The M-Governance Opportunity

The growth of telecommunication networks, mobile services and adoption of smart phones is opening up opportunities for the evolution of a new era of digital governance. Mobility offers innovative opportunities to provide more responsive public services through mobile applications and solutions. The reduction in costs of mobile devices and their ease of use are removing barriers and empowering citizens to quickly and efficiently connect to government for variety of services such as healthcare, education, employment, public safety, financial, transportation, legal, and various other public services.

Great value and multiple benefits are driving public sector enterprises towards m-government:

• Ease of use for citizens
• Makes services available to the door step of citizen
• Increased citizen centricity
• Penetration of mobile devices
• Better service accessibility
• Wider reach
• Cost-effectiveness
• Support for personalization for targeting users

Increasing the productivity of public service personnel, m-governance allows them to enter data into digital systems exactly where it is required, at particular point of time. Not only does this move data-gathering closer to real-time operations, it also reduces the time, public servants spend on data-entry related activities. Improving the delivery of government information and services, m-Government can deliver data and services whenever and wherever needed, to the citizen. Citizens are benefitted in terms of anytime anywhere access to relevant information. Another example of how governments can use mobility is for sending terror alerts or other very time-sensitive information quickly and directly to citizens.

Governments have to recognize that M-governance is not a substitute for e-governance. Not all applications can run on mobile devices nor they should. M-Governance should be conceived and developed as part of the overall e-governance strategy and program. The exact mix of M-governance and traditional e-governance applications would enhance the productivity and efficiency of government organizations/public sector.