ICT adoption and the thirst for public services

Dubai: Technology adoption has skyrocketed worldwide over the last five years, and the situation here in the GCC has been no different.

In fact, the region has found itself at the epicentre of this explosive growth, with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all featuring in the top quarter of the International Telecommunications Union’s global rankings for ICT development in 2015.

The sharp increase in mobile penetration — particularly of smartphones — has been a key driver of this ICT development, as has the increased access to high-speed broadband enjoyed by all segments of society.

A new digitally literate generation of users has emerged alongside the evolution of smart devices, prompting GCC governments and enterprises to introduce new solutions and applications that enhance the day-to-day lives of their citizens and customers. And two areas where this has been particularly noticeable are education and health care.

The growth in ICT literacy starts at home, where children typically begin using mobile devices and tablets for entertainment purposes, but governments in the region are increasingly looking to build on this by digitally enhancing the education provided at schools via the implementation of e-learning initiatives. To this end, teachers today require qualifications to teach using technology, and a growing number of schools now offer internet access in their classrooms to enhance the learning experience.

The use of interactive smartboards in classrooms across the GCC has enabled access to a rich source of information online, while digital libraries have placed an immense amount of content at the fingertips of students of all ages and abilities. Learning management systems (LMS) are finding traction across the region, and the availability of accredited online degrees and certifications has also increased, allowing professionals to engage in self-learning and obtain relevant qualifications through the internet.

As the region’s mobile penetration rates soar into triple-digit territory, there are growing calls for the concerned authorities to broaden their e-learning focus to include the concept of mobile learning, or m-learning for short.

Indeed, IDC identifies a growing need for GCC governments to drive smart learning through mobile devices, focusing on the provision of digital content itself rather than just on increasing device penetration in the classroom. Such efforts will inevitably give rise to yet more innovative applications and solutions designed to facilitate the m-learning process.

Not to be outdone, the GCC’s health care sector is also proving to be a hotbed of ICT-enabled innovation, with the region’s governments implementing smart initiatives that facilitate and enhance communications across hospitals. Both the UAE and Qatar have implemented Electronic Medical Records (EMR), while Saudi Arabia has developed a Telecare for Managing Diabetes (TeMaD) system that is used by facilities at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

Numerous applications already exist for monitoring patients’ vital signs (glucose levels, blood pressure, etc), but there is a growing need to be able to effectively and reliably communicate this data to the intended physicians, thereby enabling them to monitor their patients remotely. This has given rise to the concept of m-health, with the spread of wearable technologies such as the Apple Watch proving to be particularly useful platforms in this regard.

The wearables market has still plenty of room for further growth, especially when it comes to smart watches. And as these devices continue proliferate, developers will look to create more custom-made apps for wearables that support remote patient monitoring, potentially the burden on hospital admissions.

This need for smart applications is not restricted to the education and health care sectors either. Indeed, enabling citizens to use public services and make payment transactions via smartphones and wearables should become a focus for governments across the GCC. The UAE is particularly active in this space, ranking twelfth on the World Economic Forum’s government e-participation index for 2015 thanks to the wide range of smart initiatives that have been implemented across the country.

For example, Dubai Smart Government has developed a unified smart app called DubaiNow that offers more than 50 government services from over 20 different government entities. Staying in Dubai, the Roads and Transport Authority has begun to roll out connected public transport vehicles across the emirate, together with smart bus shelters that provide WiFi access, information on public transport routes, mobile charging facilities, and the ability to pay phone and utilities bills while you wait.

There can be no doubt that the rise in ICT adoption across the GCC has changed the way consumers interact with businesses, governments, and society in general. And this growing base of tech-savvy ICT users has expanded the market for advanced services and applications.

IDC urges governments, telcos, and private businesses of all types to move quickly in order to fill the gap, but they must also continuously monitor the rapid evolution of technology use in the region if they want to be first to market with innovative services for emerging platforms and channels.

The benefits of doing so will ultimately be lower costs, increased efficiency, and a much-improved customer experience — something we can surely all get on board with.

The columnist is group vice-president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at global ICT market intelligence and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC) He can be contacted via Twitter @JyotiIDC