Singapore infocomm companies are taking their expertise to the Middle East, and the latest results of their engagement with the region are the launch of Hukoomi , a new one-stop portal for the Government of Qatar by NCS, and the rollout of new e-services on the Qatar Services Platform, which is based on the EcQuaria Service-Oriented Platform (Ecquaria SOP).

Commissioned by ictQATAR ( www.ictQATAR.qa ), the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology of the State of Qatar, Hukoomi marks a milestone in the Qatar Government’s commitment to deliver world-class government services to the people who visit, live and work in Qatar.

Currently, the portal links and hosts 48 government entities, providing the necessary information and online services. Designed and built with the users in mind, it provides a one-stop experience for citizens, residents, visitors and businesses, giving them easy and convenient access to government information and services at any time of the day.

NCS and Ecquaria worked closely with ictQATAR to develop the e-government portal and services platform.

To ensure the successful implementation of the new portal, Singapore systems integrator NCS ( www.ncs.com.sg ) worked closely with ictQATAR on Portal Content and Infrastructure, which cover consultation and development of the IT architecture, content development and customisation.

In a separate project, platform provider Ecquaria Technologies ( http://www.ecquaria.com/ ) has developed a new set of commercial registration e-services which are also available on the portal. The services allow individuals and businesses to register new businesses and manage existing commercial registration processes online. The services are powered by the Qatar Service Platform (QSP), which was developed on the Ecquaria SOP.

With the commercial registration e-services, business users can now transact online and make e-payments for a set of pilot e-services, saving themselves numerous visits to government entities. Available in both English and Arabic, the e-services allow individuals and businesses to set up a new business online – from registration, to approvals, to required documentation, to payments – through the one-stop shop. They also allow current businesses to renew their commercial registration, change company details and reserve or change a business name.

The underlying QSP provides the central integrated and hosting enterprise infrastructure that enables the efficient sharing of common services such as user authentication, e-payment and data services from various agencies. Ecquaria worked closely with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and ictQATAR to launch the pilot e-services through the seamless backend integration with other agencies such as Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, National Health Authority, Publication Department and Ministry of Interior. With a common service gateway along with the common standards and interface provided via QSP, agencies also have the flexibility to develop and host their e-services centrally.