What is Deloitte Middle East’s new government think-tank?

There is no doubting the rising government focus on digital transformation in the Middle East.

This is especially true in GCC countries like the UAE and Saudi, where ambitious national digital agendas and rising citizen populations are driving accelerated change, as many countries look to diversify their economies.

Spearheading such transformation is the government sector, with spending on digital technology in the UAE expected to reach US$20 billion over the next three years, and IT spending in Saudi projected to soar beyond US$34.5 billion in 2023 alone.

When it comes to government digital transformation, the UAE and Saudi are leading the Arab world and place 13th and 32nd globally, according to the UN E-Government Development Index – with Dubai’s government services recently hitting 99.5% digitisation rate.

While impressive and world-leading, governments in the region are digitally ambitious and are looking to lead the way with the latest technology and innovations that make a difference to their citizens’ lives.

Which is why Deloitte Middle East has unveiled its latest initiative – a think-tank aimed at supporting governments across the region in digitising services and solutions.

Future of Government think-tank

Titled Future of Government, the think-tank “aims to support governments in the region to channel their vision into practical pathways and solutions to improve the lives of their citizens”, says Muhannad Tayem, Government and Public Services leader at Deloitte Middle East.

“This in turn requires developing new ways of working, to re-imagine how processes and policies need to evolve with the accelerating rate of technological advancement.

The initiative will bring the best of Deloitte’s expertise, convening leading government and digital transformation experts, to pioneer the adoption of emerging technology solutions specifically tailored for different government needs – outlining a roadmap that enables government to adopt new ways of working.

As Faisal Darras, a Partner at Deloitte Middle East, puts its: At Deloitte we look to provide solutions that enable government entities to extract the maximum value from the emerging technologies and by enhancing their cloud computing capabilities, which helps grow their efficiency and productivity.”

Dubai’s government services hit 99.5% digitisation rate

While the UAE ranks 13th globally on government digitisation in the UN rankings, UAE emirate Dubai can now claim that government servies are now almost fully digitised.

According to the latest data, the majority (87%) of government service transactions now digital, acehving a digitisation rate of 99.5%.

The city started its digitisation efforts as far back as 2000, when it rolled out an e-government initiative. In 2013, The emirate launched the Smart Government initiative, which phased out paper transactions by the end of 2021.

The UAE government also launched last year the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, which seeks to double the GDP contribution of the digital economy.

Now, Dubai is on track to “usher in an advanced digital future and raise its status as a global exemplar for digital governance”, which is in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, according to Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai.

“We aim to expand the digital economy by an exponential 200%, improve the quality of the digital experience by a minimum 90%, raise Dubai’s ranking in the United Nations’ Local Online Service Index (LOSI), and proactively create 50 integrated digital city experiences that are seamless, interconnected and high-impact,” said Al Mansoori.