e Oman Society Capacity Building Initiatives Presented by

e. Oman Society Capacity Building Initiatives Presented by: Hassan Al-Lawati Team Leader – Projects Information Technology Authority Sultanate of Oman May, 2013

Sultanate of Oman • AREA: 309, 500 sq. km. • POPULATION: (3. 6 m) mid 2012 • CAPITAL: Muscat • LIFE EXPECTANCY ( 2012 ): 75. 4 • POPULATION DENSITY: 11. 6 • The SULTANATE IS DIVIDED INTO 11 MAIN ADMINISTRATIVE Governorates • GDP per capita ( 2011 ) : US $ 21, 236 • GNI per capita ( 2011 ): US $ 20, 025 • CURRENCY: 1 OMR = US $ 2. 58 • TIME DIFFERENCE: GMT + 4 hours * Source : National Center of Information & Statistics - Oman

His Majesty Vision • H. M. Speech: “We have always emphasized the importance of learning and knowledge and we have always been open to the adoption of new developments in this field. Information technology and communications have now become the main elements that move forward the development process in this third millennium; therefore, we have accorded our attention to finding a national strategy to develop the skills and abilities of citizens in this domain with the aim of further developing e-government services. Sultan Qaboos bin Said Annual Session of the Council of Oman –Nov 2008 We are closely following the important steps that we have made in this regard. We call upon all government institutions to speedily enhance their performance, and to facilitate their services, by applying digital technology in order to usher the Sultanate into the constantly evolving spheres for applying knowledge. ”

Information Technology Authority (ITA) Royal Decree 52/2006 - 31 st of May 2006 Vision: Information Technology Authority (ITA) is a government entity that works with a vision to transform the Sultanate of Oman into a sustainable Knowledge Society by leveraging Information and Communication Technologies to enhance government services, enrich businesses and empower individuals. Mission: ITA is pioneering the implementation of e. Oman strategy. The e. Oman strategy comprises of a wide range of initiatives and services that are designed and created to improve the efficiency of government services, enhance the activities of businesses and empower individuals with skills and knowledge, to meet society’s needs and expectations and to direct Oman towards becoming a sustainable Knowledge-based Economy.

e. Oman Strategy 5

e. Oman Strategic Pillars 6

Why Enabling Society is Important ? ? Fast Moving Technology Tools, applications, devices, etc. THE ISSUE: • Life style gaps. • e. Skills gaps. • Social exclusion. • Need for e. Skilling nations. Affordability of People Different ages, income level, statuses

Role of ITA in Enabling the Society ITA – Infrastructure Projects ITA – Enabling Society Projects Return-on-Investment

e. Oman 1 st Pillar: Society Capacity Building To ensure that Omani society competencies with respect to understanding and utilizing digital technologies are upgraded and enhanced; given that, citizens are the consumers as well as the producers of digital services.

Society Capacity Building Initiatives 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Community IT Training Program (CITT). Specialized IT Training Project (SITT). Incubation Program for IT SMEs (Sas). Free Open Source Software Initiative (FOSS). Gov. IT Training & Certification Program (GITTC) National PC Initiative (NPC). 10

Community IT Training Program (CITT)

Community IT Training Program Aim Deliver digital literacy training to the community (citizens of Oman) through the use of Community Knowledge Centers established in some high populated governorates and local various regions to: • Enable continuous learning among all segments of society. • Develop their skills in dealing with digital technology, and interact with e. Services. 12

Community IT Training Program Community Knowledge Centers (CKCs /W-CKCs) 1. Community Knowledge Centers (CKC) – 10 CKCs. 2. Women Community Knowledge Centers (WCKC) – 9 CKCs th: i w s B A ining L a et r n t r e d t e n p I p , ries Equi o s s e c c a. ers, comput ices, curriculum serv Training Curriculum Content > Basics computer uses. > World Wide Web (Internet). > Production Programs (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. ) > Awareness on benefits of digital life style. > Introduction to e. Government services.

Community IT Training Program Women Community Knowledge Centers (WCKCs) > Same as CKCs but established as special centers for Omani women to get them trained in private atmosphere. > enhancing their skills and level of performance in the field of information technology (IT). > Qualify them for participating in Oman’s Digital Society.

Community IT Training Program Statistics /Achievements So far trained > 32, 000 trainees. Homemaker are able to: > Communicate online with the school through the education Portal on their children progress. On the Parenting side are able to: > Monitor their children in using Internet. > Participate in Social Media (e. g. Facebook, tweeter…etc) with her family to know her children's friends etc. Disabilities citizens were also part of this training On Business aspects are: > able to start their own business online. 15

Community IT Training Program After training "Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a family. " Agnes Cripps A Success Stories – Ms. Samira “Now I can surf websites on women fashion design; new trends, materials, colours etc…. clothes, my favourite area of business” “ After the training now I can work on computer programs e. g. Word and Excel. This has been very helpful to me in my work” Samira – Homemaker -WCKC 16

Specialized IT Training Program (SITT)

Specialized IT Training Project Aim To targets Omani individuals in the IT field in order to develop them to higher professional levels (Specialization) to: • Provide IT training and certification opportunities. • Increase number of certified IT individuals in different IT areas. • Fulfill future critical ICT needs. • Assists the provision of the local necessary skills required.

Specialized IT Training Project Statistics IT Domain No. of Trainees Application Security 22 Application/Web Development 334 Database Administration FOSS End User Graphic Design 109 80 203 Internet Security 80 Mobile Development 41 Network Administration 142 Network Security 44 Physical Security 25 Security Administration 172 Storage Security 20 IT Management 68 System Administration Total Trained 652 1, 995 19

Incubation Program for IT SMEs (Sas)

Incubation Program Aim To encourage, support, and develop the creation of SMEs specialized in ICT field – by entrepreneurs, graduates, etc. – to contribute to the provision of new technologies, solutions, and innovative services – through an implemented entrepreneurship atmosphere - shaped as Sas Center of ITA. Sas Center: Environment /work space for hosting potential entrepreneurs to turn their innovative IT related ideas to real projects and business opportunities on the ground. “Sas” Arabic-Omani colloquial refers to ‘a solid foundation’

Incubation Program Facilities > Engaging ICT SME’s with potential business opportunities. > Capacity development programs for entrepreneurs (ex: training initiatives, mentoring support, etc. ). > To attract foreign and local investment in the ICT sector to act as a catalyst for job creation.

HRH Prince Charles Visit to Sas Center on 19/March/2013 23

Incubation Program Achievements > Hosted twelve (12) incubated businesses in the ICT field – till date. > Owned and managed by (42) young men and women. > Incubated businesses are specialized in several areas: > > geographic information systems. software development. graphic design and multimedia programs. film-making. > provided a series of services in various aspects: > > physical space marketing project management legal advise, etc. > Omani entrepreneurs to participated in nationalinternational related events.

Free Open Source Software FOSS

Free Open Source Software Aim • Raise awareness of free & open source software (FOSS) and its various applications. • Encourage research & development, and innovation in FOSS best practices, development and deployment. • Provide the technical support /advise required for the development and deployment of FOSS solutions in the public & private sector. • Encouraging the public to use FOSS to reduce/eliminate the use of pirated software.

Free Open Source Software Achievements • MOU signed with 4 colleges – implementation support. • 3 FOSS training LABs. • > 50 FOSS local awareness workshops. • Hosted FOSS awareness conference in 2013. • Held FOSS specialized training courses. • Facilitate easy accessing to FOSS – free DVDs: – Contain many software applications. – More than 36, 000 free DVDs. 27

Government IT Training & Certification Program GITTC

Gov. IT Training & Certification Aim To provide internationally recognized digital literacy certification: • to all civil service employees • to enable them to provide e. Services efficiently and with greater transparency.

Gov. IT Training & Certification Benefits /Achievements Benefits • Improves the skills and performance of civil servants. • Empowers civil servants with required ICT knowledge and skills to enable delivery of public sector e-services • Equal chance of training for all civil servants. • Business opportunities for SMEs working in the IT training field. Achievements Total Trained Total Certified 65, 514 48, 378

National PC Initiative (NPC)

National PC Initiative Background Objectives “A PC in every home in Oman” > Increase number of PC users. > Increase number of Internet users. > Encourage use of e-Services as part of life style. Targeting various segments 1. Social Welfare Beneficiaries. 2. Higher Education Students. 3. School Teachers. Project Value Grant worth of 20 Million OMR ≈ (USD 52 million).

National PC Initiative Impact on Society S/N. 1. Achievements Delivered over 98, 000 PCs till date More than 50%: Households with PCs Delivered over 72, 000 internet modems 2. 3. More than 70%: Internet Users Over 6, 000 families of Social Welfare Beneficiary trained on computer literacy training program. Details Source: Global IT Report, World Economic Forum, 2013 Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Report, 2013 Through local contracted training institutes (SMEs) 33

Cont. National PC Initiative Impact on Society S/N. Achievements Details 4. The Readiness sub-index rank jumped 31 From (87) in 2010 to (56) in 2013 - Global IT Reports, WEF points 5. Reported increase in % of Households with PC NRI’s sub-index (2013 vs. 2012) - Global IT Report 2013, WEF in Oman ( from 45% to 58%) 6. Additional data usage reported by the internet >9 TB /month - Due to additional new internet accounts. service operators 7. Additional mobile recharge transactions >59 K /month - Due to additional 3 G internet usage 8. Better price competition among local PC retailers Frequent PC market promotional offers by non-NPC retailers 9. Better response on government IT Training & Certification Programs More ICDL and IC 3 certified citizens (>36 K) in 2012 vs. (18 K) in 2010 34

National PC Initiative Impact on SMEs/ Industries Business Type S/N. 1. Local Training Institutions 2. Taxi /Bus Drivers 3. Sanad Offices (Gov. -backed - individual projects) Classification SMEs Individual /Sole Traders Impact Details > 30 training institutions contracted Contracted through training institutes to provide shuttle transportation service SMEs 14 offices contracted for NPC retailing Local SAOC 11 offices contracted for NPC retailing 4. Post Offices 5. Computer selling shops 6. Banks Local SAOG 15 Bank Muscat branches contracted as NPC retail points (in 1 st year). 7. Local telecom operators Local SAOG >72 K new accounts through NPC internet offers 8. Major shopping places Retail Markets 15 major hypermarket outlets contracted locally through suppliers SMEs 21 retail shops contracted for NPC retailing in different regions 35

International ICT Reports - Oman Ranking

International ICT Reports – Oman Ranking 2011 2012 2013 53 35 29 21 73 36 Government Online Services Index 53 Government Usage E-Participation Index 74 Source: Global IT Report, World Economic Forum, 2013.

International ICT Reports – Oman Ranking 2011 2012 2013 Households w/Personal Computer 55 55 47 40 37 Individuals Using Internet 42 Affordability 82 Source: Global IT Report, World Economic Forum, 2013. 34

Business Opportunities - Oman Case study /business case to consider Oman as: • Potential regional outsourcing hub for ICT SMEs and call centers business. • Investing platform for PC Manufacturers. • Electronic devices logistics hub. 39

Thank You hassan. allawati@ita. gov. om | www. ita. gov. om 40