Friday, 12 March 2010
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Editors
Jianggan Li
Editor
Tel: (+852) 9150 4931 / (+86) 132 4203 3353
Email: jianggan.li@alphabet-media.com
Jianggan Li is the Editor of FutureGov, both the online and print versions. He has a longstanding interest in health informatics and digital inclusion, as well as security issues. Originally from China, he remains a keen observer of public sector ICT in Northeast Asia, as well as in India.
He prefers to be discreet about his previous life as a scholar in Computer Engineering at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, but retains a key interest in emerging technologies.
Interestingly he enjoys reading Classical Chinese and Latin literature – and promises to learn Sanskrit and Lithuanian soon. Like many, he spends considerable time on Wikipedia – and when he does get a chance to travel, prefers to take the road less travelled.
24 February 2010 | Interview
Leveraging cloud to sustain 200Gbps attack traffic
With a proper mechanism and tools, governments should be able to better defend themselves against Denial-of-service attacks, which are becoming bigger and more frequent
9 February 2010 | News
Eat an elephant bite by bite, and digest accordingly
Business process is an incremental journey. Will government CIOs become government Chief Process Managers in the future?
9 February 2010 | News
How top US care network stays ahead
“Vigorously promoted” clinical guidelines combined with computerised decision support systems make Intermountain Healthcare a resounding success
8 February 2010 | News
China clamps down "biggest hacker training base"
Police say that the web site, which was investigated after a few serious cyber attacks, had provided training to more than 180,000 individuals
4 February 2010 | News
Medicine ‘much more complicated’ than aviation
People often compare safety of medical practice with that of flying an airplane. Dr David Bates, Chief of General Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a leading researcher in Health IT, told FutureGov that while medicine as a whole could never reach the safety level of civil aviation, there are areas which IT can help bring medical safety to comparable levels of civil aviation.
1 February 2010 | News
Healthcare group consolidates HR management
Parkway Health, a regional healthcare group originated out of Singapore, has announced that it will implement consolidated human resource management throughout its operations in Singapore.
19 January 2010 | Feature
Should data centres be outsourced?
Government data centre outsourcing contracts can help local IT players grow. This creates jobs and boosts the local economy. But the real dynamics of data centre outsourcing have been slow to take off in Asia. Why?
19 January 2010 | Interview
Acute care, astute IT
Going by its location in central Kuala Lumpur and state-of-the-art design, people tend to perceive Prince Court Medical Centre as a very expensive facility. But Harald Feiel, PCMC’s Chief Information Officer, says this is a myth. “Although we aspire to become the best acute care hospital in Asia with unique, top-notch facilities, we are no more expensive than other private hospitals here in Malaysia,” he explains. “We have done market analysis and in most areas our fees are comparable with those of other hospitals.”
7 January 2010 | Feature
Building a healthy Malaysia
Like many of its neighbours, Malaysia has been experiencing changing disease patterns. The era of acute infectious diseases and malnutrition has been succeeded by one of chronic diseases and lifestyle related illnesses. So the country’s healthcare strategy has had to shift from making traditional health and hygiene improvements to promoting healthier lifestyles and managing chronic diseases.
28 December 2009 | Interview
Hong Kong Observatory launches YouTube channel
Hong Kong Observatory, the weatherman of the city frequently affected by adverse weather conditions, has launched a new YouTube channel for weekly summary of weather information as well as public meteorological education.
24 December 2009 | News
New York to deploy health information exchange platform
The Healthcare Information Xchange New York will deploy a software platform for information exchange, as part of the effort to connect healthcare organisations across the regional served by the organisation: 17 counties in northern New York State.
22 December 2009 | News
Singapore to tender out e-system for GPs
The Singapore government is inviting vendors to submit proposals to ‘design, develop, supply, deliver, install, test, commission and support’ a clinical management system cum electronic medical record system for general practitioners.
14 December 2009 | Interview
NZ local govt boosts communications
The City Council of Porirua in New Zealand has implemented organisational changes with a strong emphasis on improving communications among its staff, 30 per cent of whom mobile as well as with residents of the city. It is also quite innovate in greening its IT operations.
11 December 2009 | News
Hong Kong Police act over peer-to-peer data leakage
The territory’s personal data privacy watchdog said he was satisfied with the measures taken to mitigate the consequences and prevent reoccurrence of the recent leakage cases where confidential police documents appeared on the internet through a peer-to-peer file shairng application
10 December 2009 | News
British Library unveils futuristic storage facility
The £26m building will keep literary records in a safe, high-density environment with automated storing and retrieval by robots governed by algorithm
7 December 2009 | News
Aussie hospital group consolidates clinical systems
Mater Health Services, based out of the Australian State of Queensland, has integrated its disparate clinical information systems to form a single Electronic Patient Record across its seven hospitals.
30 November 2009 | News
Crossing Hong Kong-Macau border made easy
Hong Kong residents will soon be able to enter Macau through electronic auto-clearance gates using their Hong Kong ID cards while those living in Macau will have the same privilege, according to a joint agreement by the two governments.
30 November 2009 | Interview
New Singapore hospital to deploy “mini-EHR”
A new private medical facility in Singapore is poised to consolidate its information systems across its tertiary hospital and almost 200 consultation suites.
29 November 2009 | News
Malaysian hospital revamps data centre architecture
A practical approach to address the issues of down time and insufficient cooling which had been troubling Sunway Medical Centre’s IT department for a number of years
25 November 2009 | News
US government launches new Health IT blog
Dr David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT, has launched Health IT Buzz, to give readers more information about health information technology (HIT) and provide a forum for public engagement.
23 November 2009 | News
Singapore accelerates digital inclusion for seniors
The government will set up 100 hot spots with computers and Internet services for senior citizens to use for free.
13 November 2009 | Feature
Industry experts: private cloud is where the action is
Cloud computing has been drawing attention from public sector organisations, as well as the IT industry. To many, the paradigm is no longer dismissed as conceptual hype, but a too-good-to-miss opportunity to save money, energy and be more efficient.
13 November 2009 | Interview
Making telemedicine effective in rural India
Simple ways telemedicine was used in the rich world more than a decade ago still have its future in rural India
12 November 2009 | News
Mobile apps and internet of things to take off in China
With the availability of mobile broadband infrastructure, mobile applications for governments will take off in China, Professor Qu Chengyi, Member of the Advisory Committee for State Informatisation, has told FutureGov.
30 October 2009 | Interview
A new order in an old hospital
Dr Chan Wai Sin, Deputy Director of Macau’s Health Bureau and Director of Hospital Conde S. Januário, actively promotes e-health based on international standards, amid strong resistance in a 135 year old hospital.
26 October 2009 | News
Hong Kong invites private care providers to join EHR
The Hong Kong Government has invited private healthcare providers to join the Electronic Health Record Engagement Initiative.
15 October 2009 | Feature
Doing the rounds
Mobility solutions for healthcare professionals have been advancing rapidly. Here is FutureGov’s annual review of the key issues facing the fast-growing sector
28 September 2009 | News
US Congress pressed on the importance of healthcare IT
Health IT advocates and stakeholders congregated in the Capitol Hill last week, in an effort to “raise national attention on the importance of health IT in healthcare reform”.
20 September 2009 | News
China extends rural land registration pilot
After the successful completion of the first phase of the pilot GIS-based land registration project covering two villager groups, China has signed a contract for a second phase, involving two to three counties in the eastern Anhui province.
18 September 2009 | News
One-stop cloud source launched for US federal agencies
The US government has launched Apps.gov, a dedicated web site for federal agencies to ‘quickly browse and purchase cloud-based IT services for productivity, collaboration and efficiency’.
15 September 2009 | News
HK hospital rolls out bedside terminals
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital has installed Patient Infotainment Terminals in every inpatient area, as part of the extension programme to offer a ‘brand new hospital experience’ for patients.
25 August 2009 | News
South Korea to launch smart offices
South Korea’s civil servants will be able to work in smart working centres in their own neighbourhood instead of commuting to their offices, according to Dr Kim Seang-Tae, President of the National Information Agency (NIA).
12 August 2009 | News
Speculation builds on cost of NZ e-health system
Vendors in New Zealand are rushing to estimate the cost of the country’s national Electronic Health Record system and how it should be built. A request for information was issued last year, to which 30 suppliers have responded.
11 August 2009 | News
User resistance to German e-health cards
Germany’s electronic health card rollout, aimed at improving communications and data exchange within the country’s healthcare sector, has been delayed due to physician resistance.
3 August 2009 | News
Chinese cities to integrate medical insurance systems
Residents of Guangzhou & Foshan, two mega municipalities in China’s Pearl Delta region, will be able to seek medical treatment in other cities with the same social security coverage. This was announced by Zheng Yuhua, Deputy Director of the Labour and Social Security Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality, who said the seamless consolidation of the two cities’ medical insurance systems will be achieved by next year.
2 August 2009 | News
China’s hospital reaches out through mobile platform
The 181st Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army will provide health information via a mobile platform.
23 July 2009 | News
Debate swirls over medical records language in Taiwan
A debate about the language used for medical records has heated up in Taiwanese society. Ninety-eight per cent of Taiwan’s population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. However, most western medicine doctors in Taiwan keep medical records in…
11 July 2009 | News
Hong Kong approves budget for first phase of EHR
The Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament, has approved the funding of HK$720 million (US$ 93 million) for the first phase of the EHR project.
10 July 2009 | Interview
Managing hospital IT in China
Niu Qirun, CIO of China’s Sun Yat-sen Hospital shares how a large scale modern western medicine hospital in China navigates through its challenges and contributes to the nation’s healthcare reform
30 June 2009 | Interview
Hospital COO on medicine as a service industry
Brian de Francesca, who runs one of the biggest public hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, believes there is no magic in medicine. He thinks like any other service provider, hospitals should improve performance and guarantee service levels.
23 June 2009 | News
China launches anti-corruption hotline
Whistle-blowers nationwide can dial the same number to report possible corruption cases. China has rolled numerous phone numbers available to informers of corruption cases into a single number: 12309, in an attempt to make it easier and more appealing to the public …
23 June 2009 | Feature
Connecting the countryside
Programmes for rural communities will only be successful if local concerns are taken into account and local people are empowered.
16 June 2009 | Feature
Oncology on-air in India
Using the satellite-linked telemedicine network, expert oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital in India are able to deliver quality cancer care to patients all over India.
11 June 2009 | News
CIO of world’s biggest hospital to blog for FutureGov
Jialin Liu, Director, Centre of Medical Informatics at the 5000-bed West China Hospital, will share his insights with readers of FutureGov.
4 June 2009 | News
First stage of Sweden’s e-health scheme deployed
‘National Patient Overview’ gives 500 care providers in the region of Örebro authorised access to consolidated patient information
29 May 2009 | Interview
Hong Kong primary school bolsters interactive learning
While successfully applying interactive tools in classrooms, Chong Wu Lam of Fanling Public School worries that over-reliance on ICT could hamper the effectiveness of learning.
27 May 2009 | Interview
Hong Kong hospital keeps standards high on a low budget
Lily Cho of Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital explains how the IT department uses limited resources to support the high quality care the hospital thrives to provide.
14 May 2009 | Interview
Hong Kong's DIY hospital CIO
Melvin Choi, CIO of Adventist Health Hong Kong, believes that health IT is not complicated. And he is proving that. Melvin Choi’s office is like a museum – he kept all the important documents since 1975, when he started his decade long career in health IT. If you want to know…
10 May 2009 | Feature
Making everyone ‘Stand Tall’
A group of extraordinary medical professionals from Hong Kong have been helping rehabilitate young amputees who survived the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Now, communications technology is helping them achieve their vision even more effectively.
8 May 2009 | News
Chinese Municipal Government undergoes radical restructuring
“In principle, there will be only one department in charge of a specific policy area after the reform”
8 May 2009 | News
Keep vigilant in a complex threat environment
With increasingly sophisticated online infrastructure, Asia’s governments are facing lots of real threats that deserve their vigilance.
8 May 2009 | News
New privacy push for HK’s public hospitals
Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority and the Office of Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) have jointly launched a campaign to enhance the awareness of patient data privacy among all the staff members of the territory’s public hospitals and clinics.
24 April 2009 | News
New solution to protect business communications
The offering aims to prevent lost email under its existing security infrastructure
22 April 2009 | News
Singapore’s e-filing rate hits record high
About 91 per cent of the country’s taxpayers filed their tax returns online this year
10 April 2009 | News
The future of a recession-proof technology
Matt Jackson, Polycom’s Global Director for Government, talks about his observations and vision on teleconferencing
7 April 2009 | News
China to phase-in unified healthcare network
Part of its vision to provide ‘safe, effective, convenient and affordable’ health services to every Chinese citizen by 2020
31 March 2009 | News
US healthcare centre slashes heart attack death risk
‘Integration approach’ with engaged clinical team and advanced technology help US care giver deliver dramatic results
31 March 2009 | Research
Asia’s public sector boosts spend in networking
Research expects more than 40 per cent growth in enterprise networking spending over the next four years
30 March 2009 | News
Record Earth Hour participation from Asia’s governments
Many countries and municipalities switch off lights for an hour in support of the WWF-led initiative
26 March 2009 | News
USB drive with patient data goes missing in Hong Kong
Sensitive data of 47 patients are on the lost personal USB flash drive of a Hong Kong public hospital doctor
26 March 2009 | News
Seeking the real value of SOA
More than three years ago, at the first SOA seminar that your correspondent attended, a handful of visionaries were spending the whole two days explaining to the puzzled CIOs and IT managers what SOA was, what benefits it could bring and in which areas they should start their pilots.
25 March 2009 | News
Hong Kong govt steps up recruitment
The Hong Kong Government will step up its recruitment exercise and hire 6300 people over a one year period starting from now.
24 March 2009 | News
SAS: business analytics should be a strategic priority
Governments are facing many priorities in tough economic circumstances, and business analytics should be a strategic priority, according to SAS head of technology practice, Singapore & emerging markets, Shanmugar Sunthar.
12 March 2009 | Interview
Geography in action
Jack Dangermond, Founder and President of ESRI, is a firm believer that government should not only share GIS within its departments, but with the public too. For Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI, geography is a life long passion. “Geographic information is critical to many aspects of governing,” he says…
10 March 2009 | News
Malaysia to speed up digital inclusion
All ongoing programmes on closing the digital divide in Malaysia need to be completed by 2010, according to Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, Deputy Minister of Malaysia’s Energy, Water and Communications Ministry.
10 March 2009 | News
Singapore agency saves millions through Green IT
SINGAPORE’S Land Transport Authority has saved over US$5.55 million since embarking on its Green IT initiative.
9 March 2009 | News
Korea’s tourism agency launches controversial online advertising campaign
Korea’s Department of Tourism has commissioned controversial web traffic company uSocial for a large-scale online advertising campaign.
2 March 2009 | News
Chinese premier debuts online chat with public
Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China, went online last Saturday for a two-hour chat with netizens across the country.
24 February 2009 | News
The region’s healthcare sector sees strong SAP adoption
Despite the current economic downturn, the company continues to witness strong momentum in the healthcare sector.
18 February 2009 | News
World’s largest virtualised desktop deployment in Brazil’s schools
Brazil is to install 356,800 virtualised desktops to schools in all of the country’s 5560 municipalities, allowing millions of schoolchildren to access information technology across the country.
18 February 2009 | Feature
Healthcare on wheels
Sometimes handheld devices are deemed unsuitable for the needs of clinicians – in this situation the answer may be to add wheels.
2 February 2009 | Feature
Building resilient government data centres
If you are going to put all your data eggs into a single basket, it had better be a secure one.
24 January 2009 | News
German hospital group to adopt LORENZO
German hospital group, Krankenhaus Buchholz and Winsen, becomes IBA Health Group Limited (ASX: IBA)’s latest iSOFT customer for LORENZO. IBA specialises in building software applications for healthcare and it’s the largest health information technology company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
16 January 2009 | News
“There is room for both”
Both WiMAX & LTE will thrive, according to Ben Cardwell, Vice President of Andrew
17 December 2008 | News
Royal Thai Navy updates network
The Royal Thai Navy has committed to a US$1 million upgrade of its administrative LAN, with the objective to keep up with rapid growth of users, who demand for faster online applications.
11 December 2008 | News
Vietnam’s online ministerial e-govt dialogue
Deputy Ministry for Information and Communications affirms government’s strong pushes of e-govt in an online dialogue session.
9 December 2008 | News
Scottish Govt upgrades records management system
The Scottish Government has successfully upgraded its mission critical electronic Records and Document Management system in under a week, with minimum disruptions of service to its 6300 users.
4 December 2008 | News
Israel upgrades government LAN
The Government of Israel has awarded a multi-million-dollar networking solutions contract for its new LAN infrastructure project, as part of the Government’s plans to build a modern, cutting-edge network to support its growing online initiatives.
1 December 2008 | News
Indian state to deploy WiMAX for e-govt
Chhattisgarh state government will modernise its communication infrastructure to connect all its departments with a new, high bandwidth State Wide Area Network.
28 November 2008 | News
SingHealth activates integrated EHR
The successful implementation at Singapore’s largest healthcare group improves quality of care across its three hospitals with more than 3000 beds in total.
27 November 2008 | News
Virtual doctor in your bedroom
A new care management tool designed for health care professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions has been launched.
26 November 2008 | News
The region’s significant disparity in internet access remains
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said that despite significant progress that Asia and the Pacific had made in using ICT, a significant disparity in internet access remained within the region.
25 November 2008 | News
Enhancing ICT capacity at Uzbek ministry
A training course on the role of ICT in public administration was organised by the Ministry of Economy of Uzbekistan and the UNDP.
24 November 2008 | News
Digital inclusion a main strategy for rural development
The State of Sarawak has listed narrowing the digital divide between urban and rural communities as one of the main rural development strategies for 2009.
24 November 2008 | News
Personal health records to save US$21 billion a year?
A US study has projected that personal health records could potentially save the country US$21 billion a year.
20 November 2008 | Feature
Public sector information management
Government organisations need more effective strategies to manage their information and create better knowledge sharing and collaboration within their organisation.
14 November 2008 | News
Health Informatics user community launched
The Committee of Healthcare Informatics Users for Asia was officially launched in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
12 November 2008 | News
Pupils in Malaysian state to get laptops
Each of Terengganu’s 25,000 pupils will receive one laptop from the state government next year.
3 November 2008 | News
Mobile security solution introduced in Singapore
SingTel, a major carrier in Singapore, has introduced a new product which ensures that confidential data on lost laptops is not compromised.
3 November 2008 | News
Microsoft unveils cloud computing system
Microsoft has introduced Windows Azure – an operating system that allows developers to build cloud-based applications.
30 October 2008 | Feature
Managing heterogeneity
Open Source is not a religion; it’s a licensing choice. As government organisations embrace Open Source Software (OSS) on a case-by-case basis, IT environments are going to have to successfully manage solutions that interoperate across the licensing divide. As we find out, pragmatism is already ruling in IT departments around the region.
30 October 2008 | News
Singapore adopts standard terminology for EMR
Singapore is adopting a systemically organised collection of medical terminology for Electronic Medical Records to improve quality, safety of care and enhanced care coordination.
23 October 2008 | Feature
Transformational records management in Singapore
How do you plan for scalable records management? What different approaches are organisations taking to the business of information management? Can public sector organisations find the skilled staff to manage information registries?
23 October 2008 | Feature
Medics on the move: enterprise mobility in Asia's hospitals
Jianggan Li speaks to those who are on the forefront of providing best tools to clinicians at the bedside
16 October 2008 | News
Standards & interoperability priority for Health IT execs
A new survey on using HIT systems to support care management interventions highlights the need for many HIT applications to offer more functionality, standardisation and interoperability to optimise clinical and financial outcomes for patients.
15 October 2008 | News
Shenzhen hospitals to implement medical information systems
Three hospitals in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have signed a US$2.2 million contract to build digital hospital and medical information systems.
14 October 2008 | News
All Korean adults under 40 connected
Internet penetration young Koreans is almost 100 percent, according to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
13 October 2008 | News
New Australian hospital acquires SOA-based IT system
Macquarie University Private Hospital, a new modern hospital due to be open in the latter half of 2009, has inked a deal worth up to A$7.6 million (US$ five million) for a range of advanced healthcare IT applications.
13 October 2008 | News
Malaysia launches high speed broadband deployment
The Malaysian government will invest RM2.4 billion (US$ 680 million) for the country’s national High Speed Broadband project, according to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
10 October 2008 | News
Indian hospital network’s EMR to be ready this month
The initial Rs50 million (US$ one million) EMR system by Apollo Hospitals Group (AHG) will accomplish its dry run in October, revealed Sangita Reddy, AHG’s Executive Director.
10 October 2008 | News
‘Internet for Everyone’ campaign launched in Canada
Telecommunities Canada (TC), a national coalition of groups that promote and support community technology initiatives, has launched the “Internet for Everyone” campaign that seeks to put a national ICT strategy back on the federal agenda.
10 October 2008 | News
Indian state to replace telegram with e-post
E-post will replace old system of telegram service across the Indian state of Kerala, according to the state’s Chief Post Master General (CPMG), Dr Udaya Balakrishnan.
9 October 2008 | Feature
Making WiMax mission critical
Benhur Mesfin, Director of Business Development & Strategy Wireless Broadband at Motorola Asia Pacific, explains why WiMAX can be operated privately.
29 September 2008 | News
Singapore’s Next-Gen broadband network nationwide by 2012
All homes and businesses in Singapore are to be connected to the country’s 1Gbps all-fibre National Broadband Network by 2012. The Singapore Government has selected a consortium to design, build and operate the passive infrastructure, in a move seen as world’s most radical structural separation of fixed telecoms.
25 September 2008 | News
Healthcare IT ‘specialised’
Small and far away from major markets, New Zealand has traditionally been ‘underserved’ by international healthcare IT vendors, according to Grant McPherson, Regional Director South/South East Asia at New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE).
23 September 2008 | News
Malaysian City to introduce free Wi-Fi
Free wireless internet access will be offered to the residents of Penang, a densely populated urban centre in northern Malaysia.
17 September 2008 | Feature
Why WiMax?
The wireless broadband technology has been the ‘next big thing’ for some time. FutureGov assesses when and in what circumstances it will take off and what it means for the public sector. Report: Jianggan Li.
5 September 2008 | Interview
An Australian quest for e-health
Rather than focusing solely on technology, Philip Davies, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Ageing addresses some important issues concerning change management in health and the role of governments in driving e-health development.
5 September 2008 | News
Chinese university deploys campus-wide wireless LAN
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications has deployed a campus-wide wireless LAN (WLAN) to its two campuses, becoming one of the few universities in China to provide complete wireless LAN coverage to every building in addition to the campus’ outdoor spaces.
2 September 2008 | News
Google launches web browser
Google is joining the browser war by launching its own application which aims at offering safer and richer web experience.
29 August 2008 | News
India launches national environment portal
Sam Pitroda, Chairman of India’s National Knowledge Commission, has launched the India Environment Portal, a one-stop information resource centre aimed to promote informed decision-making and environmentally sustainable practices.
28 August 2008 | Feature
Raising the standard for research and education networks
Dai Davies, General Manager at Europe’s advanced research network DANTE, talks about the challenges of meeting rising user demands and fending off cyber threats.
18 August 2008 | News
Public call offices to become info kiosks in Karnataka
Public call offices (PCOs) in the Indian state of Karnataka will be converted into electronic information and transaction kiosks with free broadband connectivity (ePCOs).
17 August 2008 | News
Provide access to disabled in Malaysia
A community centre with broadband Internet will be built for the disabled in the Malaysian city of Kuching before the end of the year.
13 August 2008 | News
India to account for one-fifth of world’s WiMAX subscribers
A recent study puts the number of WiMAX subscribers in India at more than 27.5 million by 2012, around 20 per cent of the global figure.
11 August 2008 | News
Hong Kong establishes task force on digital inclusion
The Government announced at the end of July the setting up of a Task Force on Digital Inclusion.
7 August 2008 | Feature
WiMax around the world
Jianggan Li rounds up his interviews with the people behind WiMax deployments in France, the Netherlands and the United States.
7 August 2008 | News
Remote Thai province to deploy WiMAX
WiMAX wireless broadband network will be deployed in Mae Hong Son, a mountainous province in Thailand’s northwest, bordering Myanmar.
31 July 2008 | Interview
Modernising Australia's tax service
Jianggan Li speaks with Todd Heather, Acting Chief Information Officer, Australian Taxation Office (ATO), to find out how its modernisation plans are coming along.
3 May 2008 | Feature
Sri Lanka's citizen services call centre
Sri Lanka demonstrates that developing nations can harness call centres to bridge the digital divide and deliver new levels of citizen service.
3 February 2008 | Interview
Leading the way in healthcare IT
Alan Payne, Chief Information Officer of health solutions provider Healthe, explains how IT is transforming Australia’s largest private hospital network.
28 September 2007 | News
Monitoring rural projects online in Malaysia
A new web portal will enable residents to access and monitor the status of rural development projects within their area
24 September 2007 | News
Best broadband in the world
Japan has the world’s fastest broadband connection
22 September 2007 | Deals
Indonesia and Singapore to enhance IT sector through collaboration
Indonesia and Singapore will be cooperating in information communications and technology, as stated in an agreement. The move will enable the two countries to engage in media collaboration which will in turn boost the ICT sector.
20 September 2007 | Deals
High-speed link to US schools
Indian and US universities to partner each other
17 September 2007 | News
Estonian Tax and Customs Board offers e-Service to local authorities
The Estonian Tax and Customs Board has offered e-Service to local authorities which will allow them to make inquiries on the incomes of the taxpayers living in their area.
3 September 2007 | Interview
How e-exams help provide speed and security
A school in one of India’s smallest states is pioneering the use of e-exams to help create a consistentcy, security and ease of use in its examinations system.
29 August 2007 | News
Villages in Myanmar get connected
Myanmar government plans to wire villages
23 August 2007 | News
Philippines to execute broadband project or lose out
There is an urgency for Philippines to implement broadband project in order to compete with ASEAN neighbors
21 August 2007 | News
Australians' medicare records to go online
Abbott told a health conference in Sydney that electronic records help to streamline care for patients, from a range of health professionals.
20 August 2007 | News
Business solutions to be deployed at the Abu Dhabi government
The Abu Dhabi System and Information Committee (ADSIC) signed an agreement to deploy Oracle’s business solutions throughout the Abu Dhabi government’s IT infrastructure.
19 August 2007 | Deals
US $ 93.4 million earmarked for govt projects in Pakistan
Keeping in view the importance of IT in the economic development of the country, the Pakistani government has allocated Rs 5.64 billion (US $ 93.4 million) for 115 IT related development projects for the current fiscal year 2007-08.
16 August 2007 | News
Australian government considers blogs
The Australian federal government plans to enter the world of blogging. The aim is to promote a more interactive approach to policy development, via an official government website.
15 August 2007 | News
Myanmar's ICT park to launch soon
Myanmar’s largest ICT park, the Yadanabon Cyber City, located at 67 kilometres east of the second largest city of Mandalay, is nearing completion.
13 August 2007 | News
Hong Kong launches new e-govt portal
A new Government portal “GovHK” (www.gov.hk) was officially launched this month to provide one-stop government online information and services to the public.
10 August 2007 | News
UK’s MoD to give soldiers electronic health records
£80 million programme to make medical records available on the battlefield.
9 August 2007 | News
Brunei schools to go mobile
IT project embarked upon by the Ministry of Education will soon make students in Brunei schools connected.
9 August 2007 | News
Qatar rolls-out new citizen service
ictQATAR and the Ministry of Interior kick off online Exit permits service.
9 August 2007 | News
Programme helps teachers make better use of ICT in learning
Twenty-eight teachers are expected to graduate from a post-graduate degree programme on integrating information and communications technology (ICT) in education this coming September.
6 August 2007 | Feature
Chinese university builds and manages a consolidated data centre
Huang Dawu and Song Shibing of Peking University share their experience of constructing and maintaining their data centre. Interview: Jianggan Li.
2 August 2007 | News
Australian city rolls-out asset tracking solution
Wollongong City Council deploys enterprise asset management solution to manage the City’s A$2.5 billion worth of assets.
1 August 2007 | News
Australian government ICT spending down in 2007
Recently published ICT procurement plans for the 2007-08 financial year by federal government agencies reveals an overall drop in the volume of planned ICT projects on last year, according to a specialist government researcher.
1 August 2007 | Deals
Singapore shares ICT development experience
Singapore and ITU collaborate on training programme in ICT policy and regulatory frameworks.
1 August 2007 | Feature
Building a single point of contact for Australian social services
John Wadeson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) responsible for IT with Centrelink discusses the ongoing challenge of managing Australia’s largest government contact centre network. Interview: Jianggan Li.
31 July 2007 | Deals
Wi-Fi to boost Hong Kong's status as digital city
Administration envisages substantial cooperation with private sector to boost connectivity and mobility in the former British colony.
30 July 2007 | News
E-patient records in the United Kingdom
A long term contract was issued to improve health and social care services in Guernsey, the British crown dependency.
28 July 2007 | Deals
Singapore extends e-filing system for companies
Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has awarded a S$1.7 million contract to enhance it e-filing system for companies.
26 July 2007 | News
Indian city development depends on e-governance
India’s Prime Minister has undelined the importance of e-government as part of the country’s roadmap for urban development.
25 July 2007 | News
Malaysian government predicted to invest in contact centres
The Malaysian authorities have been pretty half-hearted when it comes to establishing citizen-facing call centres - but that may be about to change.
25 July 2007 | Feature
Putting a doctor in every village
Krishnan Ganapathy reveals how videoconferencing proved to be a cost-effective bridge between urban healthcare resources and rural patients in India. Professor Krishnan Ganapathy is the Head of Telemedicine for Apollo Hospitals and Honorary Advisor to the Armed Forces Medical Services of India.
20 July 2007 | News
Cairo approaches South Korea for e-govt advice
Rising connectivity in Egypt spurs discussions of national e-government infrastructure - and they have come knocking on South Korea’s door for advice.
19 July 2007 | News
Singapore backs consortium of e-govt providers
The Singapore authorities have given their blessing to a consortium of local companies aiming to export ‘made in Singapore’ e-government solutions.
17 July 2007 | News
Singapore government email, web sites go down
Now you see them, now you don’t - power outage in data centre brings down key government web sites.
8 July 2007 | News
UNESCO launches ICT-in-Education online community
In July 2007, as part of the new “Knowledge Communities” project, UNESCO Bangkok launched an online ICT-in-Education community: an interactive forum which welcomes educators, teachers, administrators and policy makers and others to share their ideas and opinions on topics relating to the use of ICT in education.
3 July 2007 | Interview
Citizen safety through police mobility
New South Wales Police has introduced one of the largest deployments of mobile data platforms over an area using a single network.
12 June 2007 | Interview
Accessing Chinese patient records on the move
Qiao Kai, Chief Technical Officer of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, shares his experience in building and managing workflow using mobile devices.
3 May 2007 | Spotlight
Transparent, interoperable, secure: the Office Open XML file format
Oliver Bell, Regional Technology Officer, Microsoft Asia, highlights the importance of choice and compatibility in achieving the maximum benefits through effective XML data representation.
1 May 2007 | Interview
Delivering the largest healthcare IT service
Richard Granger, Director General of IT for the National Health Service in England, talks about recent developments in Britain’s healthcare technology.
25 April 2007 | Feature
Managing the transition to wireless working
Asian governments are increasingly cutting free from their wired infrastructure with a view to increasing efficiency and citizen outreach.
29 December 2006 | Feature
Banking on information: KM at the Bank of England
Simon Mills, Head of Information Management for the Bank of England, discusses the role of Knowledge Management at the United Kingdom’s central bank with Sarah Sim.
28 December 2006 | Feature
Driving user participation for government intranets
Dr Mingu Jumaan, Director of Sabah State Computer Services Department explains the process of achieving organizational buy-in for your intranet.
20 December 2006 | Feature
Fiji inaugurates e-government programme
Ratu Jone Kubuabola, Fiji’s Minister for Finance and National Planning, shares details on the Pacific state’s US$20 million e-government plans. Report: Gerald Wang.
20 December 2006 | Feature
Singapore school leverages ICT for global immersion
Technology is making the world a virtual classroom at Nanyang Girls High School.
18 December 2006 | Feature
Making IT outsourcing work in Hong Kong
Alfred Ng, Assistant Chief Information Officer at Hong Kong’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, explains how outsourcing expands government delivery capabilities. Interview: Jianggan Li
12 December 2006 | Feature
Overcoming obstacles to PPP in Singapore
Singapore is farming out S$1.3 billion (US$843 million) worth of projects to the private sector over the next 3-5 years, allowing it to operate big public projects. Analysis: Professor Wang Shou Qing & James Tan.
9 March 2005 | News
Singapore property management agency invests in GIS
JTC Corporation, a government agency that provides tenancy and lease management services to more than 7000 companies in Singapore, has signed a deal for a web-based geographical information system.
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