandwidth.

8-Hong Kong has been driven by improvements in conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship, better skills training and increased use by both business and government.

9-The United Kingdom was early in recognizing the importance of ICTs, especially to innovation and competitiveness, and as a result has become highly digitized, with a thriving e-commerce environment.

10-South Korea has based its economic success largely on the ICT industry, Korea's government ranks first in the world in terms of online services.

[Source: The Networked Readiness Index (NRI)]

Short Takes It gives freedom

Digital transformation is gaining traction across all areas of our lives. It gives people the freedom to complete any transactions without having to physically visit a location. This is very relevant in the government sector. Dubai is on the path to becoming one of the smartest cities in the world, and is well on its way to meet challenges of the digital future.

Bipin Pathak, Percept Gulf CEO

Saves a lot of time

Online services are more preferred because they're very convenient and consumer friendly and also saves a lot of time. For example, if a person has to pay for his parking or do a bank transaction amidst his work he/she would turn to the app of the particular bank or app provided the by the parking authority in order to do the necessary transacttion.

Shamoun Shahbandri, journalism student

Avoid visiting offices

I prefer online services because they cut off unnecessary conversation and don't need to be physically present to do transactions. Online services also avoid confusion as there are particular menus to choose from. But as someone working in the hospitality sector, I also prefer personal interaction. Personalised services establish connection and good face-to-face relationship makes a difference.

Ahra Go, hotelier

Immediate result

As a millennial, I'm more in favour of online services as they are quick and you can get results immediately. You can also use multiple services and conduct transactions whenever or wherever you want. But constant updates are required for online services and there should be amazing features to track website visitors - not only to offer support but also to try to convert them into engaged customers.

Christophe Rippen, researcher