ITA launches Microsoft Enterprise Agreement to boost IT infrastructure 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The Information Technology Authority (ITA) launched the Government of Oman Microsoft Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015, on February 13 at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, under the patronage of Dr Salim Sultan al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA. The agreement was prepared in cooperation with ITA, Microsoft Corporation and International Information Technology Company (IITC) - the company responsible of implementing the agreement. IT directors and employees from various government institutions attended the ceremony.

According to a press release, the agreement seeks to ease the purchase of Microsoft licensing for government institutions and provide more opportunities for government employees in terms of training and other benefits. Abdullah al Kindi, senior project specialist at ITA, presented the agreement's projects and associated services. Eighty-One government entities are participating in this agreement in which they will get benefits divided into different categories - entrepreneurship, capacity building, and business.

IITC presented the agreement implementation action plan along with the procedures used in the implementation. Speaking on the occasion, Fahad Sultan al Abri, director general of the digital Society Development Division at ITA, said, ''The importance of such agreement is to strengthen the relationship between the government and Microsoft since it's the main supplier of IT software around the world.

''Through the implementation of the agreement, we seek to update the software used in the government institutions, and provide associated services, such as training seminars for the employees and develop IT infrastructure in the government institutions.''