Asian governments to spend more on IT

Asian governments to spend more on IT

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Governments in the Asia-Pacific region will invest more to
embrace the benefits of information technology, with China seen
spending the most, an industry monitor said Monday.

International Data Corp. (IDC) said of the five governments it
has profiled, China is projected to increase spending at a
compounded annual growth rate of nearly 40 percent from 2001 to
2003.

Spending on keeping governments wired electronically is
expected to increase by more than 20 percent in Singapore and
South Korea during the same period, and by 15 and 13 percent
respectively in Australia and Hong Kong, IDC said in a statement.

"By embracing technology, governments are finding they can
reap the same type of rewards as e-businesses," said Lisa
Shishido, a senior analyst on e-business and e-government with
IDC.

"These rewards include more efficient processes, improved
public services and cost savings, allowing government to do more
with less -- all of which lead to greater satisfaction with
government," she said.

Governments were still in the "primary stages" of getting
their operations online.

Most of them have a "narrow focus on providing electronic
services and achieving agency-by-agency operational efficiency --
without considering the benefits they can achieve by approaching
it as an e-business transformation," Shishido said.

The projected government spending should create business
opportunities for IT vendors and service providers, IDC said.