The Omani government considers highly the Digital Transformation Program as a key pillar that supports the strategic and vital sectors in the Sultanate. It has a great impact on the national economy, and it is one of the essential requirements of modern lifestyles, facilitating services and procedures for beneficiaries in different fields.

Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation is a necessity for all government and private entities that consider the importance of the ongoing development of their administrative role, services provided, and the delivery of these services to the beneficiaries. It is not just concerned with applying technology in an institution. It is rather a comprehensive program that affects the internal workflow of the services to targeted audience in an easier and faster manner.

Digital transformation as a term can be defined as the employment of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the government and private entities and authorities to develop the entity’s performance and services, improve the operational efficiency, and increase productivity. This will serve the workflow in the institution across the different departments and its interaction with the targeted audience and customers. It will also develop the services provided and facilitate its access in a way that saves time and effort.

The Advantages of the Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation reduces cost, saves efforts, and improves the operational efficiency as well as the quality of services provided and simplifies them to offer new innovative services that will improve customer satisfaction. In addition, it facilitates the connections between the different government and private entities to ensure data quality, provide a reliable and coherent source of information, and help decision makers in monitoring performance, improving the quality of services, and setting new goals and strategies.

Digital Transformation in Oman

The eGoverment vision in Oman was made after the approval of the National Strategy for Digital Society and eGovernance in May 2003. In his speech to Oman Council in November 2008, His Majesty urged the government entities to provide their services electronically and facilitate effecient online transactions and procedures.

The Digital Transformation Program aims to create a sustainable knowledge-based society, raise the productivity and efficiency of the public sector by building national capacities, strengthening the infrastructure, developing the IT industry and improving the quality and execution of government services. These services should adhere to specific standards and timeframes to achieve the objective of simplifying the service procedures to citizens, businesses, and government entities.

The Ministry of Transport, communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) is the authority responsible for supervising the development and implementation of the Digital Transformation Program as well as monitoring the performance. Its responsible for supporting the government entities in improving business processes, developing operations, and automating the channels of service delivery:

• Developing the Digital Transformation Program by applying a unified institutional framework for the digital transformation.
• Introducing the methodology of the Digital Transformation Program.
• Developing all necessary models, standards, and tools for the digital transformation.
• Providing the required IT infrastructure and integrating the different digital systems in the institutions.
• Providing Advisory support in all areas of the digital transformation to serve the strategic objectives and improve performance.
• Developing information exchange in the institution and improving the utilization of available resources and skillsets.
• Aligning business strategies and information technologies with the digital transformation program.
• Reviewing the administrative work, simplifying and facilitating procedures, and re-engineering processes.
• Supporting the implementation of the digital transformation projects, managing them, and ensuring the best practices are applied in the project management.
• Organizing and presenting specialized and awareness-raising workshops in all related digital transformation areas.
• Assessing readiness, measuring progress, and preparing regular reports.

The Digital Transformation Project Success Factors

• Develop an outline that identifies the priorities of the institution and the goals it seeks to achieve through the digital transformation.
• Adopting and following-up the implementation of the action plan by the senior leadership, out of its great importance and impact on the institution’s performance.
• Establishing mechanisms and procedures necessary to implement and monitor performance.
• IT governance and the application of policies and standards, ensuring its alignment with the work plans.
• Improving procedures and process re-engineering, automating and diversifying channels.
• Enhancing the infrastructure, integrating systems and procedures, and employing new technologies.
• Building human capacities.
• Changing the institutional work culture and environment, and adopting an ongoing development philosophy.
• Measuring performance and satisfaction, determining the extent of benefit, and addressing challenges.

The Design and Implementation stages of the Digital Transformation Projects

Digital Transformation projects are designed and implemented in different stages adhering to the regulations of the digital transformation:

• Digital Transformation Team: Digital Transformation Team: Creating a team to oversee the development of the digital transformation program, propose and adopt digital initiatives. In addition, creating an implementation team to follow up and implement the implementation plan of the digital transformation, measure developments, suggest solutions to address the challenges that may arise during this stage.
• Analyzing the entity status:This stage studies the current status, analyze businesses and the digital infrastructure of the institution to identify problems and challenges, and develop a future plan to pave the way for the development stage.
• Digital Transformation Program: is the document that outlines the digital transformation of the institution and determines the initiatives, activities, and digital solutions that will be implemented in the implementation phase of the transformation program. These projects should adhere to the standards and objectives of the digital transformation. In addition, the plan will set the mechanisms for measurements and continuous development.
• Classifying services:This stage introduces the number of services provided by the entity and the necessary requirements to implement these services, and determines delivery channels with a clear timeframe for completion.
• Documenting services: This stage draws the outline of services, define stages and procedures, determines the application requirements, describes input and output results, as well as setting responsibilities and timeframe for each procedure.
• Improving procedures and re-engineering processes: at this stage, procedures are reviewed and the processes through which the services are implemented are examined as well as employing technologies to speed up procedures, improve efficiency, and reduce the time for completion.
• Building, integrating, and automating the digital systems: at this stage the digital systems are build, services automated, data integrated, both internally within the different departments of the institution and externally between the different entities. In addition, this stage is concerned with employing new technologies, reviewing and processing data, and developing the digital channels to ensure there are multiple channels for service provision, taking into account user needs, each with their own capability and knowledge of using digital technologies.
• Marketing, reviewing, and continuous development: at this stage, the digital systems and services are launched and are marketed to users while monitoring feedback, studying challenges, and creating a plan for a continuous development. These efforts are made to achieve user satisfaction and ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of service provision and administrative work at the institutions.

Types of eServices

Information Services

Those services that provides information about the institution such as the description of the service, the requirements, inquiries and search as well as, printing the application form (if any) without the need for a direct interaction from either the beneficiary or the entity.

Interactive Services

The entity allows the beneficiary to fill out an online application via its digital channels and send it online, with the option of enquiry and following up the request. This requires the beneficiary to follow up with the entity to complete the service.

Procedural Services

The entity allows the beneficiary to query and follow-up the application. The entity carries out the service internally without the need for the beneficiary to visit the headquarters for a follow-up, and the interaction between the two parties is done in two directions from the beneficiary to the government entity and vice versa.

Complementary Services

The entity allows the beneficiary to fill out an online application through its digital channels, send it, with the option of inquiry and following up the application. The entity will carry out the service and all its procedures both internally and externally until completion without the need for the beneficiary to visit the headquarters.

• Sign in via digital certification
• Online payment
• Zero visits
• Automate all procedures