Compared with last year's IT budget, the public sector will spend just as much on new IT hardware, software and services in 2004.
"Despite the slower economic growth over the last two years, the value of IT contracts awarded this financial year 2004 will still amount to S$700 million (US$423 million)," said chief executive Tan Ching Yee of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), at a briefing attended by more than 1,000 industry representatives, including IT vendors.
The proportion of IT expenditure remains unchanged: 70 percent of this year's budget will be for hardware and software such as new PCs, networks and software licenses. The remaining 30 percent will go towards services such as consultancy, software development and systems integration.
Key areas of focus include central government IT infrastructure, infocomm security and business continuity planning.
The major IT buyers in the public sector are the Ministries of Defense, Education, and Home Affairs and the Government Chief Information Office (GCIO) of the IDA. Their combined IT spending exceeds S$600 million (US$354 million), or more than 80 percent of the total projected IT procurement value for 2004, Tan said.
Calling the public sector "an important trendsetter in IT procurement", Tan said long-term planning and judicious investment in IT have enabled the public sector to improve efficiency and effectiveness as well as upgrade service quality and introduce new services.
This year also marks the start of the next phase of the e-Government Action Plan II (eGAP II) where Singapore hopes to create a "networked government" that delivers accessible, integrated e-services to its customers and citizens.
"What's new in the next three years? The desired outcomes are delighted customers and connected citizens through a networked government," said Tan Eng Pheng, director, e-government planning and management division, IDA.
A networked government is the "bedrock for us to deliver e-services", he added.
IDA is aiming to implement 12 new cross-agency integrated e-services by 2006. Other targets include 90 percent of the government's customers using e-services at least once a year, of which 80 percent of these users satisfied with overall quality of e-services.
Singapore launched eGAP, an industry plan to transform the delivery of public services and integration between the government, citizens and businesses, in June 2000. eGAP II was unveiled in July 2003 with a three-year IT budget of S$1.3 billion (US$767 million) targeted at the public sector.
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